Re Peat.......GM Adding On-Board Internet Service
By Justin Hyde
The Associated Press
L A S V E G A S, Nov. 3 ? The computerized voice
reading e-mail through the speakers in a Cadillac
Seville was female and slightly British. To
General Motors, it sounded like money.
The voice came from a demonstration Tuesday of a
service GM will offer in a luxury car next year to hook up
to the Internet and deliver e-mail and other data to the
driver, who controls it with spoken commands.
GM President and Chief Operating Officer G. Richard
Wagoner said the service, using the company?s OnStar
satellite-based system, would turn up in a few luxury
models starting in mid-2000.
?GM is ushering in a new era of automotive
communications that is destined to change the role of cars
and trucks for the American driving public,? Wagoner
said.
A ?Limited? Production
Wagoner declined to say how much the option would
cost, and would only say the first year?s production would
be ?limited.?
The ?Web car? is part of a larger GM drive to sell
services to the buyers of its cars, trucks and sport utility
vehicles. It?s targeting a captive audience; millions of GM
drivers who spend an average of about 80 minutes a day
in their vehicles.
The company has said that within five years, in-car
services such as Internet access and CD-quality satellite
radio broadcasts could generate revenues for GM in the
range of $4 billion to $6 billion a year.
During a demonstration at the 1999 Specialty
Equipment Market Association, the Seville?s driver was
able to have traffic data, stock quotes and a brief e-mail
read to him. The system was also able to play a MP3
sound file sent over the Internet.
Personal Web Page
Users will customize the information the system, called the
OnStar Virtual Advisor, sends to them through a
personalized Web page. There?s no separate screen in the
car; just the buttons used by the OnStar service.
OnStar, through its service center, can provide
directions, track a car that?s stolen, unlock a car when the
keys are left inside, and summon an ambulance if
necessary after an air bag deploys. The subscription cost
is about $17 or $33 a month, depending on the level of
services.
Wagoner said OnStar has about 100,000 subscribers,
and is growing quickly toward 1 million. GM has begun
offering OnStar as a factory-installed option on several
models, and is negotiating to sell the system to other
automakers.
GM is betting heavily that OnStar will give it a major
competitive advantage as its cost comes down and its
services expand. Over the next five years, GM plans to
invest more than $1 billion in OnStar and other
e-commerce activities.
Several automakers, including Ford Motor Co. and
DaimlerChrysler AG, are also working on linking their
cars to the Internet. Chris Cedergren, an industry
consultant with Nextrend, said getting e-mail while driving
would have a broad appeal ? especially if more laws are
passed limiting cellular phone usage while driving.
?In the next decade you?ll see a lot more computer
technology going into cars that?s Internet based, where
drivers can get as much information in their cars as they
can in their home,? he said. |
