Save All The Way With EcoRoute

Its definitely not this way, either

"Brian, are you sure this is the way to Joe and Mary's?"

The Cost of Being Lost

All of us around the globe at one time or another felt that uneasy feeling of not knowing exactly where we are or how to get to where we need to be.  This uneasy feeling has a name, that is hard for many of us to vocalise.  It’s called lost, and in reality it can cost us more than just our pride.  There’s time, fuel, energy, stress, relationships and even the environment to consider too.  Just imagine if everyone drove exactly where they needed to be using an optimised route, without unplanned detours, how much fuel could we collectively save?  It’s an exciting thought.

Raving about Saving

These are just some of the reasons why we are thrilled to introduce our range of Garmin Nüvi Satellite Navigation systems, all equipped with ecoRoute, fuel saving software on board.  It’s not just fuel you could save using one of these, but all the things that seem to disappear when you’re lost; energy, calmness, relationships, the environment…

Around the office, we’ve come up with our top five ways you can save with our Garmin Nüvi Sat Nav range, we think you’ll agree it’s well worth a read.

1)    Save Opportunities

It’s true that sometimes being lost can create wonderfully positive opportunities – you could “accidentally” bump into your future soulmate when asking for directions, stumble across an incredible countryside view or even have the excuse for delving into the box of chocolates you’re intending to deliver…

The Garmin Nuvi 1210

The Garmin Nuvi 1210

However, it’s mostly true that when we’re in our car, we are intending to get to SOMEWHERE by a certain time.  Not knowing the way is usually an inconvenience.  Getting lost can mean we miss special events, eat cold dinners and often disappoint friends and family as well as ourselves.  Both the Garmin Nüvi 1210 and 1490T have pre-installed full UK maps, the 1490T has preloaded maps for Europe too, so it’ll always know where you are and how to get you to your destination.  Just think about all the events you could have arrived at on time; the weddings, the school plays, or all the meals you could have eaten hot?

2)    Save your Pennies

When driving from one place to the other, most of us choose the fastest route.  Sometimes, this means we have to drive more miles to get to our destination.  Being lost often means we drive more miles too.

More miles = more fuel = more pennies.

Driving this way can be expensive.  The Nüvi 1210 and 1490T can track your fuel usage and how many miles you’ve clocked from journey to journey.  It also has the ability to rate the efficiency of your driving, scoring you out of 100 on acceleration and overall efficiency.  Do you know how much being lost or speeding down a motorway an extra five miles has cost you over the years?  It’s probably more than you thought.  We’ve developed a tool to help you figure out for yourself – our Cost of Lost Calculator.

Simply enter in a value of how many miles a year you’ve unnecessarily driven, enter in the average Miles Per Gallon value for your car and the average price of fuel.  (E.g. If over the past year I’ve driven an extra 300 miles (that’s less than 1 mile a day) in a car running at 30 Miles Per Gallon, and fuel costs an average of £1.15 per litre, our Cost of Lost Calculator says that’s cost me just over £50!)

Think of all the unecessary extra miles you’ve driven this year.  It all adds up, doesn’t it?

Channel 5’s program, Fifth Gear put ecoRoute software to the test, driving one journey using the “ecoRoute” setting, then the optional “fastest route” setting for the same journey, comparing the cost of the two.  Choosing ecoRoute saved the driver almost £5.00 for a journey of 48 miles.  If this was a regular journey, made a couple of times a week, using ecoRoute could save you over £500 a year!

3)    Save your Sanity

The Garmin Nuvi 1490T

The Garmin Nuvi 1490T

For those of us who lack patience, not knowing our way can drive us round the bend.  With the pressure of driving unknown roads; housing estates or complicated junctions, we usually end at our destination stressed and nervous.  Garmin’s more upmarket Nüvi 1490T model comes with incredibly helpful Junction view, it’s Lane Assist feature clearly marking where  you need to be at large junctions.  Both models speak directions with road names to you, i.e. “Turn into Dell Road”, helping you keep your eyes on the road.  You can even download alternative voices if you like, if you’re in need of a voice with a soothing tone.

4)    Save your Relationships

Sound familiar? “It’s your fault YOU took the wrong turn”   “I think you’ll find it’s your fault – YOU’ve got the map…”  Yes?  Complicated journeys in a car with someone else, either as the driver or passenger inevitably puts pressure on our relationships.  I’m sure we’ve all exchanged similar words in this situation.  Even without exchanging words, we still contemplate how to lay the blame stick in the hands of the other, don’t we?  Complicated journeys when you’re on your own can add strains on relationships too.  What if you’re driving alone, on your way to see a friend and you’re late – what will they think of you?  They could be sad or lonely, worried or upset, what if you don’t have time or don’t know if you can stop to make that phonecall?  The Garmin Nüvi has inbuilt Bluetooth Wireless Technology, enabling you to make phonecalls without fuss, handsfree.  Now, that’s a nice feature.

5)    Save the Environment

Following the thread of a previous point; more miles = more fuel = more pennies, let’s not forget that:

More fuel = more emissions = greater cost to the environment.

For those of us who are seeking to minimise our carbon footprint wherever possible, surely reducing how far we drive has one of the biggest impacts?  With pre-installed eco-friendly ecoRoute technology, the Garmin Nüvi 1210 and 1490T have settings to find you the most eco-friendly route based on information on road speed data and vehicle acceleration.  EcoRoute will guide you to your destination, finding a route that uses the least fuel, helping you to cut emissions and encourage you to drive efficiently.  In many ways, it’s the driving world’s Energy Monitor, the handy tool to transform your energy usage in home living.  Perhaps we could liken the Nüvi 1210 to the Owl CM119 or the Efergy Elite Wireless Energy Monitor, and the impressive Nüvi 1490T to the Wattson Energy Meter.  EcoRoute could transform the way you drive and transform your impact on the environment.

Brian, are you sure this is the way to John and Marys?

"It's definitely not this way either..."

Images thanks to Juanedc via Flickr.

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1 Response

  1. Viv Prior says:

    Nice blog, its good to see the Sat Nav industry has caught on to the fact they have a valuable part to play in helping to reduce emissions and help us save money!
    Geeky I know, but its worth remembering if you have a sat nav installed in your car already then the sucky mark left on your windscreen when you’ve hidden it in the glove box can act like a big “steal me” sign.
    E-Cloth do a car kit with a cloth thats pretty good to just leave in the car that will wipe it off. http://www.ethicalsuperstore.com/products/e-cloth/car-cleaning-e-cloth-pack/
    That is unless you want to help thieves reduce their emissions while driving too!

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