[midcow3]

You can setup you NAV system

I have navigation on my CT200h, but I'm not impressed with it at all... Too many electronic "bongs" at intersections and too many directions given out... even through the turn by turn directions are given by a very plesant female voice. I have navigation in my Acura TL and it's far better -- easier to use (less steps to enter), less talking and you can enter and change destinations while driving -- all while using minimal voice commands. Except for the digital/visual rush and toy factor, I don't think I'd spend the money for navigation in a Lexus again.

Don,

You can customize a lot of the navigation settings:

page 304

selecton sounds on/off
pointer sounds on/off
error sounds on/off


page 314
Traffic Voice Guidance on/off
Severe Weather warning on/off

page 316
guidance with street name on/off



And yes, you are correct you can not enter/change destinations when you are going more than about 5 mph.

====

If you use eDestinations and ENFORM you can type all addresses on your PC and download over the Internet to you Nav system under POI.

Also the Lexus Nav adds bluetooth for your phone and other bluetooth devices.

 

[midcow3]

Actual Navigation is only a small part. ...

if you are going to get a deal on it, might as well. however, to answer your original question, i don't have it and don't need/miss it. my $90 Garmin works just as well.

Actually, the navigation is only a small part of the Lexus navigation system. It integrates very well with AM,FM,CD,AUX The integrated screens are much easier to select. I also like the fuel screens and the ability to show audio and HVAC on the screen.

With ENFORM and eDestination you can build address folders on your PC and download to the Lexus navigation. It also adds voice commands and bluetooth for you phone and other bluetooth devices. The audio is automatically controlled between Nav and the other audio sources. I am just not sure your $90 Garmin can handle all of the above . I like Garmin , I have a Garmin Colorado 400t which I use when hiking .

 

[midcow3]

Another point about Navigation is that one has to buy Premium first. That adds $1780.. Plus I believe at least where I live one needs to get the Premium sound system with the Nav at $3545 together. So we are at $5325 + Tax = ~$5700. Money can double every 8 years if invested well. If a CT buyer was age 25 and didn't spend that $5700, but invested it instead, at age 65 they could have an $182,400 extra for retirement. This shows the power of compounding.

Ok.. so this number is dramatic... maybe your investments wouldn't do so well as I'm assuming. Mainly I'm making a point, especially for younger people... Spend your money wisely, save as much as you can, forgo a few luxuries that you can't really afford when young...

In this case, buying a smart phone with FREE voice turn by turn Navigation MIGHT be wiser choice for the younger tech savvy person who should be saving for retirement. Older people with plenty of cash can afford these integrated luxuries...

Let me know where I can get an annual return of 9% per annum and I'm in.
You could also buy a Focus and save even more, after all who really needs a Lexus. Then again maybe I am already retired and saved up and invested well and wanted a Lexus with navigation then I can use a regular phone you can actually make audible calls on!

 

[midcow3]

the art of simple phone conversation

Use a landline. LOL.

Or even better. A rotary landline. LOL.

I think I've read about them before. Or saw one in a museum once.

I know you were just trying to be sarcastic to me Matt, but a large majority of touch smart phones and blackberrys have very poor microphone pick-up and speaker clarity. It is very easy to overdrive the volume and clip the conversation. in otherwords they are so smart, so advanced and have so many non-phone conversation features, that they cannot handle a simple phone call.

I would have sent you the answer on a paper tape, and dialed-up your 300 baud acoustic coupler, but your terminal probably not longer has a paper tape reader or an acoustic coupler

 

[midcow3]

MCD stock

...
If I had to pick one place to try and get 9% right now it would be MCD stock. 19% annual return for the past 10 years (not including it's dividend which is at 3% now) when the market as a whole didn't do much. Of course the past is NO indicator of the future..

