classic automobiles

After a computer-thinking delay, it rerouted the Volvo about 15 miles north. The team was then told to head back south on two different expressways to make up for delay. Given a map, the team, even on a slow day, could have figured out at least three bypasses that were quicker. But the car arrived at the destination in roughly the same time it would have taken had the team followed the original route with traffic delays. classic automobiles A qualified success, then. Traffic avoided, but no time-savings. Eventually, their makers tell us, nav systems will be able to factor real-time traffic and construction problems into their routing choices-at least for major roads. For now, you are on your own.
The Audi system began revealing the obstinate nature that would later be its downfall. Audi's system will display no map, but seemed to have only major roads in its memory. Some two-lane shortcuts were simply not acknowledged.
The Acura TL team partly made up for a lackluster elapsed time (ill-advised speed limit obedience) by tearing into the gravel lot in imitation of Colin McRae. The Acura team also gets the award for best quip, noting that following Darwin Road leads to Hell. classic automobiles Appro-priate, they thought, since, "If Darwin-ian evolutionary theory were applied to navigation systems, they would have ascended the evolutionary ladder only to the level of walking fish."
The Jaguar team revealed an inclination toward rules-bending, blowing past the TL team (which left earlier) at a speed that would make a Michigan State cop smile.
Top honors for navigational prowess on the first leg went to the Impala paper-map team, which arrived with enough spare time to have coffee and deface the rear end of the Chevy with a "Hell" souvenir license plate bracket. The map readers even beat the advance team and thus received demerits for both excessive speed and poor taste.
Since every team eventually arrived in Hell, we decided to continue. classic automobiles In addition to a sense of duty, the next destination provided extra incentive in the form of a big, steaming pile of Southeastern Michigan's best macaroni and cheese.
Leg 2: Devil's Den to Clarkston Union, Clarkston, Michigan.
This one-hour and 15-minute run to lunch came off so smoothly that we wondered if there was much point in continuing. Had our teams become so familiar with their systems that the whole exercise would be a long commute for no good reason? Not exactly.
In retrospect, we suspect that most teams completed this leg easily because each system had Clarkston in its memory banks. Several even listed the restaurant by name. This stroke of luck meant that the teams, given only the name and street address of the Clarkston Union, didn't even need to know which direction to head. classic automobiles
Finding such places is a true strength of navigation systems. If your destination is listed and you don't know where it is, and you know how to work the system controls, nav systems get you there. Usually. Only people who already know where they're going notice that the system didn't take the shortest route.
The TL team had what must be considered the most pressing difficulty of this leg. The Acura's system will gladly give you a list of local restaurants, show you every nearby public park and golf course on the rolling map, or direct you to gas stations by brand name. It will not, however, answer the co-driver's specific and desperate search for the nearest bathroom. The team may have made excellent time to the lunch stop rendezvous, but this leg also started breaking down critical lines of communication and common courtesy.