See the gorgeous new Aston Martin Vanquish Volante undergoing development trials at the Nürburgring recently

The car even James Bond can’t wait to get his grips on has been spotted again during development trials at the Nurburgring. The Aston Martin was snapped on the famous track as the industry test season begins.

It is expected that the Vanquish will be unveiled late August at Pebble Beach and you’ll see it in showrooms from Autumn.

There isn’t much of a difference to the current

in terms of body shape. The eagle eyed among you will notice the extended rear spoiler for added stability at high speed.

Spotted in spots - the NEW Aston Martin Vanquish in testing

A folding soft top reduces weight and lets you make the most of the car when the sun comes out. A 5.9 litre V12 gives you plenty of power so be sure to hold onto your hat if you decide to take the top down because you can expect to reach 0-62mph in around 4.5sec and a top speed of 180mph.

Now the bad news, you’ll need approximately £200,000 to see this motor on your driveway.

Keep dreaming and saving!

The laws on speed camera detection in Europe have always been somewhat confusing. In our experience of speaking to customers, we have heard some horror stories and have always erred on the side of caution when giving out product advice. We know for sure that France has proved tricky for UK motorists with hefty fines and confiscation of devices. Stories exist of the Jean Damme stopping motorists and searching their vehicles regardless of whether they are using a camera detection device or not.

So that’s France, but what abut the rest of Europe?
Common knowledge suggests that the Swiss take a similar line to the French but in actual fact, it is illegal to use a GPS device to detect fixed speed cameras in Europe with only the UK and Hungary allowing motorists to use their GPS device to locate fixed cameras. Elsewhere, expect a fine of anywhere up to £2,634 (recently issued in Italy) and with 1 in 5 UK motorists being stopped by police, it’s not a risk worth taking.

The European motoring laws are not 100% clear so it is likely that any penalties are attributed to ignorance. With a large proportion of these fines being paid for on the spot in cash, the process is questionable at best. So what are we getting at?

With the summer fast approaching many of you will be heading abroad in your cars, caravans and motorhomes so as well as it being a great time to look at buying a new sat nav, it is certainly worth brushing up on local laws before you travel. Most navigation devices these days will display the current speed limit of roads you are travelling on which should be enough so make sure you know how to switch your speed camera alerts off completely.

Better safe than sorry!

HGV specific sat nav has been a revelation over the last few years and today, there are several options available – from market leaders Truckmate, to popular TomTom and Garmin, to letter known ProNav. Whilst there are differences between the four brands, all work along the same principle by calculating a safe route based on the size and weight of your vehicle.

Having listened to customers and attended numerous trade and consumer shows, we know the pro’s and con’s to the different HGV sat navs out there. Generally speaking, you get what you pay for. Snooper Truckmate ranges right up to £500 whereas the ProNav can be picked up for under £200.

Snooper Truckmate Pro S2500 offer all the navigation features you would expect on a high spec device

What’s the difference?
Smart shoppers will always looking for cheap HGV sat nav but as the cheapest, ProNav gave us the highest returns rate we’ve ever seen, resulting in a lot of headaches and the range being removed from Sat Nav Warehouse completely. That would say to us that cheap truck sat nav is not the way to go when you consider the implications of a wrong turn.

Truckmate, whilst it can be more expensive depending on the model chosen, still gives you the same quality navigaton on their £229 S2500 that you get on the £499 DB8500 – you just get a few more bells and whistles such as digital radio, Bluetooth, reversing camera compatibility, integrated TV and a large 7″ screen display as you go through the range.

TomTom sell well with the excellent 5150 Live Truck Sat Nav which gives you live update as you drive. In short, it’s worth paying a little more for a better device when you consider the alternative and being let down by something half the price and half as reliable.

Garmin have a couple of devices in their Dezl range but with long delays to the 760LMT being released, sales have dwindled somewhat.

So how can you get the most for your money?
We are receiving a growing number of enquiries from haulage company managers and driver buying groups. It stands to reason that if you approach any supplier and ask for a price on 20 pieces, your per-unit price is going to be significantly less than if you were to order single units. You benefit from the price saving and we are grateful for the extra business and happy to support you.

