Pairing a Navigation System

I sure love my Garmin 1450 LMT. Got it at my local Target store half off for $130.00 with lifetime maps and traffic. To date, five free map updates and has a 5" screen, very bright, no problems even with a setting sun at the rear reading it. Also shows actual photos of complicated interstate interchanges, so you know in advance exactly where you have to turn off and which lane you should be in. Does have a voice with street names, but turn that off, just a quick glance tells me where I want to be.

They do have more expensive models like the 3790LMT with bluetooth and voice recognition, but the Cruze radio has that for hands off calling. Two of those would be confusing and I key in my address before leaving so don't need to talk to it. Also have a seven inch screen, won't fit the way I have it mounted and with my thumb on the dash, manage to hit the right spot on the screen with my finger when driving. Can also take it into the woods or use it on my boat. But hitting my the dock location, leads me right back to it. Use it in my Supra, boat, and motorhome, purchased an extra mount and power cord from ebay at rock bottom prices. See they also have a bike mount, but don't go that far.

See the 2013 dropped the price of in-radio GPS down to $795.00, was $2,000 in 2011, then only a thousand in 2012, but map updates are still 180 bucks. And only good in the Cruze. I like getting my money's worth, Garmin is the best. Also do a **** of a job for aircraft.
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Got a piece of 20 mil brass plate from TrueValue, removed that worthless suction cup from the bottom of the base, drew an outline of it of the base, a circle with a tab on the rear of it. Drill a hole in the center of that brass plate, countersunk it with a center punch and used a flat head screw to secure it.

That left dash panel pops off, bend the tab around it, and used a piece of double sided tape for extra security. All that can be removed without leaving holes in the dash, a sturdy mount.

Removed the guts from the cigar lighter plug, namely a 12 to 5V down converter, shortened the USB cable and soldered it right back to where I removed it from. That's off the cheap ebay cable, original is still intact in case of a warranty return. Other end of the PCB had a black and red wire, red is 12V, got that off a tap from the fuse box using the OnStar fuse on the right hand side, put on an eyelet and found a ground screw. Also attached a white wire for the FM antenna, just let it hang, it works. Did wrap the electronics in foam so it wouldn't rattle.

My Chevy dealer said it was really a neat installation. Just replied, if you sold me a GPS for even 200 bucks with free map and traffic upgrades, would have purchased it from you, to save me the trouble.

Cruze radio does pair with my smart phone, that has a bunch of other stuff on it, including navigation, but only works for making and receiving calls. For making calls, just find it easier to do that directly from my cell phone, that lady locked up in that box drives me crazy. But great for receiving calls.

If my wife or daughter is in the car, they turn their smart phone's bluetooth off, for my wife, no need for me and anyone in the car to listen to their conversations, and of course, daughter, over 21 wants her privacy.

Can play MP3's from my phone to the radio, but have to plug in a USB cord, easier just to by a USB flashdrive for that. Higher end Garmin's offer the same thing the Cruze radio already has for making and receiving calls. That also have a bluetooth adapter for the diagnostic plug to read codes and such, but have no idea if they work with the generation 3 the Cruze uses. Not cheap at a hundred bucks.

Did buy an Elm 327 that pairs with my smart phone with Torque Pro, does work with OBD II on an older car, pairs on the Cruze, but can't get anything from the Cruze. It's a lot like buying the latest OS from Microsoft, you know you are in for three years of problems with this new stuff. Really no improvements, just different, but they also manage to obsolete what you have that finally works. Get a Torque upgrade every once in awhile, try it again, still doesn't work.

My 1450 Garmin does take a micro SD, slapped in a 8 GB stick in it thinking it would expand the memory from 2 to 10 Gbytes so I could load all of North America. But still can only load the lower 48 states. What that memory does is let you view photos on the Garmin, like I want to view old photos when driving.

To me, a lot of these features are either redundant or worthless. Do wish the Garmin or others had a replaceable battery. I did have to return the first Garmin I purchased, the battery was bad, but worked fine with DC power, another reason why I like to buy this stuff locally. And feel adding memory should let you add more maps, not photos.

Can also pair my smart phone with my computer, but can't do a darn thing with it. Have to plug in the USB cord to do that, but I can brag that I have bluetooth. USB port on the Cruze is worthless for charing a phone, also found that out, couldn't they spare an extra 150 milliamps? Guess not, so have to carry an extra DC power cord for that.