1971: Tomorrow's World: Cassette Navigation

[@explorer806]

A huge leap forward from the gramophone version.

[@DrewJPS]

Oh, hi. Just here to deliver +10 internet point. Well done, Sire.

[@AntonyThorburn]

and garmin...

[@j.cheeverloophole9029]

Yeah the prototype Edison wax cylinder was useless, glad they updated it...

[@aaronwalderslade]

They had to advance to gramophone because wax cylinders were too brittle.

[@seanstewart285]

Gary Masters lol I giggled.

[@NichaelCramer]

I’m disappointed that they didn’t show his backseat which holds his other 24,999 tapes.

[@hughdavidvisor1769]

I'm disappointed that this isn't available in 8-track.

[@shreddder999]

Or get in there and screw with the tapes.

[@sonicstep]

Many of them churned up.

[@anthonysach]

Have you seen the space or lack of it in the back of a Beetle? 10,000 at most.

[@RydalS]

Could they even fathom? Pinpoint location accuracy, speech recognition, natural text to speech in almost every language, billions of points of interest with menu pricing and petrol pricing listed along with phone numbers, speedometer, live traffic updates, real imagery, audio all steamed wirelessly to your car's stereo, built into a touchscreen device that can fit in your pocket and can make calls, instantly message anyone on the planet, stream studio quality audio and cinema quality video over the air and be unplugged for the better part of the day while doing all this! Oh and it can be purchased for about the price of a good suit.

[@bill2893]

Just need to record a separate tape for every possible combination of start point and end point in the entire country and we're good to go!

[@josepeixoto3384]

LOL...and connect that "milometer"-behind the dash,with a -not supplied,nor mentioned!- Y bowden cable; ...never mind.

[@G2097]

Don't forget the circuit boards for each different size of tyres.

[@marmaly]

That was my first thought. Pretty unrealistic scheme. Clever system for measuring location, but that's about it.

[@steve1978ger]

You got it all wrong, of course you would mail-order the tape for your journey, four to six weeks in advance. For a surcharge of only 1 GBP, you would get the return journey on the B side.

[@moow950]

You need an extra truck to carry all these route tapes with you 😂

[@MrGoblin60]

It's amazing what technology has done. I've been to all those streets and they're in colour now.

[@anonUK]

Back then, you had to pay extra for that. Before 1967, there was no colour at all, unless you went to the cinema- and sometimes not even then.

[@133col]

"It is giving me plenty of time for me to position myself on the road so that I can negotiate the hazard of changing direction with the utmost convenience" - This is the most British sentence I heard this month

[@Darkest_matter]

It's called English

[@paulbeardsley4095]

@@Darkest_matter The language is English but the mindset is British!

[@Darkest_matter]

@@paulbeardsley4095 I believe the mindset is an individual aspect.

[@Dave5843-d9m]

The mindset was BBC being careful to avoid Mary Whitehouse phone to complain about their reckless presenters.

[@RydalS]

Could they even fathom? Pinpoint location accuracy, speech recognition, natural text to speech in almost every language, billions of points of interest with menu pricing and petrol pricing listed along with phone numbers, speedometer, live traffic updates, real imagery, audio all steamed wirelessly to your car's stereo, built into a touchscreen device that can fit in your pocket and can make calls, instantly message anyone on the planet, stream studio quality audio and cinema quality video over the air and be unplugged for the better part of the day while doing all this! Oh and it can be purchased for about the price of a good suit.

[@awfullyawful]

I wish my dad had this when he went went out for cigarettes 30 years ago.

[@WildlifewatchingUK]

Classic!

[@nounoufriend]

He did but he put the wrong tape in

[@oddjob7821]

Hahahahaha

[@jazzman1626]

Was it “highway to hell”?

[@awfullyawful]

JAZZ MAN that’s what he played on his way home from work everyday. My dad really did leave and once I became an adult, I totally understood why. I forgave him with extreme prejudice.

[@noi5emaker]

"How do I get to your house?" - "I'll post you a cassette with directions..."

