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OnStar announces a blue button for any car, Best Buy handling the installs
Want OnStar? Sure, why not, the company fields over three million calls a month from six million mostly from satisfied customers. But, until now, that blue button has only been able to be pressed by those who own General Motors cars. Now it's spreading out to just about anyone, 99 percent of cars will be able to be supported by the new OnStar mirror, which the company is simply calling its "retail product." For $299 (plus installation) you get a replacement mirror that will wirelessly connect you to the OnStar service. It also has Bluetooth, so it can connect to your smartphone, but we're guessing many cars won't be able to have their doors unlocked remotely, what is surely OnStar's killer app. Quite naturally you'll need to pay up to use it, service fees currently going at $18.95 a month, or $199 annually. Best Buy will be the exclusive partner here, which is perhaps bad news if you've read the horror stories about what sometimes happens in those blue and yellow stereo install bays. OnStar showed off its ability by having mirrors installed in a variety of vehicles, ranging from a Camry to a Grand Marquis -- hot cars they're not but a pretty effective demonstration of the range of applicability here. GM also took this opportunity to show off the latest revision of its two-wheeled EN-V, which we'll be taking for a spin a little later this week. All that fun is captured in the galleries below. %Gallery-112602% %Gallery-112604%
GM making Volt parts from oil-soaked booms used in Louisiana, getting greener by the minute
You can be as jaded as you like, and trust us we've offered our own fair share of cynicism, but let's put that aside for a moment as we learn that General Motors is pulling in about 100 miles worth of oil-soaking booms, 100,000 pounds worth that would have otherwise gone into landfills, and turning them into stacks of plastic parts that will go under the hood and in the front bumper of the Chevrolet Volt. The booms of course come from the Louisiana coasts, where oil is still being collected despite the US media having collectively forgotten all about it. These 100 miles of booms will provide enough parts to outfit the entire first-year production Volts and, while we're sure this is as much a PR move as it is a practical or environmental one, we're going to go ahead and just call it a win-win.
Chevy builds antenna into body of 2011 Camaro convertible, includes free bumpers for all (video)
We know all about the great woes that can befall a company when it tries to integrate an antenna into the body of its product, so we couldn't resist covering Chevrolet's latest attempt to do the same -- but on a larger scale. Early versions of the 2011 drop-top Camaro found themselves rolling out and about with a rather unsightly appendage hanging off the rear, a big whip antenna that was a little too genuinely retro to go with the machine's throwback styling cues. On hardtop Camaros the antenna is integrated into the rear windshield but, given the disappearing nature of this car's roof, that wasn't possible here. For help GM turned to two dedicated Antenna Engineers, Don Hibbard and Gregg Kittinger, who managed to find a way to bury the unsightly thing inside the svelte spoiler perched on the rear deck lid. Problem solved -- well, except that XM and OnStar require a separate shark fin that can sadly still be seen hanging out on the trunk. Maybe the 2012 model will be totally fresh and clean.
Chevy Volt starts shipping to customers, most of whom forgot they ordered one last decade
Mark it down, folks -- it's a monumental day. In a way, this marks the end of one of the longest running sagas covered at Engadget, but in reality, it's probably the start of something else entirely. Chevrolet's Volt was once the starlet of the electric vehicle universe. And then 2009 happened. In the meanwhile, a smattering of other automakers have moved forward with hybrid and pure electric plans, with Tesla's Roadster heading out to thousands of motorists and Nissan's Leaf shipping to customers earlier this week (just to name a couple). Of course, GM still maintains that the Volt is the "world's first-and-only electric vehicle with extended-range capability," but we're sure a laundry list of rivals would love to argue that point. Regardless of the hurdles and hardships, Chevy has still managed to turn a far-flung concept into reality for around 160 people this week, and a slow but steady trickle of these things should continue for the foreseeable future. If you're wondering if placing an order is right for you, have a look at our most recent test drives.
