Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

OnStar turns 15, has unlocked 4.7 million doors

Founded in 1995 and officially launched at that year's Chicago Auto Show, OnStar has just hit its 15th birthday. After unlocking 4.7 million doors and providing over 59 million turn-by-turn routes, the tech centerpiece found in General Motors' vehicles is not ready to sit back and revel in the past. Ford is constantly improving its Sync system and The General is looking to move OnStar into the same league. The major details of it plans are not yet available but we recently learned that OnStar is testing two interesting new features; voice texting and the ability to update your Facebook status simply by speaking.

As OnStar moves into the future, let's take a look at what it has accomplished over the last 15 years.

* More than one million responses to Emergency Service alerts, assisting drivers, first responders and local police departments in many life-threatening situations.
* More than 146,000 responses to Automatic Crash Notifications where OnStar sent emergency personnel to a vehicle whose driver was unresponsive after an airbag deployment.
* 198 different coastal communities helped with hurricane preparedness through OnStar's Crisis Assist.
* More than 59 million Turn-by-Turn routes delivered. What was seen as a preliminary step against distracted driving, Turn-by-Turn Navigation allows an advisor to send directions directly to a subscriber's Driver Information Center or radio.
* More than 4.7 million doors have been unlocked by OnStar's Remote Door Unlock service. OnStar unlocks 1,833 doors every day, a huge convenience for people who accidently lock their keys in the car. (It happens.)
* More than 147 million monthly e-mails have been sent to subscribers since launch, giving them real-time diagnostic reports of their vehicles.

Besides just helping those in need, OnStar can also "help" those with greed – the type of greed that would lead them to steal a car. If a thief manages to swipe a vehicle equipped with GM's big blue button, it can be slowed down remotely or, in other cases, OnStar can remotely block the ignition.

OnStar is a service that makes the lives of millions of customers a little easier, and we at Autoblog would like to wish it a happy birthday... as long as GM promises not to throw it a MTV-style Sweet Sixteen next year.

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/10/o...million-doors/

CDNROCKIES

Had it in my old Avalanche and always wondered why this system isn't standard on every vehicle?

Why wouldn't all companies cost share a base platform and then employ their own phone agents just like any other call center?

shyguy16

really people? 4.7 million of you?
i've never locked my keys in the car.

IS-SV

Same here, not something I can take advantage of.

bnizzle87

my friend had her escalade stolen and she called the call center, and they were able to retrieve the car right away. it was a difficult time for her, to the point where she couldn't even drive the car anymore. the next day, she traded it in for a toyota prius. she may have lost power under the hood, but gained back a new car, one that wasnt tarnished with an experience no one should ever experience.

SCRUFFDOGG

My wife did it at the boat launch while I was unloading the boat, thank god for OnStar.

CDNROCKIES

Ya, because that's all it's good for.

It was most useful the day I hit a deer in the middle of nowhere and was able to have them get in touch with the police immediately as there was no cell service.

shyguy16

where did i say that?

CDNROCKIES

You focused on the one silly aspect that it is used for. It has a multitude of functions that are much more important than that. However, the people that used the door lock function would likely be singing it's praises as it is probably less embarassing than facing the tow truck driver.

I apologize if you were offended by my response.

IS-SV

When it comes to Onstar, GM could have put this in all GM vehicles as standard equipment, the potential revenue from subscriptions might have covered the costs and then they could have touted the safety aspects for GM. But they didn't.

GM could have adopted ABS and stability control systems and made it standard on all SUVs years ago, but they waited. They could have been a leader in safety and touted these features for GM-branded SUVs, but they chose to be a follower.

The history of GM speaks for itself.

shyguy16

actually, i was shocked at the huge number of people that locked their keys in their cars.
not really focused on On-Star at all.

mmarshall

GM introduced OnStar first in Cadillacs, then in high-line Buicks/Oldsmobiles, and then on down the line, etc.....to Chevies. I agree that it was a mistake.......it should have been done across the board. But perhaps (?) GM's reasoning was that those who pay the most for their new vehicles should get the latest technology first.

An excellent example of this was when the GMC division did not install dual-front-air bags in its trucks/vans/SUVs until the Federal deadline in 1995. Most other automakers (and divisions) had drivers'-side or dual bags in at least some, if not all, of their vehicles by then. The only other two holdouts (that I can remember) were the Mazda Protege and Chevy/Geo Sprint, with no bags at all until the 1995 deadline.

mmarshall

And, conversely, I'm shocked by the number of people who don't do the obvious, sensible thing and just keep a spare house and car key in a SECURE compartment in their wallet, like I do. It pays off.....at least twice, I've actually needed them, for real.

Fizzboy7

Not been a fan of OnStar since the start and here's why. When it first debuted, it was touted as a poor man's navigation system. The truth was, GM was too far behind the times to offer a real nav screen in their dated dashboards. So to hide their lag with the competition, they BS's millions of people into thinking OnStar was a legit alternative. Let's see... someone taking care of all their traveling destinations with their own nav system or having to rely on a another party? I didn't buy it for a moment. It wasn't until 5-6 years ago GM finally got on the bandwagon and started joining other manufacturers with adding what had already been available in most mid and higher end cars for the past 15 years.
None of this is shocking, as GM has long practiced shady advertising and marketing. Another example of this deception is their current magazine adds which are made to look like real articles written by the editors of the mag. But that's another topic for another time.

IS350jet

I wouldn't be too shocked, as I'd be willing to bet that at least two thirds of those unlock calls were made simply to show off the system for friends and family.
"Hey Jonny, check this out" LOL