Garmin Provides Mopar, Jeep Wrangler with GPS

Garmin International Inc. has announced that Mopar will begin offering the Trail Guide -- a versatile, new Garmin-built GPS navigation system designed for the Jeep Wrangler. The device was unveiled at Camp Jeep, an international gathering of Jeep enthusiasts held in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.

"The Trail Guide is the ideal navigation device for Wrangler owners," said Gary Kelley, Garmin's director of marketing. "Whether traveling the highways, negotiating the byways, or hiking on foot, the Trail Guide is every bit as versatile as the Wrangler itself."

The Trail Guide is mounted atop the Wrangler's dashboard in a sleek custom cradle that provides power and audible voice prompts through dedicated speakers that are easy to hear even while traveling with the top down. For on-foot adventures, the user simply snaps the unit out of the cradle for handheld GPS navigation.

Loaded with detailed, street-level maps of the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, the Trail Guide contains nearly six million points of interest -- including gas stations, lodging, restaurants, attractions, and Jeep dealers and service facilities. The Trail Guide boasts other premium automotive navigation capabilities -- like a high-resolution color TFT display, automatic route calculation, turn-by-turn voice-prompted directions, and automatic route recalculation -- at a price that is significantly less than most built-in navigation systems.

Jeep owners can take the Trail Guide with them when hiking, biking, camping, or fishing. The unit is completely waterproof and has an internal lithium-ion battery providing up to 20 hours of use outside the cradle. The unique antenna folds flush with the unit when not in use for added portability. The unit also accepts Garmin's MapSource U.S. Topo data for off-road adventures.

Jeep dealers can install the Trail Guide in any 1997 to 2006 model year Wrangler or Unlimited model. The Trail Guide is expected to be available in September 2005.