Garmin
Maposaurus, Napoleon, and 380,000 Steps
Evil Maposaurus prepare to meet your doom. Our hero has the power, glovebox is your tomb. Grab your Garmin take on the world.
The year is 2007: the iPhone launches, The Sopranos series finale airs, and Britney Spears may or may not have hair. Itâs Super Bowl XLI â the Chicago Bears vs. the Indianapolis Colts. Itâs the first Super Bowl played in the rain, and weâre heading into halftime with the Bears only down by two. Sadly, they would never recover. And the world would never recover from one of the greatest commercials of all time.
Iâm talking about Maposaurus. A tongue-in-cheek homage to Ultraman, this commercial featured a befuddled driver fumbling with a giant paper map â remember those? â which bursts into life as a rampaging "Maposaurus" monster. A passerby pulls out his Garmin in-car GPS unit â remember those? â and, in true Ultraman fashion, transforms into a laser-shooting hero and defeats the beast. Thereâs even a sick rock soundtrack to go with it.
Evil Maposaurus, prepare to meet your doom.
Our hero has the power, glovebox is your tomb.
Grab your Garmin, take on the world.
Grab your Garmin, every boy and girl.
GPS, power, space, and truth.
MP3, traffic alerts, Bluetooth.
The champion of personal navigation. Garmin.
This commercial would go on to receive critical acclaim â and how couldnât it?
Garmin returned the next year with another clever concept: Napoleon. Racing a red sports car through modern-day Paris, he relies on his trusty Garmin to guide him to battle. When the car screeches to a halt at its destination, Napoleon leaps out expecting war glory â only to be met by his troops presenting him with a small white pony instead of an army. I guess the joke is: even historyâs greatest general canât tell where he is without GPS.
While Napoleon didnât receive quite the same praise as Maposaurus, both ads are emblematic of Garminâs cultural moment â the undisputed leader in in-car navigation. When I told people I worked at Garmin, the #1 response I got was: âThe car GPS thing?â Another industry, turned into an app on your home screen.
I first saw Maposaurus during my second internship at Garmin, thanks to my then-mentor Alex. I carried that lore with me into my first full-time job the next year. When it came time for the annual corporate walking/step challenge, I already had the perfect team name: Maposaurus. While I donât have hard proof, I distinctly remember:
- I placed in the top 19 out of > 200 individuals
- Walking ~380,000 steps over 1 month
- Maposaurus ranked in the top 5 out of > 40 teams
By the end of the competition, others were inspired â and even copied our headers!

GDL-60
Streamline your flight prep, and enjoy your aircraft more with the GDL 60 datalink and PlaneSyncâą technology.

The Garmin GDL-60 is a small panel-mounted datalink module that brings wireless connectivity to an aircraftâs avionics suite. It is part of Garminâs PlaneSync âconnected cockpitâ system and works with Garmin avionics (such as GTNâą Xi navigators and G1000Âź/G1000 NXi flight decks) to connect the aircraft to the outside worldâ. In practice the GDL-60 acts like an onboard âinternet box,â using both a built-in 4G LTE cellular modem and WiâFi radio to link the planeâs systems with Garminâs cloud services and pilot tablets. This lets the avionics exchange data automatically â for example, it can download chart and database updates or stream weather and traffic directly into mobile apps â without a pilot having to plug in data cards.
Technically, the GDL-60 is a compact device (about 8.72âł x 4.00âł x 1.12âł and 1.5âŻlb) that mounts in the instrument panelâ. It runs on 14/28âŻV DC aircraft power and is certified for high altitudes up to 55,000âŻft. Its hardware includes dual Wi-Fi radios (one access point, one client) using 802.11âŻb/g/n at 2.4âŻGHz, plus a multi-band LTE modem covering global 4G frequenciesââ. In effect, the GDL-60 creates both an onboard WiâFi network and a cellular data link. The aircraft can thus stay connected on the ground or in flight, subject to cell coverage. Garminâs documentation notes that the unit âenables PlaneSync technologyâ via these connections and that its LTE/Wi-Fi link automatically keeps the avionics databases updated.
Once installed, the GDL-60 offers several key features for pilots. One major advantage is automated database updates: Garmin explains that the GDL-60 âoffers database downloads directly to the aircraft,â so that new charts and navigation data can download over the air without a pilot present. The system then âauto-synchronize[s] across your avionics at power up,â eliminating manual update choresâ. The GDL-60 also logs flight and engine data; after landing it can âtransmit flight and engine log data automatically⊠to secure cloud storage,â where pilots or maintenance crews can review it via the Garmin Pilot mobile app or the flyGarmin web portalâ. Another useful feature is remote aircraft monitoring: with the GDL-60 and Garmin Pilot, an owner on the ground can check the airplaneâs status from anywhere. The Pilot app can show things like Hobbs and tach times, fuel quantity, battery voltage, outside-air temperature, oil temperature, and even the last known GPS location of the aircraftâ. In short, GDL-60 keeps pilots informed about their aircraftâs health and readiness.
Perhaps the most visible benefit is mobile connectivity. The GDL-60 enables Garminâs Connext system, which streams in-flight data from the panel to pilot devices. For example, it can send ADS-B weather (FIS-B) and traffic, GPS position, and even attitude (AHRS) information to apps like Garmin Pilot or ForeFlight. In fact, Garmin describes that the GDL-60 lets you âstream weather, traffic, AHRS, flight plans and other data from your avionics to flight apps such as Garmin Pilot and ForeFlightââ. Pilots can also transfer flight plans between their tablet and the panel through this link. (With additional hardware, the GDL-60 can even extend to cabin entertainment and SATCOM: for example, pairing it with a SiriusXM receiver enables XM audio tuning via the Pilot app, and it can interface with a Garmin GSR-56 for in-flight texting/voice callsâ.) Overall, the Garmin GDL-60 turns a compatible cockpit into a connected cockpit â keeping nav databases current and putting real-time flight and weather data into pilotsâ hands through familiar mobile interfacesâ.


