Olathe, Kan. – Navigation
supplier Garmin will expand its OEM relationship with Suzuki’s U.S. subsidiary
by offering a detachable portable navigation device (PND) for the 2012 Vitara
SUV as standard equipment.
Garmin will continue to offer a
detachable PND as standard equipment for the Suzuki SX4 SUV, which first
offered a detachable Garmin PND in 2009. When mounted on top of the vehicle’s
dash, the Garmin PNDs connect directly to vehicle power and to the car’s
factory audio system.
Suzuki dealers can also order the
PNDs and install them as an option on earlier Vitaras and SX4 vehicles.
Garmin has also offered detachable
PNDs for BMW and Volvo vehicles as standard equipment and as dealer-installed
options.
In the Suzuki vehicles, the PNDs
offer Garmin’s cellular-connected NuLink! services, which became available on the
Suzuki SX4 in 2010. The service provides Google Local Search, weather, fuel
prices, movie listings, flight status, local events, white-page telephone
listings and live minute traffic alerts.
The Suzuki models also offer many
of the features available in Garmin’s aftermarket PNDs, including voice
commands, hands-free Bluetooth, lane assist to guide a driver to the correct
lane when turning off a highway, junction view to display realistic road signs
at junctions along a route, TrafficTrends to recommend routes based on
historical traffic data, and PhotoLive Camera to view live photographic images
of the road ahead.
