Notice that it was just a quick comment, without any information like HOW, WHERE or HOW MUCH? The bulk of the response is on the DMV stickers.
What kind of an authority is this Mercury News staff writer? He provided no evidence of any kind. The general consensus on PC is that retrofitting the Prius with factory navigation is virtually impossible and prohibitively expensive. Vince
I actually just bought an 07 touring model without the gps package, love it but regretted not buying the gps option. Called my dealer and they said they cannot add it after market, sounds like the only way to go now is portable or use the hack thats floating around here to somehow use a portable that displays in the in dash display minus some of the features.
Perhaps the writer didn't really mean, "The Prius can be retrofitted for GPS, which is usually cheaper than buying one with it installed." Perhaps they meant, "You can get a third-party GPS for the Prius (either portable or built-in), which is usually cheaper than buying one with it installed."
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(aaf709 @ Oct 21 2006, 01:42 PM) [snapback]336126[/snapback]</div> Absolutely. Notice that the word "factory" or "oem" is NOT present in the writer's reply. It would have been clearer if the adjective "third party" or "after market" had been used. I would suggest Prianista drop the writer a quick email if they really believe the writer meant "factory". - Tom
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(aaf709 @ Oct 21 2006, 10:42 AM) [snapback]336126[/snapback]</div> The word "retrofitted" pretty well only means one thing: Fitted with factory parts after the fact. It's possible that he may have meant "3rd party" but then that's what he should have said. I'm sure the person who wrote that letter is going to be mighty disappointed to find out that the car cannot be retrofitted after all. Vince
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(VinceDee @ Oct 21 2006, 06:36 PM) [snapback]336250[/snapback]</div> Yeah, just try taking that arrticle to a dealer to "prove" it can be done.
According to C. Rickey Hirose of the S.F. Toyota Dealership, he's offering the service. Check it out here http://www.priusonline.com/viewtopic.php?t...c&start=210 He just posted that about an hour and a half ago!
if you're talking about this: Well, first off the english is horrible, making things rather difficult to understand. What i think he's saying is that he can add a reverse camera and bluetooth capability to the car, not the nav.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Oct 24 2006, 08:21 AM) [snapback]337264[/snapback]</div> I ordered a 2007 Touring w/all options except leather, and mine came in without a backup camera or navigation or an MP3 outlet. I cannot wait for the loaded model as I have a lease car that needs to be turned in before the end of the month. I did find a loaded Touring model in Utah on EBay, however even with splitting the shipping costs with the dealer, I will be saving about $3K by having it done on the outside. I am having a BlackBird Alpine Nav. System installed in the trunk with a 6 1/2" screen installed below the radio control area. This can be uninstalled and moved to another car in the future. The Blackbird in the trunk can be taken out easily and put in a cradle of my other car when needed. As for the backup camera, the unit is built into the license plate holder, and you can view it through the 6 1/2" Nav. screen. I do not have the brochure for this and do not know who makes it at this moment. I'm picking up the car in two days from the installer. The dealer is installing the MPS jack at their cost. The only other issue I have is the quality of the stereo system. I am going to have the same installer install an additional speaker in the rear center for a cost of about $200.00. I know I will get less money for the car than an actual package #5 when I go to sell it in a few years, however the lower overall cost to me should outweigh the decreased selling price of the car. Has anyone else attempted this retrofit? http://www.blackbirdnav.com/
