Items tagged with OnStar
It looks as though the unlimited data wars are extending to cars and trucks thanks to a partnership between AT&T and General Motors. AT&T, which was the last major U.S. wireless company to revitalize its unlimited data plan offering, is providing a $20 a month prepaid unlimited data plan for in-car use on Chevrolet vehicles. According to Chevrolet, its customers have been using the available OnStar 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot functionality in record numbers. Chevrolet says that its customers used 200 percent more LTE data in 2016 than they did in the previous year. “To put this data usage in perspective, Chevrolet owners and their passengers streamed the equivalent of more than 17.5 million...
Read more...
Transportation has evolved by leaps and bounds over the days of horseback riding, and so too has roadside assistance. Looking to take things a step further, Verizon announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit a connected vehicle service that will modernize roadside assistance in a similar fashion to OnStar. It's called Verizon Vehicle and it will be available commercially in the second quarter of 2015 (expected in April). Verizon Vehicle consists of an OBD II reader device that you plug into your vehicle's under-dash diagnostic port (the same port that mechanics plug OBD readers into investigate your Check Engine light). This connects to a Bluetooth-enabled speaker that...
Read more...
“Just a moment. Just a moment. I've just picked up a fault in the AE-35 unit. It's going to go 100% failure in 72 hours.” General Motors’ latest technology, which will find its way into future Chevrolet vehicles, has us thinking back to 2001: A Space Odyssey. While we doubt that the computers in future GM vehicles will go off on a murderous rampage, they will be able to detect faults in a limited number of components and alert the driver when they are near failure. GM is using what it calls “predictive technology” to constantly monitor the status of three important components: the battery, the fuel pump, and the starter motor. Additional critical components will be added to the program in...
Read more...
GM's subsidiary OnStar has reneged on highly controversial privacy changes it announced last week after enormous resistance and threats of a congressional investigation. On September 21, OnStar announced several changes to its terms of service. The company stated it would now track the position, speed, diagnostic error codes, seatbelt usage data, and crash information of all vehicles, even if drivers didn't have an active subscription. The company also reserved the right to sell the GPS data it gathered, though it claimed no personal information would be attached. Adam Denison, a GM spokesperson, justified the change by claiming it made it easier for cusomers to re-enroll in the service and gave...
Read more...
OnStar may be an excellent service for owners of General Motors vehicles, but what about those that just aren't hip on the idea of buying a Chevy? There have been no real alternatives to date, but that is changing this month. The OnStar FMV (For My Vehicle) is now slated to hit Best Buy store shelves on July 24th, with pre-orders starting on the 18th. It's hailed as the first out-of-the-box application of OnStar's "blue button" automotive safety and security services that can work on 90 million older vehicles, and it basically replaces your existing rear-view mirror with one that can phone home to OnStar. OnStar FMV sells for $299.99, plus $75 for installation, and service plans start at $18.95...
Read more...
The integration of technology in vehicles is just staggering. A decade ago, just having power windows, locks and a cassette deck was worth paying an upgrade fee for. Today, consumers are expecting fancy automatic transmissions, sensors that tell them if they're going to hit anything and a navigation system that talks to them. Crazy how expectations change with the onslaught of technology. But as a whole, this shift has been very positive. It's making cars smarter and safer, and in the case of OnStar, giving people an emergency exit should something bad happen. The only thing with OnStar is that it's reserved to one particular automotive brand: General Motors. If you aren't interested in buying...
Read more...
If you own a 2011 Chevrolet or Cadillac vehicle, and you also own an Android or iOS smart phone, there's a download you should probably seek out. Starting this weekend, owners of 2011 Chevrolet models can access their vehicle information and OnStar services right from their smart phones, as the myChevrolet and OnStar MyLink applications, available as free downloads, provide drivers with unprecedented connectivity to their vehicles from their Android or Apple iPhone device. Chevy has been trying to link up with smart phone owners in a big way, and these new applications definitely are steps in the right direction. It's only a matter of time before all automakers are doing something similar, and...
Read more...
General Motors has been pushing OnStar in their vehicles for what feels like forever. At this point, OnStar and GM just go hand-in-hand. We've come to expect it in new GM vehicles. But the technology hasn't really evolved a whole lot over the years, at least to technology driven consumers. But the world has moved on, and the world now lives on Facebook and Twitter. And so, Facebook is coming to OnStar. Yes, really! General Motors has announced a "relaunch" of OnStar, with the brand and focus now pointing to "responsible connectivity." Apparently that also involves adding Facebook audio updates, so users can hear the status updates of their friends without having to take their eyes off of the...
Read more...
We've all had times where we've wondered if we remembered to lock our car doors or forgotten where we parked our vehicle in a parking lot. Now, a new smartphone application from GM could help provide answers to these questions and more. GM plans to offer a mobile application for smartphones that will let OnStar users access information and control their vehicle directly from their handsets. The application will provide users with vehicle information such as fuel level, fuel range, remaining oil life, tire pressure and fuel economy averages. The app will also be able to start the vehicle, turn on the lights and control the door locks. In addition to providing helpful vehicle information, the OnStar...
Read more...
OnStar, the General Motors service that most people equate with getting into a car you have been locked out of, has been used to end a high speed pursuit. OnStar only began offering remote disabling in this manner earlier this year. Jose Ruiz's 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe was carjacked at gunpoint, but OnStar was used to both find the vehicle, and then disable the car's gas pedal. This was the first time the new disabling feature has been used to end a high-speed chase. As the vehicle ground to a halt, the carjacker fled. However, he fell into a pool in a backyard while trying to escape and was captured. The 21-year-old suspect was jailed and faces preliminary charges of robbery, carjacking, possession...
Read more...
OnStar is General Motor's security and safety system which, if you've heard the radio ads, can do everything from get your doors unlocked if you lock your keys in the car to automatically letting OnStar reps know if you are in an accident, even if you are unconscious. According to information leaked in a recent online survey, you may soon find Twitter integration on your OnStar unit. Wait, wait, isn't this precisely the sort of distraction that California was trying to outlaw with its anti-SMS while driving law? Yes, and no. Twitter use while driving using your cell phone is definitely out. But the way this is planned would use voice-to-text conversion. “While in your vehicle, you can use OnStar...
Read more...
