It's Official: BMW Gets Google Local Search And It's Available Now...In Germany

It's official, there's a press release and everything. As part of their "ConnectedDrive" theory on in-car information systems, BMW is now the first auto manufacturer to offer Google local search straight from the in-dash nav system. You can look for Yellow Pages-type information like names and addresses of restaurants, hotels — locate service stations, banks, supermarkets, cinemas and Apple genius bars — and all of it right from your car. One catch — you've got to be in Germany. Well, it's a start and hopefully it's a preview of what we'll be able to see here stateside. This isn't the first pair-up between the two companies — Google and BMW had been offering the "Send to Car" function for a while now — that's the system that let's you transfer search results from the Google Maps website directly to the car. This new Google local search system now gives you access to the Internet from the car. Full release after the jump. More »