Mercedes-Benz NTG5 STAR2
Fully integrated high-end multimedia system with 6-disc DVD changer, hard-drive navigation system, internet browser, telephony plus DVD video and Music Register, shown on high-resolution 21.3 cm colour TFT display.

The NTG Star2 is a mid-2010s Mercedes-Benz inâcar navigation/infotainment system (part of the COMAND/Audio20 series). In practice it was the NTG5âgeneration system used in models like the W205 CâClass, W222 SâClass, GLC, etc. For audio and navigation it typically used the standard 7âł (17.8âŻcm) TFT display and console controller. Importantly, NTG Star2 used Garminâs âMap Pilotâ technology for GPS navigation in Audio20-equipped cars â inserting a Garmin SDâcard lets the Audio20 unit run 3D maps and routingâ. (The COMAND head unit itself was Mercedes-made, but Garmin supplied the map/database software.)
NTG Star2 debuted around 2014â2015 as the successor to the NTG4.5 COMAND system. Mercedes introduced it on new models (for example, the 2015â2020 CâClass W205 and later EâClass and GLC) as COMAND Online (NTG5) hardwareâ. These NTG5/Star2 units featured a builtâin hard drive for media and optional CD/DVD storage. Around 2018â2019 Mercedes began updating Star2 to a new software version called âStar1â (this was essentially a software revision to enable features like Apple CarPlay). As one forum noted, âmy new [head unit] is called NTG Star1 and CarPlay works â the old one was NTG Star2ââ. (In other words, Star2 was the original NTG5 software on older Audio20 hardware; Star1 was the newer update with smartphone integration.)
Today NTG Star2 systems remain supported through Mercedes accessories and parts. Mercedes still sells Garmin Map Pilot SD navigation cards and software updates for NTG5/Star2 systemsâ. For vehicles that came with NTG Star2, a dealer or owner can purchase official updates (e.g. Europe 2020/2021 map packs) for the Garmin Map Pilot. Mercedes also offered an accessory COMAND Online head unit upgrade with DVD changer â a high-end multimedia unit with a 6âdisc changer and hardâdrive nav that replaces the original unit. In short, the NTG Star2 system remains available on its original models (CâClass, SâClass, etc.) and can be serviced or upgraded using genuine Mercedes parts (for example, the COMAND Online unit with DVD changer or Garmin Map Pilot module)â.
While Mercedes-Benz designed the NTG Star2 hardware and user interface, Garminâs involvement was confined to the navigation content. On Audio20/NTG5 Star2 cars, Garmin supplied the Map Pilot navigation module (SD card and software) that plugs into the Mercedes systemâ. There is no ongoing Garmin development of NTG Star2 itself â Garminâs input was the map database and guidance engine. All system updates (DVD/DVD changer upgrades or map updates) are handled through Mercedes-Benz parts (including Garmin-branded map cards sold by Mercedes).