Car Talk

December 1990

Dear Tom and Ray:
Why aren't compasses provided in cars by the manufacturers? In their quest for high-tech instruments, idiot lights, bells, buzzers, digital readouts, etc., why can't they furnish a simple, useful device like a good quality compass? The compasses you can buy at auto/discount stores are cheap, hard to mount, short-lived, and ugly.
Larry

Beat up old car

TOM: Well, Larry, you'll be glad to know that Chrysler is setting new directions (ha-ha) in compass technology these days. Having been out-done by General Motors in cup-holder technology, Chrysler is now blazing the trail in automotive navigation. You'll find a built-in, electronic compass above the rear-view mirror in a number of new Chrysler models.

RAY: And we agree that there are times when it would be great to have a compass in the car. I've been in unfamiliar territory, and driven 20 miles in the wrong direction before realizing it. If I had a compass in the car, I probably would have figured it out after only five or ten miles.

TOM: I often find myself driving in the wrong direction, too, but it usually happens to me on the way to work.

RAY: Anyway, Larry, next time you're ready for a new car, take a look at a nice Chrysler New Yorker. See if they're still selling the Christopher Columbus Edition. That's the one with the compass AND the navigational sextant.

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