[@AnthonyHandcock]

My home town in black and white just like it was when I was a kid. The Medway Towns wasn't in colour until 1976... We couldn't afford the licence.

[@AnthonyHandcock]

@BlackJackMulligan Ooooh.... An Irish joke... I suppose it's very 1971.

[@dbaider9467]

I had completely forgotten there was a different rate. OMG, I'm getting on. Thanks for the memory!

[@paulparoma]

And now the town is mostly black, I assume?

[@AnthonyHandcock]

@@paulparoma No it isn't. It wouldn't matter to me if it was and fuck off you racist wanker.

[@Funkteon]

Ahhh, you dumbass Brits and your TV licences. They tried that shit in Australia for a while until they realised it was ridiculous. And it's not as though paying a fee has saved you from advertisements..

[@kdrapertrucker]

So accurate, it even routed him into the water just like modern GPS does.

[@PassiveSmoking]

I believe that this prototype system was named Thomas Thomas.

[@ChrisLee-UK]

Definitely BrianBrian 🤣

[@billme3421]

More like Mr. Thomas esq. Mr. Thomas esq.

[@GaryTheGardener71]

Such an underrated comment

[@ChrisLee-UK]

@@billme3421 🤣🤣

[@hackedagain3421]

😂

[@midiplaybox3453]

I will ask Techmoan to demonstrate this!

[@toxlaximus3297]

10 quid he ends up in a canal. :D

[@annax5212]

i would love to see that and the techmoan muppets after

[@retropcscotland4645]

@@annax5212 Ask him for a cassette of tape.

[@Reparaturkanal]

Cassette Tape based nonsense? Techmoan is your man !

[@Havanacuba1985]

Tech,pan is awesome love that Chanel

[@TheVicar]

I've used the moon a few times to navigate whilst driving. True satellite navigation

[@maz5miata269]

Good one dad

[@SamiJumppanen]

Oh, that was clever!

[@WackyFolf]

This joke is so good that I don't like it.

[@parishna4882]

Blue moooonnnn. You had me driving all wrong.. I drove to Trafalgar square, when I wanted to go hommmeee.... blue moooonnnn, *drives into a ravine in the dark*

[@onepalproductions]

The moon is the largest satellite in orbit.

[@rerite2]

"This tape will self-destruct in 5 seconds. Good luck, Jim."

[@DadgeCity]

I love that he said "cassette of tape".

[@louiselear-jones4777]

I noticed that! 😂😂😂 *What *century was he speaking from? 😂

[@lw5871]

Factually more correct than "casette tape" to be fair!

[@robread-jones3698]

This is the comment I came looking for!!!

[@theyellowlightsaber3193]

It was 71, even the casette tape itself was still relatively new

[@iliketowatch.]

A cassette! A giant improvement over older navigation systems that required you to thread the reel of tape through the playback mechanism. This was found to be difficult to do whilst driving.

[@hotrodhouse]

My dad was furious when I recorded Top of the Pops over them.

[@cosminogloocosy1154]

XD

[@mandolinic]

Particularly annoying because the song you recorded was "We're on the road to Nowhere"

[@gbadesakin]

😂 😂 😂

[@macmac8249]

Let me guess...”Lost in the fifties tonight”?

[@goodbyspam]

The narrator did mention a Mystery Tour - so the Beatles could work well.

[@weatherferret]

it you want to travel around the UK you just need a boot full of cassettes.

[@bobstreet2491]

Not any old cassettes, though -- cassettes OF TAPE.

[@fooman65]

John Relf put them on to cd, save a load of space

[@georgeknowles8762]

Only a bootfull?

[@jacktheladfrost]

Just discussed this

[@jacktheladfrost]

@motrhead 69 bonnet and boot. Hood and trunk

[@rpn000rpnca]

Where's the recalculating tape?

[@dgirllamius____x]

MAKE A U TURN!

[@larsanderson3072]

...or the Homer Simpson voice?

[@CB-xr1eg]

@@larsanderson3072 Mine was a Garmin and it had a womans voice which was quite annoying. I was driving along a dual carriage way and the voice said..."You have entered a dead end, please do a U turn". I unplugged it and and threw it out the window. Driving is more peaceful now even if I do get lost more often.👍😁

[@philevans1026]

"In the Pro edition."

