Nextar I4-BC GPS (with backup camera)
Hey Rob,
With Christmas coming on and all, I'm getting ready to climb on Santa's knee and ask for a GPS. The hard sell is under my roof, and I need some advice to convince her that this is a good thing. She tells me that she has read that they are only good for taxis and emergency crews.
Now, I'm in sales and I think a GPS would be a great addition to my mobile office. Many times I don't visit the same customer, although my territory isn't that big, so other than the obvious, can you think of any other advantages to installing a GPS in my car?
Here's hoping you can be Santa's helper.
Ken
Well Ken, I have good news for you and anyone else concerned with saving money after dropping a few hundred bucks on a GPS. I just pulled some info off a news wire service, released through General Motors, that I think you can use to your advantage.
NAVTEQ, a tier 1 provider of digital map, traffic and location data for many of the top GPS hardware producers, has just completed a study that relates trip and destination knowledge to fuel savings.
To some of you, this might not be news but let's do a little math. According to the NAVTEQ research study, drivers using a GPS instead of reaching for a road map can save as much as 12 per cent in fuel savings per year.
So let's make some assumptions; using $1.10 for a litre of gasoline, a typical travel distance for a year being 20,000 clicks annually and using the 12 per cent savings from the NAVTEQ survey, you would realize a $396.00 savings in fuel costs. Not only does this pay for the GPS in one year, for every year after this, you are pocketing almost $400.
It's important to remember that the 12-per-cent savings is an average. Ken, someone in your position (being in sales) you will probably see more of a savings. Not knowing the amount you drive and refer to maps, I would guess you would see an additional 10 per cent savings over the calculations above.
In addition, the survey found that there was less drivers' stress, so there was an additional benefit to the GPS installation.
So Ken, my sense is that it makes sense for you to drop hints that you need this navigation tool and that you're going to be a much happier person as a result.
Merry Christmas!