V8 Vantage Satnav

Author
Discussion

V8D

Original Poster:

458 posts

241 months

Tuesday 17th April 2007
quotequote all
I have no issues with the satnav in the V8, I actually quite like it. OK, I use TomTom in my other cars, and it is much quicker to set up etc before a journey, with touch screen etc.
What bothers me is that womans voice !! Anyone know of any voice options like with TomTom ? Schwarzenegger or Joanna Lumley would be so much more cool. I'm pretty good with electronics and software etc, but has anyone discovered a way to hack into it?

bogie

16,614 posts

279 months

Tuesday 17th April 2007
quotequote all
maybe try the Volvo owners club forums...its a Volvo sourced system.

mikial

1,913 posts

269 months

Tuesday 17th April 2007
quotequote all
V8D said:
I have no issues with the satnav in the V8, I actually quite like it. OK, I use TomTom in my other cars, and it is much quicker to set up etc before a journey, with touch screen etc.
What bothers me is that womans voice !! Anyone know of any voice options like with TomTom ? Schwarzenegger or Joanna Lumley would be so much more cool. I'm pretty good with electronics and software etc, but has anyone discovered a way to hack into it?

Me neither , ( have issues with the sat nav in the V8V ) what`s beyond me are the constant girly moans about the system. I think maybe some of the young turks who complain need a reality check, OK I hear your "what the f**k " or the "by jove , is referring to me" spitting feathers retaliation but ffs geezers if you don`t like it then don`t use it, use maps like mature men like me had to do when chips were things you put salt and vinegar on Brighton pier in the sixties , do me a favour , go back to complaining how slow it is and how you only achieve 15 mpg , give me and the majority a break .
Also thinking about a C6 Z06 clap....opinions ?

bogie

16,614 posts

279 months

Tuesday 17th April 2007
quotequote all
if the C06 cost the same in pounds as it did in dollars, and was available in RHD, I would have had one by now...lots of car and performance for the dosh

Pugsey

5,813 posts

221 months

Tuesday 17th April 2007
quotequote all
mikial said:
V8D said:
I have no issues with the satnav in the V8, I actually quite like it. OK, I use TomTom in my other cars, and it is much quicker to set up etc before a journey, with touch screen etc.
What bothers me is that womans voice !! Anyone know of any voice options like with TomTom ? Schwarzenegger or Joanna Lumley would be so much more cool. I'm pretty good with electronics and software etc, but has anyone discovered a way to hack into it?

Me neither , ( have issues with the sat nav in the V8V ) what`s beyond me are the constant girly moans about the system. I think maybe some of the young turks who complain need a reality check, OK I hear your "what the f**k " or the "by jove , is referring to me" spitting feathers retaliation but ffs geezers if you don`t like it then don`t use it, use maps like mature men like me had to do when chips were things you put salt and vinegar on Brighton pier in the sixties , do me a favour , go back to complaining how slow it is and how you only achieve 15 mpg , give me and the majority a break .
Also thinking about a C6 Z06 clap....opinions ?
Sound comments as ever - have you read the whinging under an earlier topic? I gave up in the end.........Now then, jolly well get your backside in a Z06 for a day - it must be a Z mind - you're in for a treat. Take no notice of the prices being asked either as they're difficult to shift. A neighbour bought a year old one from a well known London dealer for £10k less than advertised - and that was already £10k below list! Of course a man as wordly wise as your good self will probably hop across the pond and buy direct given the current exchange rate - now that really will be a bargain. Mind wharpingly fast, not too shabby on the handling either and huge fun. A monstrous Caterham if you will.

Now back to the V8V - rubbish satnav, and terrible fuel consumption - I'm amazed any of the poor lambs dragged themselves away from What Car and bought one. Awfull car, just terrible - don't even get me started on how slow it is.



