The end of the argument?

Ask directions? A man? Not only wouldn’t he stop, he’d just keep driving and ask his wife to read the maps even though it would make her carsick. Their different approaches, needless to say, did not make for pleasant rides, which explains why the gift she received has been more than merely a handy tool. It’s been a marital godsend.

Portable global positioning devices have, in just a few years, gone from being nowhere to everywhere - in our cars, on our phones, and on our watches. And one way or another, the number of drivers who no longer turn to Mapquest or the crumpled up maps in their glove compartment to get them places - instead relying on global satellites deep in space to guide them - is on the rise.

Nearly 18 million personal navigation devices have been sold in the US so far this year, compared to 12 million in 2007, and predicted sales for next year are nearly 19 million, according to ABI Research, a New York firm that tracks trends in global connectivity and technology. And, according to ABI, roughly one in five automobile drivers in the US use some sort of GPS in their cars, including cellphones: 70 percent of the phones now come with the device.

With that rise has gone one of the last great arguments in the front seats of cars everywhere: She wants him to stop and ask for directions. He would sooner spend a week in a Cleveland Motel 6 with the in-laws.

“The GPS has been a family saver for us,’’ says Wendy Wanger of Newton, who gave her husband, Barry, a system for his birthday three years ago. “The stress level around giving Barry directions and/or getting lost used to make many trips difficult. He’s generally very calm but getting lost is one of his triggers.’’

As for her husband, his sense of direction is so lame that when he was single, he jokes, he lived in a one-bedroom apartment so he wouldn’t get lost. He loves the pleasant female voice on the GPS that tells him to turn left or turn right. He loves that it gives him the choice of the shortest distance or shortest time to his destination. He loves the little ding that signals an upcoming turn. Most of all, he loves getting where he’s going.