It’s no secret that we were abundantly excited about GM’s recent announcement of the soon-to-be-released smartphone apps that allow owners to remotely control their Chevy, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac vehicles (you can listen to the excitement on our podcast here). A brief summary: the apps will give us the ability to do everything one can currently perform using a traditional key fob, including locking and unlocking doors, activating the horn and lights, as well as remotely starting the vehicle. However, GM’s announcement curiously stated that “Owners of most new 2011 [GM vehicles] will be able to take advantage of said features.
Well, we’ve received a slew of letters in our mailbag about the whole “2011” part, most of which were asking whether owners of pre-2011 models will be able to take advantage of the functionality provided by the apps. Well, we now have the official answer, straight from The General.
It appears that the aforementioned OnStar functionality is driven by new (9th-generation) hardware that will be included in 2011 model year GM vehicles. As such, the older models won’t be able to be retrofitted or upgraded to take advantage of the apps in question.
While that’s GM’s official stance, we wonder what the ever-creative aftermarket community will cook up. We also wonder whether significant market demand (and perhaps a wee bit of pressure on GM) will cause our favorite automaker to offer an upgrade kit of some sort for pre-2011 models… because, you know, we don’t see many shelling out for a new vehicle to take advantage of these features(as cool as they may be).
Comments
I own a 2004 Colorado with On-Star(digital upgrade). While I understand the lack of on vehicle equipment to full support the new iPhone App, I would think there should be an app with stripped down features could be developed. Such as: GPS location of my parked vehicle, unlock/lock vehicle, read “Check Engine” messages, remote start. It is uncommon for me to keep a vehicle less then ten years. In fact the 2004 Colorado in the newest of my 3 vehicles (2001 Chevy Tracker, 1993 Ford Class C motorhome).
Les, I don’t think the barrier is the app but the actual OnStar hardware in the vehicle. The apps are quite flexible whereas the hardware in the cars and trucks isn’t.
Here’s some more info that may be useful. http://gmauthority.com/blog/2010/08/report-2010-model-year-and-older-gm-models-not-compatible-with-upcoming-onstar-apps/
Alex Luft
Founder, GM Authority
I don’t care if the barrier is with the actual OnStar hardware in the vechicle or not. It’s typical of GM to leave existing owners in the dust while clamoring for new owners. Even after all that GM has been through over the past 3 years or so, they still haven’t figured out that the best advertisement in the world is word of mouth, and that is developed and cultivated by caring for those who supported them through the lean years.
It’s a damned shame that at least some of the features of this app cannot be utilized in my 2008 SRX. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind when I replace the vehicle.
Seems awfully lame, since OnStar has no issue with sending me (via email) detailed information about my SRX, such as oil life, tire pressure, when service is due, etc…
Sounds to me like GM just doesn’t care enough to create an app that will utilize the features already available. Like Les said, I understand I wouldn’t be able to do all that a 2011 model year vehicle can, but some functionality would be nice.
GM is woking on making 2008 model year and newer vehicles compatible with the new OnStar technology and apps:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2010/11/report-onstar-working-on-older-model-compatibility-with-smartphone-apps/
@Chuck Brunson and @rjs2005 After giving this matter more thought, both of your arguments seem completely out of touch with reality to me.
You both have vehicles that have old hardware yet still expect to get a brand new feature… It’s not like either of you, back in 2008, purchased your SRXs hoping to use these apps in the first place. And never mind that OnStar is the only system of its kind that offers all the features it does on your SRXs. Chuck, good luck getting something even remotely similar to OnStar when you look to “replace the vehicle.”
At the end of the day, what we’re witnessing here is the increased tech content in cars. It’s very much analogous to a computer. Just because you bought a laptop (or a smartphone) in 2008 doesn’t mean that you should expect to receive a brand new HARDWARE feature that debuts three years later in 2011. That’s just progress and the pace of innovation… simple as that.
Especially today, technology moves forward (rapidly) – and some customers will simply be left out of newly-introduced gizmos. What’s most displeasing to me, however, is that both of you are expecting backwards compatibility with (your) older products/vehicles. That’s the antithesis of innovation!
If all new inventions (like these new apps) are brought to market ONLY if they are backwards-compatible with older models/products, then we wouldn’t see a huge portion of new products and innovations. Don’t you think?
PS: I don’t mean to be rude (sorry if it came off that way)… but what you’re requesting/expecting is the complete opposite of progress.
Alex Luft
Founder, GM Authority
Did no one think to log on to the onstar website to check for compatibility? I mean, you all have iphones…I double checked before I decided I wanted to buy a used 08 Tahoe. I heard about the application and stopped to think (even though the used car showroom guy claimed that it would work on the 2010 model he is trying to sell me). However, the 2010 model and 2011 model prices were very close and I decided to do some research. Went to http://www.onstar.com/web/portal/home and looked up compatibility. Turns out the 2010 works. Though I was hoping for a cheaper price. I’m now researching whether or not it would work on an 08 model if I installed the 9th generation screens/satnav in it. If that is the case then I would for sure buy the 08 as it’s in great condition. However, if it doesn’t it may not be a big factor in my decision to buying the car but I’d really like to have the feature so do your research before you buy..even if it won’t fully change your decision to buy…know exactly what you’re buying before you do it…even dealerships, showrooms, used car salesman and friends make mistakes.
Alex, I respectfully disagree with your analogy. If microsoft or any competitors of similar products or any other technology products did not make backward compatible products, you would have a lot of folks not repurching products from these folks. Pentex cameras come to mind. I bought a new pentex k series camera. It is backward compatible to every lens pentex ever made, EVER, clearly digital technology limits the features of older lenses, but they can at the very least be used manually. So one does not have thousands of dollars worth of lenses sitting in a draw no one can use. Limited use would have been a nice gesture.
NJS — it’s one thing to discuss backward compatibility of a camera — a recreational tool for most; it’s a completely different thing to consider OnStar, a feature/tool that can possibly save your life and needs to be 100 percent, 100 percent of the time.