Edited by Pugsey on Tuesday 17th April 22:18

razbox

907 posts

226 months

Tuesday 17th April 2007
quotequote all
V8D said:
I have no issues with the satnav in the V8, I actually quite like it. OK, I use TomTom in my other cars, and it is much quicker to set up etc before a journey, with touch screen etc.
What bothers me is that womans voice !! Anyone know of any voice options like with TomTom ? Schwarzenegger or Joanna Lumley would be so much more cool. I'm pretty good with electronics and software etc, but has anyone discovered a way to hack into it?



I completely agree. I have turned off the voice entirely cos I can't stand her.

Grant3

3,643 posts

262 months

Tuesday 17th April 2007
quotequote all
mikial said:

Also thinking about a C6 Z06 clap....opinions ?


Great car fabulous value (nearly as quick as a 997GT3 ), I'd have one myself, BUT its LHD only & sorry to say I always think if they can't be bothered to spend the money engineering it for our country I'm not going to buy it!

Mikial, reading your last posts you want something with a V8, but you love "retro" something less Teutonic & more characterful & "English," so I have climbed up into the hills & meditated on the subject for a week or so, I now return having seen the Mikial light & there can be only one!

The new revised Morgan Aero 8, now no longer cross eyed, English character in spades, very fast & handles extremely well, a soft top for the summer & a contrast from the AMV8 tin top, holds value well. Sorry but that is the definitive new addition to your stable!


P.S. The Sat Nav is fine if you don't mind going 20 miles out your way on every journey, it will get you there in the end & I thought you could get a male voice within the setting section??

Murph7355

38,941 posts

263 months

Wednesday 18th April 2007
quotequote all
You can change it to a bloke's voice in the settings, but that's about it.

I believe there are some guys that have frigged around with the NavTeq DVDs to add poitns of interest etc (e.g. speed cameras), but the process looked a little...convoluted/complex. So I can't be bothered for now.

Mikial/Pugsey - whilst the satnav does not, ultimately, take away the fact that this is a superb vehicle to own, I hate to see shitty implementations of anything in anything. It's as easy to do these things right as it is to do them badly. And on a car that, for most of the car specs out there, will have been the thick end of 90+k, it's particularly irritating.

If I were unfortunate enough to have to own a Volvo I'd moan about it in that too. Not moaning about it makes manufacturers think it's acceptable and allows mediocrity (being generous) to prevail.

As for using maps, well I used to. Until I had a go with a TomTom. Sometimes it pays to get over old fartdom and have a go with new tech as sometimes, when done well, it works.

Rose tinteds off, there are a number of areas where things could have been done a lot better in the V8 with just a few moments extra thought and perhaps a fiver extra spent on each car. None of which detracts from it being one of the nicest new vehicles available today as a feel good proposition.

On fuel consumption, this is more mild amusement than anything. I quite like having 4 cars that would make a Green turn grey. Maybe I'm just weird.

Pugsey

5,813 posts

221 months

Wednesday 18th April 2007
quotequote all
Murph7355 said:
You can change it to a bloke's voice in the settings, but that's about it.

I believe there are some guys that have frigged around with the NavTeq DVDs to add poitns of interest etc (e.g. speed cameras), but the process looked a little...convoluted/complex. So I can't be bothered for now.

Mikial/Pugsey - whilst the satnav does not, ultimately, take away the fact that this is a superb vehicle to own, I hate to see shitty implementations of anything in anything. It's as easy to do these things right as it is to do them badly. And on a car that, for most of the car specs out there, will have been the thick end of 90+k, it's particularly irritating.

If I were unfortunate enough to have to own a Volvo I'd moan about it in that too. Not moaning about it makes manufacturers think it's acceptable and allows mediocrity (being generous) to prevail.

As for using maps, well I used to. Until I had a go with a TomTom. Sometimes it pays to get over old fartdom and have a go with new tech as sometimes, when done well, it works.

Rose tinteds off, there are a number of areas where things could have been done a lot better in the V8 with just a few moments extra thought and perhaps a fiver extra spent on each car. None of which detracts from it being one of the nicest new vehicles available today as a feel good proposition.

