MacVroom

German magazine Focus is claiming that Apple is working with Mercedes on a car navigation and sound system that will be introduced in 2009.

The system is reported to include navigation, communication and maintenance. Mercedes will exclusively offer the new Apple system for six months (presumably followed by other auto manufacturers). The article also mentions the possibility of Google maps being the source of navigation data.

You can read a translated version of the article here.

While this story …

German car customizer, Mattes Interieurtechnik, has created a customized Mercedes CLS with a nicely integrated iMac personal computer in the rear seats.

The iMac’s compact all-in-one design lends itself to such an installation, and the firm makes sure the integration is complete with slick leather covering around the machine.

A wireless mouse and keyboard mean there are no exposed wires to contend with. Of course, the customized CLS also gets a completely revised interior, with some pretty fancy upholstery …

The new GPS-enabled mapping application, that we mentioned a couple days ago is now available.

RouteBuddy is a GPS mapping application for OS X. All the essential functions of your GPS device are supported; all you need is a Mac, a GPS, and of course RouteBuddy.

Features include:

• Downloading and Uploading Waypoint, Route and Track data
• Searching Map data with FastSearch
• Recording live GPS data and tracking your route
• Connect multiple GPS devices to your Mac
• Open several RouteBuddy Map

It looks like us Mac users are finally getting a robust GPS-enabled navigation solution for our Mac’d rides! The new application is called RouteBuddy and has many of the features that you would expect from a navigation application like live tracking of GPS data, instant recognition of GPS devices, and the personalization of waypoints with notes and custom icons.

RouteBuddy also imports GoogleMaps and Yahoo Maps GeoTagged URLs as well as instantly viewing your location in Google Earth or Google …

I’d like to apologize to the readers of MacVroom.com for the lack of posts over the past couple months. The MacVroom team has been extremely busy with our new startup company – ContentRobot. Fear not, we have adjusted to our new work schedule and we are back! We even pulled out our Toyota MR2 and are excited to continue documenting our install. We also have plans for another detailed Mac mini install, and a couple other cool things up …