Well, it’s that time of year again, and up here in the North Country the snowbirds are thinking about taking flight back to warmer climes. It is time to be looking at automotive GPS units to help you get around all the obstacles that might be in your way, help you find the nearest gas station or restaurant and help you plan your route to save you gas along the way. There are so many options, let’s consider some of them.

For example, the DeLorme Earthmate BT-20 w/Street Atlas USA 2010 Plus is a smart, flexible GPS, mapping and routing solution offering both Bluetooth and USB connectivity which plugs into your USB laptop PC or UMPC, or works wirelessly with your Bluetooth-enabled laptop, UMPC, PDA, or touchscreen phone. This DeLorme Earthmate GPS allows you to create driving routes automatically, with user controls for road preferences. It will help you locate 4 million places of interest such as restaurants, lodgings, attractions, truck stops, and businesses of all kinds.

Also, the nüvi 255W is a widescreen navigator with voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions that speak street names. It's packed with millions of destinations and maps for North America. With its "Where Am I?" emergency locator, you always know your location. Simply tap the screen to get your exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and fuel stations. Garmin’s nüvi 255W includes many travel tools including JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and sports a sleek, slim design that fits comfortably in your pocket or purse.

So, go south if you will, but do it safely and efficiently with your choice of automotive GPS systems. There are many affordable automotive GPS units to choose from.