Garmin | Garage

Cookie Monster's crumbs christen redesigned Garmin Garage

Garmin — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:05:14 -0600

Not sure why we didn't see this coming, but on the day of our holiday potluck - when we're surrounded by colorful cookies of all shape and flavor - we welcomed a new friend to the Garmin Garage. Joining his Sesame Street neighbors Bert and Ernie, the always lovable (unless you have to bake for - or clean up after - him) Cookie Monster is now among the fun and familiar downloadable voices for compatible Garmin devices. Better yet, he brought his van - the Cookie cruiser - to haul around his friends (and their treats).

Apparently our mechanics in the Garmin Garage have been as busy as Santa's elves, because they've given the place an overhaul to make the various voices and vehicles easier than ever to find and download. And speaking of makeovers, you can now further customize the display of your nuvi with our brand new dashboards. Currently, you can choose between Star Wars themes or your favorite Nickelodeon friends, Spongebob and Dora, to coordinate the look of your nuvi screen with the sounds of the voices guiding you.

With all of the holiday travel going on this week and next, we hope that our new voices, vehicles and dashboards can make every mile a little more memorable. Spend some time snooping around the Garage, and reinvigorate your road trip! Safe travels, and happy holidays to all!

Jake's Journal: Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie join the fun in Garmin Garage

Garmin — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:04:21 -0600

This week has taken me back to my younger days...specifically the days where a 7-foot-tall bird taught me my manners and monsters taught me to spell (and how to appreciate cookies). I learned how to be polite - and not to be a grouch. And that it's cool for two roommates to spontaneously burst into song about nearly anything - and now those two roomies can join me on my next road trip or daily drive! Yep, on the same day that I was able to tour KCPT, our local public television station (where we took pics with their biggest/loudest stars and launched a new project), my old buddies Bert and Ernie ventured from Sesame Street to the Garmin Garage.

Being the sharing type, they were more than happy to spend some time in the recording booth so that countless commuters can get their directions from two of the most popular voices of any generation. Better yet, they've had so much fun since arriving at the Garage, they've invited Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch to join them in the near future. Before they crash the party, we had to teach those two how to behave in the car - particularly how to be neat and nice, respectively.

So I know you want to ask: "Can you tell me how to get...how to get those Sesame Street voices?" Just go to garmingarage.com and click on their smiling faces. From there, simple instructions will walk you through the process, and be sure to check out the many other voices and vehicles (some famous, some just fun) that can make your holiday travel more entertaining. Perfect timing as these charismatic characters always reminded us to say thanks.

Road Trip with Zabriskie: Get Dave's voice on your Garmin

Garmin — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 10:22:02 -0600

Team Garmin's Dave Zabriskie is one of the most popular and enigmatic characters in pro cycling, so he's the perfect travel companion as the voice of your Garmin nüvi.

Available in late November as a new addition to the downloadable Team Garmin bundle, Dave's musings and guidance will join the other voices and vehicles at http://garmingarage.com. And don’t miss the chance to see Zabriskie in action at the official team presentation in Boulder on Nov. 17! Click here for more details and to get tickets: http://bit.ly/2012RideArgyle

Treasure Chest Sweepstakes and Halloween Goodies

Garmin — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:21:12 -0500

Halloween is just around the corner and with that comes bags of candy, creative scare tactics, spooky costumes (or running Elvi) and the end of Opie's Treasure Chest Sweepstakes brought to you by OpenCaching.com.

With four days left, you still have time to create some caches of your own and be entered into a chance to win your very own Dako ta 20. With that said, we are actually less than 50 caches away from the 2000 cache mark of this contest and will be giving away an Oregon 45 0t once we hit that milestone.

Every cac he created qualifies as an entry, and to make things even easier, we provide a page to easily import caches you may have listed on other sites to help spread the word about your creations. And in the end, everyone comes out ahead because they’ll have thousands of new caches to find and log. While this specific sweepstakes is open to U.S. an d Canadian residents, our offices around the world have been brainstorming – and announcing - exciting promotions for their respective countries as well. Happy caching, have fun creating and good luck to all!

Don't forget to check out all the new Free vehicle bundle options in the Garmin Garage to customize your Nüvi this Holiday season. We even have one for Halloween!

Garmin Garage: Wallace & Gromit – Reporting for Duty!

Garmin — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:21:16 -0500

One of the great things about turning wrenches in the Garmin Garage is that you’ll never know who . . . or what . . . will walk or roll through the doors each and every day. Just a few months back, Darth Vader and Yoda arrived – separately, of course. And now Wallace & Gromit have made an appearance and are ready for you to download. With this premium voice and vehicle download, you’ll get their van vehicle icon and the real voice of Wallace to lead you on your way. It’s the perfect bundle for a ride through the countryside or a trip to the city! And as an added bonus: You can almost be certain that this premium voice and vehicle bundle will work better than a vast majority of Wallace’s wacky contraptions! Stop by today and grab this great bundle for your compatible nüvi or zumo! And then plan a return visit soon . . . because you never know what you’ll find in the Garmin Garage!

Garmin Garage: Let’s Hear it for Screamer!

Garmin — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 15:04:53 -0500

Even though nüvis are known for navigating highways and byways, it doesn’t mean we’re always confined to automobiles, right? Case in point: Say hello to one of our newest arrivals in the Garmin Garage – Screamer! Screamer started life as a white-knuckled rail-rider before eventually being retired to more relaxed roadways. Well, we took a few spins and realized we shouldn’t have all the fun – so we’ve given Screamer a tune-up, loaded it up with a few ‘fun’ and ‘friendly’ passengers and now it’s ready for all of you to download for free on your nüvi or zumo! And the best part? There’s no line to wait in before taking Screamer for a spin. Load it up, hang on, and get ready to go! It’s a fun time for everyone!

Garmin Garage: A Sweet Treat From Sundae Driver

Garmin — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 16:27:34 -0500

While summer is winding down and schools across the country are back in session, we thought there’s still time for one last treat before fall finally arrives. It kept us pretty busy throughout the last few months but now we're ready to go. So - say hello to Sundae Driver! It’s definitely one of the coolest (apologies for the pun) vehicles we’ve ever released in the Garmin Garage. Ice cream. Bells. Whistles. Sugary treats. What’s not to like? And even though Sundae Driver has been ready to go for a month or so, we’ve been reluctant to let him go . . . because you know who likes ice cream on a hot summer day? We do! But now he’s available for all of you as well and he’s sure to make a great addition to your nüvi or zumo! Make your way to the Garmin Garage today and download Sundae Driver today!

With Vader and Yoda, Garmin's custom voices are a Force to behold

Garmin — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 11:45:00 -0500

Looking to add a bit of personality to your compatible nüvi or zumo? If so, a custom voice is almost guaranteed to bring smiles for miles. If you haven’t been to the Garmin Garage in a while, we’ve added a few new voices to our ever-growing collection of custom voices and free vehicle icons. For Star Wars fans, we now have both good and evil represented in Darth Vader, who makes you never want to miss a turn, and Yoda, who would wisely say, “Go get them, you should!” And Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants arrived a while back and are ready to download as well. Let the Force be your guide and head on over to the Garmin Garage today to download your favorites! (Continue reading below for video samples of Yoda and Darth Vader.)

If you're going to be away from your friends and family on travel and want familiar voices to keep you company, it's as simple as using Garmin's Voice Studio to record them speaking the commands and directions (and they can even have some fun with the phrases). And speaking of fun, additional voices can also be found at Spot It Out, Navtones, Celebrity Voices and Pig Tones. The options are almost endless from these 3^rd-party providers – from Mr. T to Santa himself – you’re sure to find a voice for every reason and every season.

Garmin Garage: The Fashionista Bundle

Garmin — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 10:45:46 -0500

We’re bringing high style to the highway with our newest bundle and it happens to be just in time for Mother’s Day! Introducing the Fashionista Bundle! Whether you’re looking to freshen up your current nüvi or you’ve just gotten a new nüvi and it’s in need of a quick-and-easy makeover, the Fashionista Bundle will really help you shine. You can download each icon individually or you can grab it all at once and go! And don’t think that it’s all just wrenches and hammers in the Garmin Garage. We wanted to show our softer side with this fun (and free!) bundle. So plan a visit to the Garmin Garage today and put some sparkle in your nüvi with the Fashionista Bundle!

Garmin Garage: Ride with Pride – The 2011 Team Garmin Bundle

Garmin — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 11:40:02 -0500

Now that the cold grip of winter has finally released us into a warm and welcoming spring, it’s time to bring out the bikes and get some miles behind us. And with cycling season well underway and Team Garmin crisscrossing the globe for race after race, all of us cycling fans at the Garmin Garage couldn’t be more excited! So we decided to share our enthusiasm with the release of the Team Garmin Bundle – a new bundle for fans far and wide of the Argyle Armada! The sleek and stylish Team Garmin Car and Team Garmin Bus reflect the new look of the team and would be a welcome addition to your GPS! So if you’re looking to refresh your compatible nüvi or zumo and show your support for Team Garmin, pedal over to the Garmin Garage and grab this bundle today!