GM to Offer Simplest, Smartest Navigation
System in North America
OnStar Turn-by-Turn Navigation
Available on More Than Two Million GM Vehicles in 2007
DETROIT - General Motors announced
today that for 2007, the company will fundamentally change drivers'
access to navigation by offering more than two million vehicles
in the U.S. and Canada with the first factory-installed, fully-integrated
off-board GPS navigation system - OnStar Turn-by-Turn Navigation.
The new service from OnStar by GM
will be standard for the first year on a number of GM retail vehicles
sold in 2007 including nearly all Buicks and Cadillacs. OnStar Turn-by-Turn
Navigation will also be available on many other GM vehicles through
a $100 optional OnStar package upgrade during the initial year of
service.
Customer demand for in-vehicle
navigation systems is rapidly rising. According to a J.D.
Power and Associates 1 estimate, 1.2 million 2005 model
year vehicles in the U.S. were equipped with factory-installed
navigation systems representing a 41 percent increase over
the 2004 model year.
"By adding the competitively-priced
OnStar Turn-by-Turn Navigation to more than 2 million vehicles
for 2007, GM will significantly increase the number of factory-installed
navigation systems on North American roads," said Mark LaNeve,
General Motors North America vice president, Vehicle Sales,
Service and Marketing. "In addition to the volume increase,
GM also will offer the most navigation options across more
vehicle segments and price ranges than our competitors."
"OnStar is truly transforming the overall
user experience by offering the simplest and smartest navigation system
on the North American market," said OnStar's President, Chet Huber. "By
leveraging our powerfully simple design, OnStar Turn-by-Turn Navigation
demystifies navigation technology for the customers and further differentiates
GM vehicles in the marketplace."
After the first year, customers can continue
enjoying OnStar Turn-by-Turn Navigation by renewing their package for just
$299 per year, which also includes OnStar's complete suite of safety, security
and communications services. This makes OnStar Turn-by-Turn Navigation a
very affordable factory-installed navigation service for the mass market.
The simplicity of OnStar Turn-by-Turn Navigation
allows a consumer to talk to a live advisor, who in turn sends complete
step-by-step directions to the customer's vehicle through their OnStar system.
Audio directions are then automatically played through the vehicle's stereo
as they are needed, triggered by the OnStar system's GPS capabilities.
As the simplest and smartest navigation system
in North America , OnStar Turn-by-Turn Navigation's key advantages include:
Ease of Use: Just press the OnStar
blue button in the vehicle; OnStar advisors are available 24/7/365.
Hands on the Wheel, Eyes on the Road:
The system features convenient voice-guided directions delivered through
the radio speakers to guide the driver turn-by-turn to the destination.
Automatic Route Corrections: OnStar
Turn-by-Turn Navigation detects when the driver leaves a planned route
or makes a wrong turn and automatically offers updated directions to
the destination.
Pinpoint Positioning: The enhanced
GPS system utilized by Turn-by-Turn is fully integrated with the vehicle's
ABS module to deliver a more precise positioning solution.
Ten Million Points-of-Interest:
OnStar currently maintains and continually updates an off-board (centrally-managed)
database with about ten million point-of-interest locations in the U.S.
and Canada.
