| Tokyo Japan's Yuri Kageyama writing for the AP | | | | an area of a strong earthquake. It is handy in a |
| reported that Honda's car navigation system already | | | | quake-prone nation like Japan. Icons of exclamation |
| takes the fastest route to a destination through | | | | marks pop up on the monitor if heavy rain is forecast |
| avoiding traffic jams. Now, drivers will get information | | | | on a planned route. |
| with regard earthquakes and warnings of heavy | | | | Japan's No. 2 auto manufacturer and Honda Civic |
| rainfall ahead on roads. | | | | parts maker also upgraded its map system so that |
| Shown to reporters in Wednesday, Honda Motor Co.'s | | | | updates take just a few minutes to be downloaded. |
| service will be offered beginning with the redesigned | | | | Disks with map data had to be changed up to now. |
| Fit subcompact which is set to go on sale in Japan | | | | Based in Tokyo, Honda said that it found a way to |
| later this year. Executive Manabu Nishimae said that | | | | compress data so that portions of a map, such as |
| there are no plans so far to offer it overseas. He told | | | | new roads, get relayed piecemeal. Furthermore, it said |
| the reporters that their company believes that | | | | that driving time is cut on the average by 20 percent. |
| information services are an essential part of a quality | | | | All the major automakers in the world offer car |
| of a car. | | | | navigation services that include some that give guides |
| Drivers pay mobile phone bills for relaying data, though | | | | to nearby restaurants. Not only that, some |
| the service is for free. For frequent users, data | | | | automatically calls ambulances in cases of accidents |
| transmission cards for a set monthly fee of about $8 | | | | and connect to human operators. |
| are available. Over 530,000 drivers use the current | | | | One of the featured capabilities of Honda's system is |
| navigation service in Japan, and that figure is nearly 40 | | | | that it collects information from individual Honda cars |
| percent of Honda owners. | | | | on the road. In the new earthquake notification service, |
| E-mail warnings with the latest upgrade will be sent to | | | | for example, the system will be able to show which |
| a pre-assigned address when car with the system is in | | | | roads have been shut down. |