If you are a haulage company manager or you are buying several devices either for your company or for a number of drivers, give us a call and we’ll work out the best deal for you and your drivers. You don’t need to sign up, become a member or enter any special codes, we just have a conversation like human beings.  You can speak to us on 0161 8777 321 or by emailing info@thesatnavwarehouse.com

For many years Sat Nav has had it’s fair share of criticism when HGVs and other large road going vehicles rely on them for directions.

Low bridges, narrow lanes, weight restrictions and housing estates have stranded many a HGV or resulted in fines for drivers.

You may or may not know that a solution has existed in the sat nav world for over five years in the guise of dedicated HGV specific Sat Nav systems – but how are they different?

Firstly, HGV Sat Nav systems allow you to enter your exact vehicle dimensions into the memory of the device, including height, weight, width, weight and even weight per axle and load type on some.

Then, using unique algorithms, your vehicle dimensions are taken into account when calculating your route. Low bridges, weight restrictions and other hazards are avoided to leave you with a trouble free, efficient route.

This saves drivers time and stress in the planning of safe routes combining the convenience of sat nav with the detailed knowledge of the road network and restrictions.

Drivers can search for industrial estates, truck stops, HGV fuel stations and other points of interest that regular sat navs simply wouldn’t offer.

There are a number of options currently on the market, which offer free lifetime map updates. View the entire range here.

It can be dangerous driving a lorry through built up areas. Not just because of the cars, Heavy Good Vehicles (HGVs) and buses, but cyclists too.

Surprisingly, HGVs are involved in about 50% of cyclist deaths, even though they only make up about 5% of traffic.

London is a particular focus of HGV-cyclist safety. A cross party report found that, although the number of cycling trips grew 16% between 2006 and 2011, the number of injuries climbed by half in that period.

Both cyclists and lorry drivers should be doing their bit to reduce the chances of these incidents happening.

While cyclists need to know where the HGVs numerous blind spots are, there are many things the drivers can do to maximise their awareness…

Fit your vehicle with safety equipment

You can prevent large vehicles from hitting cyclists by fitting a proximity sensor and warning alarm.

As your vehicle turns, the sensor will detect obstacles alongside the vehicle and emit an audible warning to warn them.

You can also fit an LED light board on the side of your vehicle to attract cyclists’ attention.

Equally importantly, consider fitting side guards. Government research has revealed that vehicles without side guards are involved in the most fatal collisions with cyclists.

Driving safely

- Always leave enough room for cyclists at junctions.
- Keep a keen look out for cyclists, especially on your left.
- Ensure it is safe to overtake and give them ample space when you do.
- Bear the size of a HGV compared to a cyclist in mind.
- Always look out for cyclists when you open your door.
- Even when you are stationary – watch out! Cyclists often weave through traffic.
- Don’t indicate at the last minute! Make sure it stays on even when turning left.
- Have lots of mirrors fitted, includes a Fresnel lens, which will increase your left hand side vision.
- Fit a proximity sensor and a side guard if you don’t have them already. This dramatically increases your awareness.
- Get quality driver training by joining the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS).

For more information on how you can improve your HGV safety and awareness, speak to our friends at Vision Techniques by clicking here.

Well we had heard a rumour a while ago that Snooper were planning on going toe to toe with TomTom and Garmin on a FREE Lifetime Map Updates deal. No longer a rumour and fully live, you can buy ANY Snooper Truckmate device and benefit from FREE Lifetime Maps worth £139.99.

Like TomTom and Garmin, this offer appears to be limited to orders placed up to and including Christmas Eve so we would advise buying now to avoid disappointment in the New Year.

We always try to remain impartial here at Sat Nav Warehouse but in honesty, we cannot see any reason why you wouldn’t choose a Truckmate over any alternative. Truckmate is the only dedicated, reliable brand on the market which caters for Truck drivers specifically. They have led the market for over five years now and they have the widest range of truck sat nav systems on the market and now they are giving you FREE Lifetime Map Updates across the range!

But, if you’re not sure then don’t worry. We offer a 30-day exchange policy here so if you buy something and it’s not what you expected, we’ll swap it for you, no questions asked.

Free lifetime map updates on all Snooper Truckmate models

Let us know what you think of the new Snooper Truckmate FREE Lifetime Map Updates offer!

