I do remember seeing magnetic compasses stuck to the windscreen of cars as an accessory, ....

Indeed - I think I may still have one on the shelf somewhere. In the days before GPS (it's still like that in my cars) a compass could be useful when the sun was out of sight, and in places like France where one might suddenly meet ROUTE BARRÉE with no suggested diversion.

earth strap fastened to the rear bumper.

I fitted one of them once to try and reduce the static shock I got nearly every time I got out of the car. It didn't work!

I think most of us realise that relying on that device means you, personally, can become totally disorientated. After you've made the journey you have no mental map of where you've been, nor memory of the general lay-out of the area, unless a compass is shown.

Mine shows no compass and that is a disappointment.

Quite right FP, i'm not a fan of satnav and only use to confirm a route i've already planned, instead use it as a street map of the country.

People who follow them without question have no idea in the country where they are, hence why some end up in rivers in cliff edges and even at the bottom of cliffs.

In the settings does your satnav not have options of 'north up' or 'track up', if its got north up you're in business.

What is the use of digital compass inside cars?

I can understand why there are needed in boats but why in cars? Unlike a boat I can't drive a car in any direction and for navigation sat nav is there.

Presumably the compass works when the satnav GPS / mobile signal does not, unless the manufacturer uses the same source, which would be rather silly.

Often they appear to feature in faux off-roaders to pretend they are actually useful in that environment, rather than at most being on the grass at a car boot sale.

The Volvo ones which were in the rear view mirror were certainly independent of satnav and in fact used to appear in cars which didn't have Nav.

Given that a shockingly high proportion of drivers currently on the roads cannot work out the width or height of the car they are driving, less still steer it accurately down a country B-road or keep it in an appropriate lane/speed/position on a motorway, I think sales of an in-car compass should be restricted to those who have the first clue where they are going!

Depends what you mean by "shockingly high proportion". In my experience most drivers are reasonably good at judging the width of their vehicle and at steering on country lanes. But you need to leave a margin of error in case you encounter one of those "you could get a double-decker bus through that gap" type drivers who tears past you with millimetres to spare at 40 mph on a country lane after you've slowed down and pulled over for them.

Edited by Sofa Spud on 09/01/2024 at 14:03