New features coming to OnStar

Regular readers of Consumer Reports will recognize the term telematics as meaning the combination of telecommunications and GPS technology. For those of you new to the concept, fear not—but get used to it. Telematics is either already in or coming soon to a car near you.

Probably the most familiar example of telematics today is OnStar, available on most General Motors vehicles. OnStar offers users a menu of safety, security, and convenience services, such as automatically alerting emergency personnel after a crash, tracking the vehicle if it is stolen, sending maintenance reminders, and providing turn-by-turn directions. The service requires a subscription, and some features cost more than others. Depending on the level of the plan chosen, OnStar can even provide stock quotes. Both Lexus and Mercedes-Benz offer similar programs.

Subscribers have come to rely on the service since OnStar was introduced on selected 1997 models. At his keynote speech at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, General Motors Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said OnStar hears from some 85,000 users every day, and that the service has responded to more than one million emergencies since 1996. Some 61,000 subscribers call every month alone just to get their car doors remotely unlocked when they lock themselves out.

And, Wagoner said, OnStar is just getting warmed up.

OnStar is launching its eighth generation with 2009 GM models and adding new features. Buyers of GM models equipped with a dashboard screen will be able to see OnStar-supplied information displayed on it. Previous versions used the smaller radio screen to display only basic information like distance to next turn and arrows indicating direction, in addition to providing spoken directions. Like past OnStar direction services, subscribers to the Destination Download service will be able to simply call an operator on the run with the push of a button, and say where they want to go. The directions and mapping information are then sent to the car.

Another new option is OnStar eNav, which will let users get directions from their home computer using MapQuest, and send them to their car.

Wagoner hinted at more applications to come during his keynote, including turning a cell phone into a remote control. For example, a cell phone could be used for remote starting, a convenience for warming or cooling the interior, and the ability to lock the car remotely from miles away.

Vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication is also coming, enabling different OnStar-equipped vehicles to communicate with one another to warn of traffic slowdowns or hazards ahead, much like the Dash Express portable navigation device.

But OnStar isn't the only game in town. Hughes Telematics, another provider, has inked deals with Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz, and it is courting other manufacturers. We'll give you a preview of the Hughes system in another blog soon.

—Jim Travers

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