On fuel consumption, this is more mild amusement than anything. I quite like having 4 cars that would make a Green turn grey. Maybe I'm just weird.
You are, of course right. At £90k or so the fact that the AM is in the 'well built TVR' league rather than Porsche/BMW or Audi league is not good enough. I never used to understand why TVR owners were happy to shell out £50 - £60k for an unreliable, poorly built car just because it had 'character' and was quick (in a staight line) but then I got my AMV8 and found myself happy to forgive £90ks worth of unreliable and not particularly well built car so what do I know!

Pugsey

5,813 posts

221 months

Wednesday 18th April 2007
quotequote all
Grant3 said:


Mikial, reading your last posts you want something with a V8, but you love "retro" something less Teutonic & more characterful & "English," so I have climbed up into the hills & meditated on the subject for a week or so, I now return having seen the Mikial light & there can be only one!

The new revised Morgan Aero 8, now no longer cross eyed, English character in spades, very fast & handles extremely well, a soft top for the summer & a contrast from the AMV8 tin top, holds value well. Sorry but that is the definitive new addition to your stable!


Nearly right Grant, but actually what Mikial wants is a nice, gently run in, six month old AMV8 Roadster a little later this year to replace his ageing Coupe.

mikial

1,913 posts

269 months

Wednesday 18th April 2007
quotequote all
Pugsey said:
Grant3 said:


Mikial, reading your last posts you want something with a V8, but you love "retro" something less Teutonic & more characterful & "English," so I have climbed up into the hills & meditated on the subject for a week or so, I now return having seen the Mikial light & there can be only one!

The new revised Morgan Aero 8, now no longer cross eyed, English character in spades, very fast & handles extremely well, a soft top for the summer & a contrast from the AMV8 tin top, holds value well. Sorry but that is the definitive new addition to your stable!


Nearly right Grant, but actually what Mikial wants is a nice, gently run in, six month old AMV8 Roadster a little later this year to replace his ageing Coupe.


Excellent idea Pugs (" Gently running in PLEASE PASS" sign lashed to the thingy that prevents your hair being disturbed)that`s exactly what I need , swap one Ford/Volvo/Jaguar parts bin special for another , admittedly newer, one that has scuttle shake and with the hood down you can`t hear the nice lady giving directions.

I thought about the Morgan but it`s not grown on me enough and the lines of the rear from certain angles ?? , so that`s a week of eating roots and drinking rainwater completely wasted Grant but hey , it`s nice to be thought of by a fellow hopeless case.

Edited to include smiley

Edited by mikial on Wednesday 18th April 10:03

mikial

1,913 posts

269 months

Wednesday 18th April 2007
quotequote all
Murph7355 said:
You can change it to a bloke's voice in the settings, but that's about it.

I believe there are some guys that have frigged around with the NavTeq DVDs to add poitns of interest etc (e.g. speed cameras), but the process looked a little...convoluted/complex. So I can't be bothered for now.

Mikial/Pugsey - whilst the satnav does not, ultimately, take away the fact that this is a superb vehicle to own, I hate to see shitty implementations of anything in anything. It's as easy to do these things right as it is to do them badly. And on a car that, for most of the car specs out there, will have been the thick end of 90+k, it's particularly irritating.

If I were unfortunate enough to have to own a Volvo I'd moan about it in that too. Not moaning about it makes manufacturers think it's acceptable and allows mediocrity (being generous) to prevail.

As for using maps, well I used to. Until I had a go with a TomTom. Sometimes it pays to get over old fartdom and have a go with new tech as sometimes, when done well, it works.

Rose tinteds off, there are a number of areas where things could have been done a lot better in the V8 with just a few moments extra thought and perhaps a fiver extra spent on each car. None of which detracts from it being one of the nicest new vehicles available today as a feel good proposition.

On fuel consumption, this is more mild amusement than anything. I quite like having 4 cars that would make a Green turn grey. Maybe I'm just weird.


