Where Do You Put Your GPS?

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If you’re a regular reader here, you know that I gave dh a Garmin Nuvi GPS navigator for Christmas.  To be honest, we really haven’t used it that much because really, we mostly know our way around our hometown of about 14 years.  What made me think of this in the big scope of things was an episode of Pitchmen (http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/pitchmen/pitchmen.html) on the Discovery Channel.  Anthony Sullivan was trying to sell a man’s GPS holder that sat in a vehicle’s cupholder.  More on that later.

In using our GPS unit, we did need to figure out where to hang the thing.  Dh prefers to have it squarely in the middle of the windshield, under the rear view mirror.  I tried it there a few times, but it hit me with such a big blind spot that it made me uneasy.  My A pillars (those slanted sidebars that hold the windshield) are so big in the first place because of the airbags in them that vehicles are often lost in them for seconds at a time, that I didn’t want yet another blind spot.  One day I had a fleeting crafty feeling and needed some craft items and was driving to *that* store when I pulled up next to a police car in the turn lane.  He had his GPS unit on the other side of his steering wheel, mounted to his windshield next to his A pillar.  Eureka!  Sure, the wires drape across the steering wheel column if you have it plugged into your power outlet, but you won’t even notice it-promise!  I love having it down low next to my A pillar; I can still easily glance at it if I need to and it doesn’t compromise my view out the windshield.  After a lot of discussion, dh finally did give in and move the GPS unit lower on the windshield, though it’s still in the center (I just can’t imagine that it doesn’t block his view if he keeps it in the middle where he wants it to be).  Where do you like to keep yours when you use it?

 

 

 

 

Back to the GPS holder that fits into the vehicle cupholder.  You know, sometimes I watch the commercials on tv and think, “Wow, that’s a great idea!”  Yep, I bought a package of Shamwows after my Monterey cover took 4 days to dry (well, that and I have a dog who still uses my carpet as her personal toilet), the Mighty Putty did fix our grill handle (though any old putty could have done that as well), and yes, who doesn’t have a few Space Bags sitting in their closet?  But this GPS holder thing just doesn’t strike me as a winner from a safety perspective.  It’s essentially a large cup with notches that will hold a GPS unit.  If your cupholder is in a center console, like mine is, you’d have to take your eyes completely off the road and look down at the center console to see the GPS.  Not safe!  How many seconds would you be distracted by that?  I wish the inventor all the luck in the world, but not with this particular product.  If you get a chance to see The Pitchmen, you should try it out once.  Maybe twice.  Billy Mays is more palatable when he’s not shouting at you 😉 .

7 Comments

  1. Kazo Zako January 5, 2014
  2. Matt March 10, 2010
  3. mommy2aftan June 11, 2009
  4. Martha June 11, 2009
  5. Danielle June 10, 2009
  6. vonfirmath June 10, 2009
  7. Jenny June 10, 2009