Getting a new Mercedes soon?  Lucky you.  The cars are known for their high level of technology now, and they’re about to get even more.  

The company has hooked up with Yahoo! and Google to interface those services’ mapping systems with the cars’ onboard navigation systems.  When you visit the Google or Yahoo! mapping sites, you’ll see a new “Send To Car” icon, which will let you send maps from a PC or a web-enabled cellphone to the car computer, with customized directions, addresses and points of interest.  Get in the car, push the “I” button, and the car downloads the information to the computer for use now or later.  As well, other people can send directions to the car while you’re driving it.  

The system, called Search And Send, will be included in the current Mercedes equivalent of OnStar.  It’s available on the S-Class sedan and CL-Class coupe as of yesterday, and will be available in the entire 2008 C-Class lineup.  

Read more about it, and see it in action, here.

Driver watching GPS, not the road, crashes downtown

Times Colonist
Published: Monday, August 20, 2007

A car full of tourists from the U.S. caused an accident yesterday evening because the driver was looking for their hotel using a GPS.

The rental vehicle was headed south on Blanshard Street when it entered the intersection and smashed into a car headed east on Fort Street, said acting Sgt. Jamie Mcrae, of the Victoria Police Department.

The four tourists were treated for minor injuries at the scene. The driver of the other vehicle was taken to hospital for injuries that required medical attention but were not major.

A pedestrian crosswalk sign was knocked over and live wires were exposed. The intersection was closed for an hour and a half so city workers could fix the pole. Both vehicles were damaged beyond repair.


© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007