Good voice of reason there Murph and your not weird, just troubled like the rest of us here.

Has anyone else heard William Shatner`s CD "Has Been " Now that`s weird

Pugsey

5,813 posts

221 months

Wednesday 18th April 2007
quotequote all
Mikial - you haven't said but in amongst all this decision making is the intention for the V8V to go?: Say it's not so. Another idea what about a nice used 550. Wonderful car and at £50kish probably bottomed out by now? A future classic. They also did a Ba, Bache - sod it don't know how to spell it but a convertible by any other name, although that (the top that is) was useless above 50mph although I guess in the land of tractors, combines and wurzle trailers that might not be a prob? Btw - the Cobra I was getting? - someone wrote it off before I got it! Fate maybe.


Edited by Pugsey on Wednesday 18th April 10:29

Grant3

3,643 posts

262 months

Wednesday 18th April 2007
quotequote all
Pugsey said:
Grant3 said:


Mikial, reading your last posts you want something with a V8, but you love "retro" something less Teutonic & more characterful & "English," so I have climbed up into the hills & meditated on the subject for a week or so, I now return having seen the Mikial light & there can be only one!

The new revised Morgan Aero 8, now no longer cross eyed, English character in spades, very fast & handles extremely well, a soft top for the summer & a contrast from the AMV8 tin top, holds value well. Sorry but that is the definitive new addition to your stable!


Nearly right Grant, but actually what Mikial wants is a nice, gently run in, six month old AMV8 Roadster a little later this year to replace his ageing Coupe.


Pugs, I was reading an article on the male menopause the other day, apparently you start to get in touch with your feminine side, this manifests itself in several ways, you pop down to the newsagents cancel EVO & ask for Bella instead, start using male grooming products & taking an interest in fashion & shoes in particular & decide that a cabriolet is the ultimate mode of transport & rather manly after all, although you will have concerns about it ruffling the new highlights in your trendy cut, thats nothing a nice scarf won't sort!

Apparently hormone treatment works wonders

Murph7355

38,941 posts

263 months

Wednesday 18th April 2007
quotequote all
Pugsey said:
...but then I got my AMV8 and found myself happy to forgive £90ks worth of unreliable and not particularly well built car so what do I know!

Touch wood, in 1,600 miles and a month of ownership mine's been ultra-reliable and is exceedingly well built. Perhaps I got lucky Satnav still sucks though.

On 550s, at 50k they still have a bit to drop. I find them quite claustrophobic. But they look and sound great (go well too).

Murph7355

38,941 posts

263 months

Wednesday 18th April 2007
quotequote all
mikial said:
...Has anyone else heard William Shatner`s CD "Has Been " Now that`s weird

Is it wise to be admitting stuff like that in public?

Pugsey

5,813 posts

221 months

Wednesday 18th April 2007
quotequote all
Grant3 said:
Pugsey said:
Grant3 said:


Mikial, reading your last posts you want something with a V8, but you love "retro" something less Teutonic & more characterful & "English," so I have climbed up into the hills & meditated on the subject for a week or so, I now return having seen the Mikial light & there can be only one!

The new revised Morgan Aero 8, now no longer cross eyed, English character in spades, very fast & handles extremely well, a soft top for the summer & a contrast from the AMV8 tin top, holds value well. Sorry but that is the definitive new addition to your stable!


Nearly right Grant, but actually what Mikial wants is a nice, gently run in, six month old AMV8 Roadster a little later this year to replace his ageing Coupe.


Pugs, I was reading an article on the male menopause the other day, apparently you start to get in touch with your feminine side, this manifests itself in several ways, you pop down to the newsagents cancel EVO & ask for Bella instead, start using male grooming products & taking an interest in fashion & shoes in particular & decide that a cabriolet is the ultimate mode of transport & rather manly after all, although you will have concerns about it ruffling the new highlights in your trendy cut, thats nothing a nice scarf won't sort!

