Roadmax Bows PNDs, Parking-Assist Device

By Amy Gilroy -- TWICE, 9/5/2008 1:48:00 PM

Santa Clarita, Calif. — Roadmax is shipping two new personal navigation devices (PNDs) and is planning a third model with a backup camera.

In addition, the company, led by Phil Maeda, formerly at Eclipse, is selling a backup sensor kit designed to interface with rear-vision cameras to create a parking-assist system.

The new stand-alone PNDs include a Vmax 383, 3.5-inch basic model with maps of the full United States preloaded on an SD card at a suggested retail of $189. The step-up 4.3-inch model, Vmax 483, adds text-to-speech street-name guidance at $229. A third model is expected to ship later that offers a backup camera to display objects hidden behind the car on the PND screen. No price for this model, Vmax482, has been set.

Roadmax’s parking system includes four sensors and a black box at $120. The N4 package began shipping in July. It combines with a PND or monitor and with a rear-vision camera. It then displays an onscreen readout of the distance to nearest object (or parked car), in addition to a visual image of the object, to assist in parking.