[@samking4179]

hysterical!

[@Fete_Fatale]

I love how it predicted SatNav's ability to send doofus users into the nearest canal.

[@Rondo2ooo]

When almost everything was still hardware. Imprecise and so trivial compared to today, but still fascinating approach.

[@hamentaschen]

I was just telling my 16-year old daughter who is learning to drive how archaic things were in the 70's and 80's.... how we kept folded maps in the glove box. I told her how revolutionary it was when MapQuest came out and we could then print our own maps! Who'd have thought in the future we'd have phones telling us where to go?

[@harrycoffeynield6941]

My wife does this for free every trip.

[@yawnguy94]

Yes she does round to mine

[@AntonyThorburn]

my x phones me to do this!...

[@TagmakersCoUk]

Your wife gets it right? I'd sooner trust the cassette.

[@yawnguy94]

Yes cat killer

[@rocker-barrel4786]

🤣

[@IntyMichael]

Predicting how drivers steer their cars directly into rivers as directed by their navigation system. ;)

[@thesoundsmith]

(OK, ya beat me to it....)

[@ckennepohl]

GPS systems still do this

[@stoojinator]

It's still more accurate than Apple Maps.

[@minischnauzerlola5474]

GitarStu no

[@Default158]

Lmao

[@user-cv3gd2wr5q]

GitarStu uhhhh that’s what he was using which is why he went over the cliff at the end.

[@sinphus]

Lola Dog yes

[@mibnsharpals]

@@minischnauzerlola5474 very well, i got stuck with apple maps more often than with others

[@jamespilcher5287]

My god this would have been horrifically unreliable.

[@laragio]

Dude, it was almost 50 years ago!

[@JoannaHammond]

Even with GPS the driving into a river thing is still there.

[@JB-td4ei]

If I had a dime every time google maps sent me on a wild goose chase I’d have a couple bucks!! 🤣🥳

[@ΒύρωναςΛαδιάς]

Maybe 8 years ago.

[@onlyme9254]

That will never catch on! Next they'll be giving us phones that we can use anywhere without cables or wires!

[@thefurrybastard1964]

That's utter bollocks! Phones with out wires or cables. Next thing you'll be saying we'll have electronic brains in our homes or something.

[@thefurrybastard1964]

@fragwits That's almost as silly an idea as having some sort of station orbiting the world with people in it.

[@4675636b596f755954]

The portable telephone is now a reality, thanks to British boffins. A backpack of quite manageable weight contains the batteries and electronic circuit boards required to communicate through radio waves with a British Telecom antenna in central London. The range of the communication is over 3 miles, which means one may place telephone calls even from a street on the other side of the Thames. The rotary dial is conveniently placed on the end of a long cable, so the telephone may be used while the backpack is still worn.

[@thefurrybastard1964]

@@4675636b596f755954 Much better than my idea of strapping a public call box to my back!

[@steve1978ger]

Can you imagine that, it would be quite a bother I'd say.

[@wisteela]

That was pretty amazing for its time.

[@paulgriffiths6344]

@Dark Light at least the sat nav has cum good.

[@TheHorsebox2]

@Dark Light no , it's NAVIGATE, not masterbate. You need a different circuit board for that.

[@PhilJonesIII]

@@TheHorsebox2 What if someone is waiting for you to come?

[@TheHorsebox2]

@@PhilJonesIII hah! You just hope they pull out on time.

@Dark Light Don't lie now, I bet you went at it like a 'Daley Thompson's Decathlon' expert.

[@bennri]

Amazing! A 1960 vw with a cassette player

[@fazeka]

Actually, a '62 or perhaps a '63? Fuel gauge in the dash is the giveaway (introduced 1962).

[@bennri]

​@@fazeka at 1:09 did he turn a manual choke? I don't recall that on my 1963 Beetle. But then mine was in California; maybe the England version was a bit different? Anyway in 1964 the rear license plate light (the "beak") was widened (more like a flat nose) so my guess would be 1962.