Apparently hormone treatment works wonders


Very droll matey. So, there you and your GT3 are, parked at the side of the road on a beautiful pass high above the glistening Mediteranean sea. You're actually grubbing around in the footwell for a few fillings that have worked loose and wishing you could have the side window open when you're on the move to take in the wonderful smells of this perfect summers morn. - but you can't because the side of your face gets blown off. Even worse it's a day on which you feel like just cruising but of course you can't do that either because the GT3 then might as well be a 'cooking' 997, so your eyes are out on stalks too. Then you hear it in the distance that familiar V8 wail, the crackle between up and down shifts, the rasp as short straights between hairpins are gobbled up. It's minutes before the culprit climbs into view and by now the hairs on the back of you neck are on end as distant fond memories bring tears to your eyes. Then you see it and as I drive past in my V8 Roadster top down to better enjoy the day and the sound track you think to yourself "what a Dorothy!" I'll believe you Grant.

I'm worried about your choice of reading matter there mate but, re. the hormone treatment, I find a regular diet of cars is working just fine!

Pugsey

5,813 posts

221 months

Wednesday 18th April 2007
quotequote all
Murph7355 said:
Pugsey said:
...but then I got my AMV8 and found myself happy to forgive £90ks worth of unreliable and not particularly well built car so what do I know!

Touch wood, in 1,600 miles and a month of ownership mine's been ultra-reliable and is exceedingly well built. Perhaps I got lucky Satnav still sucks though.

On 550s, at 50k they still have a bit to drop. I find them quite claustrophobic. But they look and sound great (go well too).


Well I was an official AM developement driver - ie I had one of the first cars!

Murph7355

38,941 posts

263 months

Wednesday 18th April 2007
quotequote all
Pugsey said:
Well I was an official AM developement driver - ie I had one of the first cars!

Well next time can you please moan louder about satnav and lack of ipod connectivity please

Grant3

3,643 posts

262 months

Wednesday 18th April 2007
quotequote all
Pugsey said:


Very droll matey. So, there you and your GT3 are, parked at the side of the road on a beautiful pass high above the glistening Mediteranean sea. You're actually grubbing around in the footwell for a few fillings that have worked loose and wishing you could have the side window open when you're on the move to take in the wonderful smells of this perfect summers morn. - but you can't because the side of your face gets blown off. Even worse it's a day on which you feel like just cruising but of course you can't do that either because the GT3 then might as well be a 'cooking' 997, so your eyes are out on stalks too. Then you hear it in the distance that familiar V8 wail, the crackle between up and down shifts, the rasp as short straights between hairpins are gobbled up. It's minutes before the culprit climbs into view and by now the hairs on the back of you neck are on end as distant fond memories bring tears to your eyes. Then you see it and as I drive past in my V8 Roadster top down to better enjoy the day and the sound track you think to yourself "what a Dorothy!" I'll believe you Grant.

I'm worried about your choice of reading matter there mate but, re. the hormone treatment, I find a regular diet of cars is working just fine!


Was it Shakespeare that said " Me thinks you do protest too much"

Pugs I try & resist the jibes I really do, it isn't me its that evil be-spoilered beast evil that taunts me into to doing it
I love the thought of listening to the V8s bark bouncing off the mountain side, but if I was in the GT3 I would certainly not be parked up looking at the view I'd be morphing into the two humped beast as man & machine become one, climaxing together in a frenzy of automotive interaction!
The sheer adrenalin pump of the gobsmaking grunt, the awesome sound track as the beast shouts, bellows & screams in your ear (you certainly don't need any windows open) organic alive feel & feedback that puts you centre stage & involved in the action driving......... deep breaths, calm down Grant calm down yum!



Anyway, you know I absolutely LOVE the new Roadster really(in a manly sort of un-hairdresser sort of way,evil oh there I go again sorry) I'm only jealous that I wasn't clever enough to order one in time for 07 delivery!



Edited by Grant3 on Wednesday 18th April 12:16