OnStar Evolves, Adding Services; NEMPA Awards
We’re definitely old school. Our recent 1,700-mile return trip from Florida was planned well in advance.
Maps were consulted and mileage was plotted as our nightly stops were scheduled. We planned to spend the first night with friends, then two nights in hotels, and a fourth night with family.
Our 10-year-old Garmin GPS was updated online before the trip, then programmed with both our ultimate destination (home) and waypoints (the four overnight stops we’d planned). We heard lots of recalculating en route as we left the highway for gas, food, and rest stops.
It was one step ahead of traveling with a folding paper map.
Fortunately, everything worked as planned.
But what if it hadn’t? What if our 11-year-old car had broken down? What if weather or illness had delayed our travel? What if the car had been stolen from a hotel parking lot?
Worse, we could have been involved in one of the several accidents we saw en route.
There was the older couple whose Grand Marquis was wedged between trees alongside Rte. 95, the pickup truck pulling a trailer with livestock that jackknifed and overturned in North Carolina, and the compact car that had managed to jam itself under an 18-wheeler.
More than once on the trip I wondered about OnStar, General Motors’ connected service for emergencies, security, navigation, connectivity, and diagnostics.
One goal of our trip was to be back in Boston in time for the fifth annual technology conference co-sponsored by MIT and the New England Motor Press Association (NEMPA) on May 21.
It was one of life’s coincidences that GM and OnStar sponsored the opening luncheon with John McFarland, who carries the backbreaking job title of director of global insights and brand strategy, Global Connected Customer Experience (GCCE).
He spoke of the advances and future plans for OnStar, which is in its 10th generation with 7 million subscribers after 18 years on the road.
The plan now is connected with AT&T’s 4G LTE network, meaning the vehicle’s onboard antenna—that shark fin on the roof of newer cars—gives a stronger signal than in a phone, tablet, or “other portable device.’’
OnStar now makes its basic plan available for free for five years in new cars. It includes the remote link mobile app, vehicle diagnostics, and maintenance alerts. The mobile app has a lengthy list of features including the lock/unlock, remote start, and sound horn on your key fob, the ability to receive navigation directions you send to your phone, vehicle locator, WiFi hotspot manager and data use monitor, and vehicle diagnostics (oil life, tire pressure, EV range).
The first tier of pay services ($19.99 per month) adds automatic crash response, roadside assistance, and 24/7 access to OnStar advisors.
A second tier ($24.99) adds stolen vehicle location, ignition blocking, and stolen vehicle slowdown (with police involvement).
The top level ($34.99) includes navigation with directions and points of interest, and the company’s new At Your Service feature for booking hotels and getting retail discounts.
A new optional feature in the works is a Safe Driver Report. Sign up and OnStar will monitor your driving habits for 90 days.
“It’s not about optimizing fuel economy but more about checking the driving habits that insurers seek for giving safe driver discounts,’’ says McFarland, adding that drivers who like their report can go with the “Flo’’ and forward it to Progressive Insurance.
“The plan is to have the OnStar platform in new GM vehicles and be able to upgrade and improve it in future years,’’ he says.
Awards Time
The Ford F-150 with EcoBoost received the award as NEMPA’s Official Winter Vehicle of New England at an evening dinner following the technology conference. Chris Brewer, chief program engineer for the F-150 and an MIT grad, accepted the award … Ford’s Mustang joined the Mazda Miata and Chevrolet Corvette as convertible award winners from NEMPA’s annual Ragtop Ramble … Wayne Carini, auto restorer and host of Velocity TV’s “Chasing Classic Cars,’’ was master of ceremonies for the evening … Longtime automotive journalist Ken Gross gave a moving tribute to the late Denise McCluggage—racer, writer, and Automotive Hall of Fame member—in accepting her Lifetime Achievement Award … Volvo’s new XC90 won the Yankee Cup Technology Award for its advanced safety features, including frontal crash mitigation, pedestrian-cyclist protection, and the introduction of a Run-off Road protection with seatbelt tensioning and special seat cushions designed to absorb impact forces … One of NEMPA’s earliest members was Weston’s Gene Ritvo, a photographer and videographer, with a special eye for design and elegance. Sheldon Steele, executive director of the Larz Anderson Auto Museum, and Zachary Dollar of the Museum of Fine Arts staff, selected the Infiniti Q50 as this year’s Ritvo Award winner for design & elegance … WheelsTV president Jim Barisano presented the Previously Owned Vehicle of the Year Award for the 2006-12 RAV4—a giant steering wheel—to Toyota’s Antoinette Arianna.
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