Avis Experiments With Portable In-Car Navigation Tool
<B>Avis Experiments With Portable In-Car Navigation Tool</B>
By Lynn Woods
After several aborted experiments with in-car navigation systems in its rental car fleet in the 1990s, Avis Rent A Car once again is testing a global positioning satellite device. This time, the twist is that the product is portable--as opposed to the previous systems tested by Avis and the product used by arch rival Hertz, NeverLost, which is preinstalled in the car.
Called PowerNAV, Avis' device is available for an extra daily charge of $6.95 at the international airports in Los Angeles, New York JFK, Palm Beach, San Francisco and San Jose. Avis has formed a strategic partnership with Alpine, the supplier of the satellite navigation system, and is using 250 devices in the test.
The product is designed to be quickly and easily installed in the car by the renter. Customers mount the PowerNAV monitor with its digital map display on the dashboard by securing a small clip to one of the air vents.
"We wanted to make it similar to renting a portable phone," said Ronald Masini, Avis vice president of research and product development. Renters sign a separate contract for PowerNAV and have the option of purchasing a $2.95-per-day insurance waiver for the device, which retails for more than $2,500.
The technology and user interface of PowerNAV almost is interchangeable with other in-car navigation systems, including Hertz's: Drivers enter their destination and then automatically are guided turn by turn both by voice directions and a map and text instructions displayed on the LCD video screen. The map database includes the entire contiguous United States, which means drivers don't have to reprogram the device when crossing into another region. Using the small keyboard, renters also can search and locate points of interest, including ATMs, office parks, post offices and restaurants.
Avis plans to test PowerNAV for four to five months before deciding whether to permanently roll out the device. But this latest pilot seems to be an acknowledgement from the car rental firm that the market for in-car navigation systems, while not huge, is definitely growing.
"It's an emerging technology. The voice of the customer says we might want to take a look at having a solution," said Masini, noting that the nation's "7 million technocrats" are as much in Avis' database as in Hertz's.
So far, Hertz has been the only major car rental company to offer an in-car navigation system on a broad scale. Last year, it completed the upgrading and expanded rollout of NeverLost, which is now in approximately 50,000 vehicles.
Avis is taking a slightly different tactic in choosing the portable device, which can be used in a variety of vehicles. "Our strategy is to be flexible," said Masini.