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Blaupunkt Car Navigation System Keeps You From Getting Lost        

29 December 1999

Blaupunkt Car Navigation System Keeps You From Getting Lost         
    BROADVIEW, Ill., Dec. 28 -- If you think a car navigation
system isn't for you, think again.  Car navigation is for anyone who has ever
gotten totally lost in a car -- which is probably just about everyone who has
ever had a driver's license.  A car navigation system can keep you from being
late for a business meeting, job interview, or your cousin's barbecue.  It can
also help you find the nearest motel when a blizzard is bearing down on your
route, or a gas station when your gauge is on empty.

    Photo:  (http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991228/NYTU057-a
             http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991228/NYTU057-b )

    Upgrading your car with a navigation system has never been easier.  Just
replace your existing car stereo with Blaupunkt's new TravelPilot(TM) RNS 149
car stereo CD receiver.  First, you will enjoy greatly improved radio
reception with Blaupunkt's award winning DigiCeiver(R) true-digital FM/AM
tuner and outstanding sound from the built-in CD player. Second, you will have
the best navigation system on the market today ... the same TravelPilot
technology and digital mapping used on top-of-the-line models from Mercedes
and Audi.
    To best appreciate what a TravelPilot car navigation system can do,
imagine the ideal human car navigator.  Here is a person who always knows
where the car is and how to use a map to get to any destination in the USA.
Along the way, the navigator gives the driver precise turn-by-turn
instructions, with adequate warning before each turn.  When traffic or
construction blocks the route, the navigator instantly checks the map and
suggests an alternate route.  When the driver is hungry or the car needs gas,
the navigator checks his travel guide and routes the driver to the nearest
restaurant or gas station.  What's more, the ideal human navigator would never
be indecisive, anxious, bored, or critical.
    This description exactly describes how the Blaupunkt RNS 149 TravelPilot
navigation and route guidance system can keep you from ever being lost again.
This remarkable device has an enhanced satellite navigation system that always
knows exactly where you are.  Tell it where you want to go, and it will tell
you how to get there. Along the way, the RNS 149 TravelPilot provides spoken
turn-by-turn directions supplemented by arrows and distance readouts on the
radio display.

    Points of Interest
    This system can guide the driver to any town center, street address or
intersection in the continental United States. The CD-ROM geographic data base
includes all public roads and a list of specific points of interest, such as
hospitals, police stations, airports, hotels, gas stations, restaurants,
parks, historic sites, museums, etc. Just select the desired location and
start driving.
    Compared to many competitive navigation systems, TravelPilot's more
accurate positioning capabilities allow for quicker route calculation and
rerouting around traffic and road closures.  Like these other systems,
TravelPilot uses GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite navigation.
However, since GPS errors can be as great as 100 yards, GPS-only systems can
be confused by closely-spaced turns.  TravelPilot enhances the accuracy of GPS
by using an electronic gyroscope and the vehicle's speed sensor to precisely
track the direction and distance the vehicle has traveled. These data are
analyzed by a sophisticated map matching program to find the car's exact
location on a virtual digital map. As a result, the Blaupunkt RNS 149 usually
knows its location to within one car length.

    Well-Mannered Technology
    Thanks to this high level of accuracy, the TravelPilot instantly knows
when the driver has diverted from the suggested route.  When construction or
traffic blocks the preferred route, the RNS 149 quickly calculates a new route
without the driver needing to pull over and wait for the processor to catch
up.  While some systems are slow to recalculate and even seem to scold the
driver for going off route, TravelPilot assumes the driver had a good reason
for the diversion; it quickly plots a new route and delivers new directions.
    Some day in the next 10 to 20 years there will hopefully be a nationwide
system for real-time electronic data reports of traffic, emergency road
repairs, accidents, or temporary turn restrictions.  Such systems are now
being introduced in Europe, and Blaupunkt TravelPilot systems used there can
exploit these technologies.  Until such systems are put into wide use in the
US, car navigation systems will need to be flexible and to quickly provide
drivers with route alternatives ... the way Blaupunkt TravelPilot does today.
    The Blaupunkt RNS 149 TravelPilot CD Receiver is now available at select
Blaupunkt dealers nationwide. The manufacturer's suggested retail prices is:
$1,799.95.

    Blaupunkt, the mobile electronics division of The Robert Bosch
Corporation, designs and manufactures high quality and high performance
products for sale worldwide.  For Blaupunkt dealer locations and product
information, call
1-800-950-BLAU (2528) or visit the company's web site at
http://www.blaupunkt.com.