[@fazeka]

@@bennri No, he turned the ignition switch off. But yes I see what appears to be a choke (or perhaps an accessory ciggie lighter?) on the side nearest the steering wheel. Pre-'61 U.S. spec. bugs had a manual choke in that location. I suspect that maybe the British bugs had manual chokes still in '62? The shot of the dashboard showing the windshield wiper switch knob has what appears to be the concentric button for the windshield washer. As per "Progressive Refinements" (references incremental changes put in place by VW during production): "Modification: Press button on wiper switch for windshield washer. Date introduced: 31 July 1961 (1962 model year)." Source: oacdp.org/progref4061/e016.jpg Also note larger taillights throughout numerous shots, introduced 1962 model year.

[@bennri]

@@fazeka I see it just took a while for the motor to stop spinning. After viewing at some videos of people selling 62 and 63 models, I think it could be either. Some models have those two extra white knobs under the dashboard, some don't.

[@LouisEmery]

Yeah, my parents cars didn't have cassette tapes until 1990.

[@NichaelCramer]

The last shot at the end is perfect. Sounds like a great plot device for a Miss Marple murder mystery.

[@andysedgley]

"Recalculating the route" was a special bonus track on the April 1st cassette release.

[@twphotographic]

The equipment is now at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, Hampshire

[@chaos.corner]

The driver was supposed to be taking it to Edinburgh but made a wrong turn on the Oxford bypass.

[@g13flat]

Alone in the car, except maybe for a cameraman and a sound man?

[@joedge7532]

And the gaffer and the best boy grip

[@krashd]

Wardrobe and catering

[@Ndlanding]

@@krashd And Jimmy Savile in the back seat.

[@dunstun365]

was probably filmed with the car on a lowloader lorry to keep things steady. & more room for the TV camrera etc

[@dukenukem5768]

@@dunstun365 : So that's why we can't hear the racket that Beetle engines always made. Anyway, the cameraman and make-up crew didn't know the way either.

[@mkbaharris]

amazing! and not a pot hole in sight!

[@phililpb]

yep we certainly have improved things

[@PF-gi9vv]

Or muslim

[@ryanbrownnew]

ones been patched up at 0.26.

[@rmason4358]

Matthew Harris The 2019 version has all the updates with added potholes for every drivers excitement. Released 29th March next year!

[@masterblaster4784]

@@PF-gi9vv Or uneducated idiots

[@tasercs]

Michael Rodd. The perfect example of a clear, concise presenter. You believed that he knew what he was talking about and wasn't just reading a script. The pace of delivery was just right to take in often complex new concepts. A friendly, smiling and modest character who's presence on our TVs was always welcome. A unique and much loved talent in my opinion. So nice to think back to those days. I miss Michael about as much as I miss the traffic free roads. Apparently, somebody recorded the Top 40 chart show over the cassette for Canvey Island... Oh well, every cloud.....

[@regplasma7906]

After 49 years Rodders is still out there driving around looking for Canvey Island.Well someone's got to .

[@realtravisblaine]

In 45 years we'll be laughing at the current self driving car videos like we are laughing at this one today. We'll some of us will, at least...I'll probably be dead.

[@gezzly72]

Bubo 25 why would you want to?!! Retirement age would go up to 150 !

[@gezzly72]

Bubo 25 isn’t the planet overpopulated as it is ? 😂

[@dukenukem5768]

@@bubo2528 : We will die of overpopulation instead (wars over resources, people killing each other for food and living space). Oh, that will happen eventually anyway but just not as soon.

[@dukenukem5768]

@@bubo2528: The problem remains as long as some cultures think having lots of children is macho - Bin Laden's father had 56 of them. The snowflakes say it's "because they are poor, so we must make them richer", but Bin Laden snr was a multi-millionaire, so BS.

[@longjon120]

@@bubo2528 "Altered Carbon" on Netflix (or the book, miles better)

[@AndyJarman]

A cassette of tape no less! That'll show Jonny foreigner a clean set heels I'll be bound! I trust they'll be selecting a voice with better diction for the production model.