I think you need to recalculate MCD ( McDonald's) has not had nearly that much gain over 10 years (see below).
In ten (10) years the stock went from $30 per share to $85 per share. That is an annualized gain of 11% Not bad if you bought 10 years ago. However, this is not 19% and right now with the whole market being bearish, it is flat to down.
And you are absolutely right that the past is not an indicator of the future, which I am reminded every time I hear the 1999 $300 per ounce gold hawker commercial " do you still think kit is too high?"
However, if you have "free" funds that you can afford to potentially lose, and have the gumption, now with NASDAQ below 11,000 now is the time to buy back in especially if the market turns bullish and actually goes above 14,000 by year end as they are predicting. <This is my opinion and should not be considered advice on the stock market>

 

[midcow3]

How to calculate annualized gain

Ok mister MidCow.. I've had wine... so.. I'm not sure about my math.. but... 30 to 60 is 100%.. 30 to 85 is about 190% divided by 10 years... is 19%... plus all the dividends one has been getting over that 10 years... way more than 19%... It's right there on the chart.. How are you calculating this?

I might add.. the market was down 1.6% today.. MCD was up 1.9% today. That means MCD was up 3.5% relative to the market today...

Actually, that is not how you calculate annualized gain . After the first year's gain that amount is the basis for the second year's gain and so on. It is better to use a calculator on the actual increase. Here is an online one:

Present Value Calculator

There are many other calculators.

But here is a simple example using your 10 years, 10% annual rate increase, and beginning value of $1,000

The gain is 10% per annum, NOT ($2,593.74-$1000)/10 = 15.93%
And yes, if you bought at the right time McDonald's would have been a good investment. It depends on you risk aversion and how well you think history will repeat. It is pretty iffy to invest a large amount in a stock that is inverse to the market indices. The fact that MCD was up 1.9% when the market was down 1.6% is not necessarily good.

 

[midcow3]

Kalo925,
At least you had the excuse of having some wine. And whoosh it went over the heads of Jedi 767, G550guy, and Max12. LOL


Back to navigation or no-navigation. For $2,000 off a person should absolutely buy. But as Kalo925 pointed out the cost between a non-premium CT and a CT with Navigation is more than the cost of the navigation, first there is the premium upgrade=$1,680, then there is the premium audio upgrade=$1,125, then finally the navigation package =$2,445 for a total difference of $5,250. And Kalo925's point it might be better to invest that amount, especially if the person were young and/or were stretching to buy a CT. However, if this is the direction you intend to go, get a QUALIFIED financial advisor.

However, as has been pointed out, the navigation package offers a lot more than navigation which is why some people are will to pay the premium even though they could much more cheaply get just navigation functions with a stand-alone Garmin or through their iphone.

The navigation package was worth it too me, some people may have different opinions. However to state that a thread has taken a “turn for the worse”, just because you don't understand what is being said is pretty immature an narrow-minded. If you were more open, you might actually learn some new information

Cheers,
MidCow3

 

[midcow3]

Congrats!

Bought the base model and don't miss any of the options
It's a fourth car used strictly for commuting
But I was pretty delighted to get it out the door for less then $30K
So far a pleasant surprise

Pretty darn nice "commuting" car .... even the base is LOADED

 

[midcow3]

Does anyone know how or if there is a way to override the navigational system so you can put in a destination while moving? I don't want to use the e-destination trial feature from Lexus. I get scared when someone I don't know talks to me in the car and knows all about my position and the model and color of my car. Yikes! I feel so exposed and that Big Brother is watching me and my every move.

The eDestination works great; It is under POI and I hope it doesn't go away if a person no longer has Enform. If you are using the Internet at all, such as CT200h forums, I wouldn't worry about "big brother" when you download your destinations to your vehicle's nav system. However, apropos, in Houston their TransStar system has receivers to pick up bluetooth information to determine traffic speeds; currently it is all random, but it does pick up the MAC address, which if the wanted too, could be traced to the vehicle registered owner.

As far as entering when you are moving; I too would really like to have that feature. I know you can still enter when you are moving very slowly; I was in stop-n-go around a wreck and was going probably less than 5 mph and the destination was not grayed out. There should be a hack to fix this; someone will find it .