PARK RIDGE, N.J. -- Car rental customers have a new toy to play
with. Hertz's new NeverLost system, which rolled out this fall,
uses Global Positioning System technology to guide customers from
pick-up to return and just about everything in between.
The NeverLost, developed by Magellan Driver Information Systems,
a Michigan company, is actually a new, next-generation version of
an older product.
The previous incarnation, introduced in 1995, was hard-wired
into vehicles; NeverLost, not much larger than a Palm Pilot hand
organizer, is portable and can be detached and installed in a
matter of minutes. The portability enables Hertz to cover more of
its fleet, and the company will use the units in midsize vehicles
and above.
Hertz's plan is to have 50,000 of the NeverLost units in its
North American fleet by the end of the year. By mid-2000, the
company will be introducing the units into its fleets in Europe and
Australia.
NeverLost is available for $6 per day, and agents can earn 10%
commissions on that amount.
Here's how it works: The units are attached to the dashboard
and, upon ignition, ask the customer for preferred distance units
(miles or kilometers) and language.
NeverLost will prompt drivers in one of seven languages:
English, Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Japanese and Italian.
Using satellite technology, the units can pinpoint a vehicle's
location down to a matter of feet. The units also have a database
of detailed road maps for the lower 48 states; Vancouver, British
Columbia, and Toronto.
To get to a particular location, such as a named landmark or
street address, the customer specifies the information and the
NeverLost system will map out a route and provide an estimated time
of arrival. (But the technology doesn't know anything about
rush-hour traffic, so it's not an exact science.)
Once under way, the customer's vehicle appears as a yellow
arrow, with the arrow point indicating the direction of travel.
Smaller arrows on the map indicate the direction that drivers need
to take.
The plotted route is colored purple, with smaller roads colored
white and major roads, such as expressways, colored blue or
green.
One of the big features of the unit is that customers don't have
to fiddle with or look at the unit when driving. NeverLost uses
voice prompts to indicate information to the customer. This
information is frequently updated depending on the vehicle's
location.
For example, say a customer has to make a right turn. Two miles
from the turn, the unit will say (in the chosen language) that the
turn is approaching. There's another update at a half-mile and
another at one-fifth of a mile.
If the driver misses the turn, NeverLost would quickly plot out
another route to get to the same destination. This is a handy
feature in the event of road closures and the like.
The system also uses sound effects, such as chimes, to let
customers know they're going the right way or the wrong way.
To enhance safety, NeverLost cannot be programmed while the car
is in motion. Therefore, customers won't have to worry about how to
spell their destination when driving on the highway.
The NeverLost does much more than just provide directions,
however. The units can search by the type of place, as well. For
example, if the driver is looking for a hotel, NeverLost can plot
the path. The same is true for for ATMs, bus stations and
restaurants, among other things.