The 1981 Toyota Celica became the first production car with a built-in electronic navigation system.
Toyota offered the system in Japan as the Electro Gyro-Cator. It used a gyroscope, a helium gas sensor, and a transparent map display to estimate the vehicle’s movement and position. Unlike modern satellite navigation, it did not receive GPS signals.
The display showed the car’s changing position relative to a replaceable map sheet. Because the system relied on inertial sensing, errors accumulated over time and the driver had to update the map and position reference.
This milestone is often confused with the first GPS navigation system. GPS-based automotive navigation arrived much later, after satellite positioning and digital mapping became practical. The Celica’s system was nevertheless a genuine production-car navigation aid and a landmark in automotive electronics.