[@Ndlanding]

Yes, that chappie did sound somewhat dock-landish.

[@ufoclips1]

Is it available with Glasgow translation?,it`s no fur me,it`s fur ma pal,he canny speek right n that.

[@Deontjie]

For 10 dollars more you could get the Raqual Welch voice.

[@heathstjohn6775]

Yes , very , very good.

[@JohnJohansen2]

That would be pound sterling, GBP or £.

[@mirzaahmed6589]

Look it's a dog.

[@SO_DIGITAL]

I want the Benny Hill theme in the quiet gaps in between.

[@ridanann]

ur Australian lol its quid here lol pounds but the only weigh about 30 grams lol

[@sherlockholmes6990]

I preferred the pull-over-at-the-phone-booth-take-a-look-at-the-map-at-the-back-of-the-phone-book method.

[@Mandrak789]

I'm 102 and still using it, works like a charm

[@OzzieGG]

It's amazing how many of today's technologies were originally devised many years before they became practical. I think Cadillac had automatic headlight dippers in the 1950's using a valve (tube) operated device. It was unreliable but the idea was there.

[@ParaBellum2024]

Like so many of the prototype products shown on Tomorrow's World, this one is pretty useless. But the idea was there, and that was the point. Once new, better technology allowed it to be made workable, the satnav as we know it was developed.

[@robertcalhoun3123]

Yes GM had autotronic eye as an option on nearly all cars in the 50s

[@hansplas510]

The Citroën B14 had the start-stop already in 1928, if I remember well.

[@MTSVW]

Really incredible-the announcements sound just like a modern GPS. I love seeing stuff like this that got it exactly right decades before its time. Would be fun to meet the engineers.

[@BlackPrimeMinister]

They were clever enough to get so much right and it's great to watch.

[@fidelcatsro6948]

its probably the same principle only that our modern voiceovers are recorded on little mini hard drives instead of dinosaur era cassette tapes!

[@lnteIIigence]

Demented.

[@morrismckinnon6047]

Cas Nav! Lol, if you missed a turn or went the wrong way the mileometer wouldn't know otherwise and would just stick to the pre recorded directions at where you should be! That would be fun!

[@davidjames579]

I can imagine it causing some fatal accidents. Turn right. Oops it's a one way, the right turn was for further back.

[@stephenphillip5656]

My cousin had a TomTom satnav which did that for a laff. It dropped him in Birmingham in the rush-hour by refusing to go any further. Now that's one mean piece of technology.

[@davidjames579]

@@stephenphillip5656 Lol

[@jusb1066]

indeed, it has no way to negotiate road works etc that may divert after the message was recorded, fixed route or nothing

[@bennri]

Mileometer? Odometer?

[@losttribe3001]

“Travel 200 yards and tur...” Ssssssssss 🎵I’ll tell you what I want, what I really really want🎵🎵🎵

[@shaunsmith1825]

🎶"we're on a road to nowhere"

[@vaderjones357]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@aaronmicalowe]

The bit at the end came true for some people.

[@jthecoder]

"Please turn around when it's safe to do so." "Please turn around when it's safe to do so." "Please turn around when it's safe to do so." "Recalculating route.... Please flip the tape over!"

[@gdholmfirth]

Recalculating.

[@JimBob_1975]

I used to have one of those but ended up having a serious traffic accident when the cassette player started spewing the tape all over the floor and jammed my feet on the pedals.

[@davidjames579]

Did you try to rewind to hear what the guy said again? Remember rewind eats the tape.

[@michaeltree5469]

Excellent! The next time I'm traveling through the Chatham area of Kent I'll be sure to install the Playing Unit, measure my tire size, connect the appropriate circuit board to the Control Unit, connect the cable from the Control Unit to the milometer, and load up my collection of pre-recorded cassette tapes. Talk about convenience!

[@australian8579]

Now I know why we seen so many tape cassettes on the side of the road back then.

[@LeeePowers]

"All it needs to know is what size tire I'm using." Totally rad,man.

[@Khayyam-vg9fw]

They're called "tyres" in Chatham.

[@SimirJohnson]

Witchcraft! Stay clear from this devils work.

[@abundantYOUniverse]

hahahah

[@ds99]

You’re really screwed if you take the wrong turn.

[@dotnetdevni]

I love seeing the old times in 40 years tech and hardware come a long way

[@usmansbk]

Feels like I'm watching a parallel earth

[@chubbychubbs5552]

If you were going from the south coast up to Scotland using just A and B roads it was a good idea to take a trailer to hold all the Cassettes of Tape.....

[@michaelhawthorne8696]

Chubby Chubbs While also carrying a boot load of food and not forgetting to book a weeks holiday just to get there. Using A and B roads would have took you forever especially in this contraption. I think the M6 was probably just started when this was filmed, going by the many pre-modern sign-posts and the odd Ford Anglia in the picture.

[@davidf6326]

@@michaelhawthorne8696 And you find the M6 considerably faster do you?

[@chubbychubbs5552]

David F Good point David, living in Brum I used the M6 hundreds of times.....not a nice part of a days work, but only having a laugh about the early technology.

[@benconway9010]

@@michaelhawthorne8696 this was filmed in late 60s or very early 70s

[@diedertspijkerboer]

If you go on a motorway, you need several cassettes that just say beep all the time.

[@numberstation]

All I need is a simple astrolabe, sextant and compass....

[@Ndlanding]

All I need is simple labia, sex and cum. Save ink! Cut out syllables! Safe sex! Er, ...

[@PATTHECATMCD]

Both sextant and astrolabe are useless without an up to date almanac, clock and calendar.

[@Theredrain6]

@@Ndlanding lol

[@Ndlanding]

@@PATTHECATMCD How does one know if one's calendar is up to date?

[@fhamidkhan]

I honestly think that this was a well thought and an advance device, well ahead of its time. It certainly is not scalable I.e for the amount of cassettes you need to navigate through U.K., but still Kudos to all who had invented it.

[@HOLLASOUNDS]

All modern sat navs where bassed off of this replacement of distence and time replaced by Satellite communications.

[@JohnReasons]

Considering this was a concept a couple decades before GPS, it was quite a revolutionary idea. Much like the SciFi tech of StarTrek, this could be considered the genesis of our navigation systems today. Amazing. I liked in particular the ability to program the parameters with a plug in circuit board.

[@Rossamus]

So there you have it... the origin of people driving their cars into lakes because their navigation system told them to do it was Tomorrow’s World in the early Seventies.

[@davidedwards3361]

No, back then drivers had common sense and were not completely reliant on technology, like people are today.

[@spidyman8853]

@@davidedwards3361 Agreed. And, people referred to maps if they were completely stuck.

[@rogersowers9837]

This is already out dated...now you can by them on CD'S! NO MORE BROKEN CASSETTES.

[@Gambit771]

Just scratched cd's.

[@Darkest_matter]

@Tone. Now you just plug a Bluetooth into the cigerette lighter and connect your phone

[@fidelcatsro6948]

even CDs outdated now they sell em on micro SDs!

[@Yengore]

So long as you had a pencil in the car you were ok when disaster struck.

[@fidelcatsro6948]

@@Yengore jahaha lol

[@HorsepowerArt]

3:44 That bloke broke his indicator lever off :D

[@southwest3671]

Horsepower Art Good observation and 100% correct. 👍🏼

[@crazyjay7676]

Britain leads the world again

[@tomlinid]

It already leads the world in things like Hooliganism, political correctness and drunks on the street.

[@phillippereira6468]

Pretty certain this system never took off. So not really.

[@davidjames579]

Crazy Jay Into a river

[@scaleop4]

@@tomlinid lol that's one way of putting it.

[@romanlakes]

keechmabreeks for all the talk of Britain having a lot of stabbings, America has more per capita. Our murder rate is much lower too

[@DaveMcIroy]

Why doesn't he just use Google Maps???

[@d33p345]

yeah smh

[@TheRealEnglishTeacher]

Because Google Maps never works

[@saeedashtiani1968]

May I know your IQ? Are you from Kansas?

[@DaveMcIroy]

@@saeedashtiani1968, r/wooosh, stupid.

[@nathancox6249]

At the end they know the future even before sat nav

[@jazzx251]

Just wow! As long as there's no diversions, this works even better than modern SatNav ... you get much more detailed instructions "turn right just before McDonalds into Eddington Road" etc. I like how they cleverly linked the distance travelled to the car's mileometer.

[@XYZUNKNOWN]

Doesn't take into account road works or updates routes when needed though does it?

[@jetli740]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2147617/Iter-Avto-The-antique-route-The-sat-nav-1930-used-map-scroll.html much more advance version

[@dukenukem5768]

Not just diversion - would foul up if you missed a turning. I often miss turnings with a satnav because I'm in wrong lane on an unfamilair road. A satnag gets you out of that with a route re-calculation. I hate to think of trying to get this thing out of a mess - rewinding tape etc.

[@krollpeter]

@@aDistantLight After 5 miles head north-west. LMAO.

[@marksparkes1]

would I swop modern technology's for the empty roads. Hell yes!

[@gavinminion8515]

"Cassette of Tape" - it's a long time since I heard it called that. Also tickled by the phrase "And if I ever use a different route, I simply use a different Cassette". I am assuming the boot is full of cassettes for every conceivable journey. Sorry, I meant to write: "The boot is full of Cassettes of tape for every conceivable journey".

[@Ru556]

It's wonderful how all this fits into that Satnav thing and you don't even see it.!

[@RevolutionibusOrbiumCoelestium]

Miniaturised cassettes of tapes 😉

[@minutesofdamish]

Look at the amount of effort put for this videography in 1971

[@jibjab351]

My Satnav is on 8 Track.

[@punkybrewstershubby]

Davey R My SatNav is on a 78LP!

[@kdrapertrucker]

Yeah you keep running into buildings when the track changes during a direction. "Make left turn (click..........mclick) now"

[@kdrapertrucker]

@@punkybrewstershubby set the turn table speed to 33 1/3 if you want to drive slower.

[@caractacusbrittania7442]

Ahhh my country back then...... How clean and English Damn I miss that

[@brain8484]

your country ?

[@imsbvs]

look at those cars .. amazing!

[@malcevans5762]

This is so funny . I once took a trip from Nottingham to Birmingham and recorded a cassette. Minus the fancy timer . I just switched it on when I needed it . It worked .

[@dramaalert7020]

Ideas comes today, Reality becomes tomorrow.

[@mortifinkenbein9559]

I'm sure that this eventually will be a big success ...

[@speakfreeley4473]

The ending then & now. No change there.

[@datathunderstorm]

This archaic video clip should be shown in schools, so the youth of today can truly appreciate satellite navigation technology built into virtually every smartphone today. I recall navigating my way across the UK in the early 1990s using just maps!

[@fidelcatsro6948]

Legend has it you can still hear the screeching of the VW falling into the river after every midnight even 50yrs later...GPS computer systems were improved after this tragedy...

[@damienspectre4231]

3:10 - "Applications include Self Drive Hire cars from Airports..." :D

[@Mirandorl]

Now if you'd just bought the version of that car in white, with red and blue go faster stripes and the number 53 on the side, it would have driven itself.

[@kdrapertrucker]

True

[@ZaPpaul]

That was seriously over-engineered. "Were would you like to go today Jean?" "Oh let's go to Skegness!" "Ok, let me just send off for the cassette, should only take a couple of weeks to arrive."

[@boomerz2478]

You recorded the tapes over the phone in a few minutes.

[@WistrelChianti]

watching a wheel go round a certain number of times and then toggling a relay is indeed much more over engineered than designing and launching 60 odd satelites that need to use relativity to work properly and then inventing microchips ;)

[@ravey99]

You have to marvel at the ingenuity for the time.

[@CitizensLens]

I'm more impressed with the vintage Beetle than with the fancy tape player. Sweet ride.

[@robbiecrosbie4506]

You would need a boot full of tapes lol

[@josepeixoto3384]

a boot the size of a football field for EVERY possible traject lol.What a rip-off;

[@yvrelna]

I'd Imagine that you'd pre-record the ones you expect to need when you're at home.

[@nascar0509]

Ah, Michael Rodd, fond childhood memories....

[@georgeknowles8762]

I thought it was John Craven.

[@cmartin_ok]

Yup, looked like Michael Rodd to me too

[@georgeknowles8762]

@@cmartin_ok Yes. My mistake. Don't keep reminding me. I'm embarrassed.

[@radstar2185]

Hilarious. Miss one turn and the mileometer is out and then what lol.

[@DavidSmith-oy4of]

Rewind the tape, obviously.

[@flashtheoriginal]

Im using it. It works! Top tip - put a pencil in your glove box, so you can wind in the tape when it spools out of the casing 👍🏻 ✏️ 🚙

[@denadavey1470]

I remember wrapping a cassette tape round our house as a kid(fairly obvious) & just waiting! There was miles of it. We ran around waving at my mum in the kitchen-where mums belonged back then! She got scissors & laughed! The doors all opened inwards 😂

[@louiselear-jones4777]

😂😂😂👏👏👏 Beaut! 😘

[@grahamhauritz6395]

How many accidents must have been caused when people put the wrong tape in.

[@jaysterling26]

If only they 'd waited a couple if years when Kraftwerk were on the show- they could've done had a live soundtrack of 'Autobahn'.

[@javilarg]

What have we here, laddie? Mysterious scribblings? A secret code? No! Poems, no less! Poems, everybody! The laddie reckons himself a poet!

[@flumpyhumpy]

Get on wi' yar werk!

[@cornovii3012]

"Money, get back / I'm all right, Jack / Keep your hands off my stack / New car / Caviar / Four-star daydream / Think I'll buy me a football team."

[@ufoclips1]

@@flumpyhumpy The question remains;how can you eat your pudding if you don`t eat your meat?

[@kdrapertrucker]

@@ufoclips1 IF YA DON'T EAT YER MEAT, YOU CAN'T HAVE ANY PUDDING!!! HOW CAN YOU HAVE ANY PUDDING IF YA DON'T EAT YER MEAT!

[@ufoclips1]

@@kdrapertrucker Exactly,it`s an impossible quandry.

[@ФилиппЛыков-д8е]

"...and that suitcase of cassettes is your complete guide to our wonderful town..." :)

[@KiyokaMakibi]

I had no idea such a thing existed this far back! Clever how they made this work.

[@-_-O]

4:30 Well, that was unexpected. Bloody Cas-Nav!

[@Holygasoline]

In those days you'd be lucky if you got to the end of a C60 cassette before your car broke down (again....)

[@JonnyInfinite]

God, I haven't been asked for directions for years....I almost miss it

[@michaelmallory2926]

JonnyInfinite Good point, (almost) gone are the days of drivers asking for directions, however, a few months ago I had to pull into a petrol station and ask for directions because my phone died.

[@markm49]

Giving directions then when they have gone on their way realising you gave them the wrong ones. Oops.

[@ilyakogan]

Come to Israel; I get asked for directions here all the time :-D

[@surisuri8993]

This is going to be bloody brilliant when it comes out.

[@gslim7337]

One aspect not mentioned by the commentator and all cassette player owners will well remember is the dreaded "tape shredding" where the tape in the cassette hooks around the roller and gets sucked into the internals of the player. Bad enough when you are just watching "White Room" being turned into a brown streamer, a bit worse when you are depending on that tape for navigation. Love the video. The Beetle is an absolute classic car.

[@adambrickley1119]

Brilliant. I'm stealing this and going on dragons den.

[@bricology]

Narrator: "But pedestrians naturally think in terms of walking." Car's odometer: reckons distance in tenths of a mile. Navigation system: reckons distance in yards. Me: "um..."

[@Dave5843-d9m]

1/10 0f one mile is 176 yards. But he could have been told in furlongs (220 yards) or even chains (22 yards). A cricket pitch is one chain. Horse racing still uses furlongs.