You may think this isn’t the nicest blog post in the world considering that it shows a head on collision between two HGV’s but stay with us here… This remarkable incident sees one truck lose control and veers across the centre of the road into another oncoming truck with spectacular consequences.

All this is being filmed by a following vehicle and whilst i could try and explain what happens, you’re best off just watching and deciding for yourself. Don’t worry, nobody gets hurt!

In our opinion Garmin have been left behind in the truck market by Snooper and Tom Tom. Inputting all your truck dimensions on the original Garmin Dezl 560LT sounds easy enough but it was a task the unit didn’t seem to be up to, judging by the amount of returns we received back from customers a few days after purchase.

But now it seems Garmin are trying to rectify their problems by bringing out a 7″ screen version with unlimited mapping and traffic info! Ladies and gentleman the Garmin Dezl 760LMT

We’re not too sure whether to be excited about this yet given the previous issues with Garmin. Will it be a case of same routing, bigger screen or have they revamped the whole system. After watching their YouTube promo video, which you can find below, it does have a couple of nice features on there.

If you own an android mobile phone,you are able to tether the two devices together, enabling you to receive weather and petrol price updates. Gimmicky? maybe. It could be quite a handy tool if it’s something you would seriously use but with bearing in mind that it will only work well wherever you have a good 3G signal and may incur roaming charges abroad.

Whilst on the move, the massive 7″ screen seems to split 60/40, showing half the traditional street level view and half a rolling lane guidance view. If we haven’t explained that too well check the video posted towards the end of the page.

Now then, the real question is how is this going to cope against the king of the 7″ screen, Snooper? They currently have 3 seven inch screens in the range, the S6400, S7000 and the new DB8500. With the latter now flexing DAB radio system, FM transmitter as well as TV in its powerful multimedia arsenal, i personally know which i would go for. Its seems it maybe a straight dog fight between the Snooper S6400 Truckmate and and the Dezl 760 LMT.

The Garmin Dezl 760 LMT is being released sometime in quarter 4 priced under £400. So make sure you keep checking the website for news and updates.

Truck Sat Nav is dominated by market leaders Snooper and their award winning Truckmate range of truck sat nav systems. The idea is simple but the technology is very advanced – tell the truck sat nav your vehicle dimensions and the dedicated software uses unique algorithms to calculate a route based on the size and weight of your vehicle, taking you only down truck friendly roads.

In our experience, TomTom have never really mastered this and 2012 has been a terrible year for TomTom sales for Sat Nav Warehouse with constant reports of poor service from TomTom and unreliable routing. Two major issues cropped up this year in the Leap Year rendering the GPS receivers useless and products were recalled to be updated before they would work again. Then, more recently, a map update erased the truck settings, meaning that all routes were designed for cars, not trucks, with potentially catastrophic results.

So… will the NEW TomTom Pro 5150 Truck Live resolve the issue? Possibly, but we remain skeptical. The only unique selling point the TomTom Pro 5150 has over the Snooper Truckmate range as far as we can see, is the live services. How much use Google search and weather reporting is when you’re out on a job is, we’re not sure. Surely the most important feature would be accurate truck routing – something TomTom has failed to deliver this year on current models, the 7100 and 7150.

Another factor to consider is that unless you take out the extortionate Webfleet subscription, if you have a problem with your device, TomTom won’t offer you any support whatsoever and we have found this to cause problems for customers on several occasions this year.

Our advice – wait for reviews before punting on the TomTom Pro 5150 Truck Live or simply go for the dedicated Truckmate brand. Expect the TomTom Pro 5150 Truck Live to be released in 2-3 weeks at the strange price of £322.00.

As with all of our products, we like to give you as much information as possible on how every Sat Nav works. Truck sat nav is a little different because they don’t work like a regular sat nav. Truckmate is designed specifically for truck drivers. You can enter in your vehicle dimensions including height, weight, width and more, so that Truckmate can calculate you a safe route. Whilst we can sit here and type away adding more content, the proof is in the pudding so we’ve gone to extra lengths and the videos below should give you more of an idea how the Truckmate Pro S6400 works;
What comes in the box with your Truckmate Pro S6400:

A brief introduction to the Truckmate Pro S6400:

How do enter you vehicle dimensions into Truckmate Pro S6400:

How to search for an industrial estate on your Truckmate Pro S6400: