XM is touting its new NavWeather service. For an additional $3.99 a month, current weather information is correlated with drivers positions so that warnings about impending meteorological disasters are flashed on a navigation systems screen and routes can be recalculated. One wonders how often such a feature might be useful (are tornadoes or hail storms common in your area?), but its an added hook that when tied to live traffic reports could make some drivers trips smoother.
The first appearance will be in the Accura 2009 TSX.
Not to be outdone, next door at the Sirius booth the company was hawking its new Travel Link service, which is $6.99 a month. It doesnt include weather warnings related to a drivers route (just a standard weather report), but it does have several so-called location-based services, including local gas prices and movie listings en route. Travel Link will be available in 2009 Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury models.