Adventures in Never NeverLost Land

Inc.'s Road Warrior abandons maps in favor of the NeverLost global positioning system available in Hertz rental cars.

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Road Warrior: Techniques

Global positioning systems can be a godsend for road warriors. But they're only as good as the person using them

You know the scenario: You're desperately close to missing an important appointment. You're in a new town, on strange roads, in a rented car. Sure, you have directions. But you've gone off course, and your point of reference disappeared somewhere back around the airport exit sign.

What if I told you that I know a place where you'll never feel lost again? Where all roads lead to your destination and all exit ramps are marked so clearly they shout out "Take me!" as you cruise along a foreign highway? There is such a place. And for a few extra bucks--as little as $5 a day--it's yours for the asking.

Once a plaything of the wealthy and the militaristic, global positioning systems (GPSs) have made their way into the automobile market. Car navigational systems are based on two components: a network of 24 satellites in space that pinpoint your exact location as you're driving (the global-positioning part) and databases that house high-resolution maps detailing the spatial coordinates of entire cities. It is those two components working together that enable the system to prompt you with directions as you head toward your destination.

I have to admit I was dubious. But on a trip to San Francisco in which I knew I'd be doing a lot of driving, I decided to give the new navigation system a try. Most of the major car-rental companies are trying out the systems, so when I called to reserve a car at Hertz, I asked for one equipped with its NeverLost system. Avis--less cleverly but descriptively enough--calls its the Avis Satellite Guidance system, and National has its Navigator rentals.

For the most part, Hertz is installing the NeverLosts in its larger Ford vehicles. The system--a four-inch-square LCD screen posted on a bendable shaft--bounds up from the front floor, just to the right of the steering wheel. You can twist the thing to program the system, to read the screen, and to try to avoid the glare bouncing off the screen.

My plan is to give myself over entirely to NeverLost. I've brought no maps, no backup to get me where I need to go; my only supplies are a cellular phone and a few street addresses. Thus unencumbered, I pick up my first car at the San Francisco International Airport--a big blue Lincoln Town Car. The GPS gleams. It glistens. It bellows, "I'm yours, baby! I'll take you anywhere you want to go." It doesn't work.

CAVEAT 1. When the GPS in your rental car seems to be on the fritz, don't assume you've done something wrong. Chances are it just doesn't work.

I sit down in the driver's seat and push the big red button on the left side of the NeverLost screen. Then I press Enter, plug in the city and the street address in Palo Alto where I have a 3 p.m. meeting, and hit Enter again.

This message comes up: "Too far away from road for system to plan. System cannot plan route from here to your selected destination. System will start planning a route when it finds a suitable road. Press Cancel to quit." Though I'm just a stone's throw away from U.S. 101, the highway I know I need to use to get myself to Palo Alto, I think that maybe the system won't work until I get away from all the planes in the airport. I don't know why I think this. Nevertheless, I begin winding my way south on 101 toward Palo Alto without a clue how to find my first appointment.

CAVEAT 2. Keying in a destination or just reading the instructions on the screen about how to key in a new destination can be dangerous.

A few times on the trip down 101 toward Palo Alto, I try to reenter the destination but get nothing. When you first turn on the system, you get a screen with the message: "Pay attention so you can operate the vehicle safely and correctly. If you look at the screen too long, you may be distracted and become involved in a situation that results in serious personal injury or damage." I am frustrated and dangerously close to doing some personal injury myself.

By the time I reach the exits for Palo Alto, it's 2:30 p.m. California time. I reach over for the NeverLost operating-instructions booklet. On the back it says: "If you experience problems with Hertz NeverLost, call 1-800-823-2547 Monday-Friday 8 a.m.­5 p.m. EST." It is now 5:31 EST. Hah. I decide to call anyway.

I've now exited 101 and find myself on El Camino Real. I take out my cell phone and dial the 800 number, which turns out to be for the system's manufacturer, Magellan Systems. Sure enough, a recording tells me that the office is closed but that I can call Hertz roadside assistance. I dial that number. A guy named Todd answers. He asks me for my rental-car agreement number. I fumble through some papers, all the while trying to keep an eye on the road, and read it to him. He puts me on hold. I can't identify the on-hold music. It isn't soothing.

Todd gets back on the phone and tells me I can go to 4201 El Camino Real to pick up a different car at Rickey's Hyatt House. I'm now driving past the 1800 block of El Camino Real. It's about 2:55. I figure it's worth a shot. He says to ask for John.

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