CE-Oh no he didn't!: GM's Dan Akerson says he 'wouldn't be caught dead in a Prius'
Think GM's CEO sees the Toyota Prius as a worthy competitor that, in many ways, paved the way for the Chevy Volt? Think again. Speaking to the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. this week, GM CEO Dan Akerson described Toyota's hybrid as a "geek-mobile," and flatly declared that he "wouldn't be caught dead in a Prius." Not surprisingly, it didn't long for Toyota to respond to that slam, with a company spokesman telling The New York Times that "Toyota has sold more than two million Prius hybrids worldwide, and counting. Those buyers can't all be geeks." What's most troubling to us about all of this, however, is the implication that a "geek-mobile" is somehow a bad thing -- it sounds pretty awesome to us... geeks.
2011 Chevrolet Volt: constructed from start to finish in two mind-melting minutes (video)
It took half a score to actually get real, but did you know that it takes but two minutes to construct a 2011 Chevrolet Volt? Okay, we lied -- one minute, fifty-five seconds. Hit play below to enter what Kenny Loggins would describe as "The Danger Zone."
GM's new crash test dummies can say 'ouch!' 10,000 times a second
General Motors may have gone through a teeny tiny bankruptcy problem, but that doesn't mean it's behind the times. The American motor maker's just unveiled its latest crash test dummies -- or anthropomorphic testing devices, to give them their highfalutin title -- which are capable of beaming out status reports 10,000 times per second. Equipped with 70 to 80 sensors each, the new family of test devices spans a wide range of potential passengers, from fully grown males to toddlers, though it is slightly disappointing to see they all have washboard abs and perfect posture. Come now, GM, we'd hardly call a race of perfectly sculpted drones that can speak fast enough to converse with a hummingbird representative. Video and the full press release can be found after the break.
Team at Purdue University working on high-temp generators to suck power from car exhaust
You know all that gas spitting out the exhaust of your car? Not only is it full of carbon monoxide and other things you shouldn't breathe, it's also full of heat. Heat is wasted energy, and students at Purdue University, led by mechanical engineering professor Xianfan Xu, are working to capture it. With some funding from General Motors the team is working to create better thermoelectric generators, or TEGs, that work at much higher temperatures than those we've seen before. A current Purdue prototype works at 700C, or 1,300F, which could be found behind a car's catalytic converter and generate enough electricity to reduce fuel consumption by around five percent. Future versions would work at higher temperatures and offer better results. Last year BMW indicated it is working on similar tech with deployments coming as early as 2014, and so now the race begins, though the culmination of their efforts will surely look something like this.
GE buying 25,000 electric vehicles by 2015, nearly half to be Chevy Volts
The General needs a new ride, and he doesn't roll light. GE has announced a plan to purchase 25,000 electric vehicles worldwide by 2015, starting with a grab of 12,000 Chevy Volts, the car we recently got very comfortable with. As we've learned that model is hardly an EV in a pure sense of the term, but it certainly offers the flexibility that a fleet like this will need while the infrastructure required to support your Leafs and the like is built up -- an infrastructure which, by the way, GE is pledging to help develop as well.
Chevy Volt preview: escape from DC in today's car of tomorrow
Okay, we're no Snake Plissken, but let's just say that DC has become something of an interesting town lately, with mock-left and faux-right wing pundits holding giant rallies, political candidates being accused of witchcraft, and various other signs of the apocalypse happening every day. We were glad to make it out with both eyes and we were glad to be doing so in the car of the future that's finally a part of the present: Chevrolet's $41,000 Volt. It's actually (honestly) in proper production now, being delivered to select dealers soon, one of those production models given to us to drive from our great nation's capital to the cultural capital of the world: New York City. We easily managed it on a single tank of gas, but what kind of mileage did we get? You'll just have to read on to find out. %Gallery-106832%
OnStar's MyLink smartphone apps now available on Android and iOS
Looking to spend a little quality time with your ride this weekend? If you just plunked down for a 2011 Chevrolet or Cadillac, and you just so happen to own an Android or iOS-based phone, you can now download the myChevrolet, myCadillac, and OnStar MyLink mobile phone apps that were duly introduced last month. We're told that the Buick and GMC versions will be launched in November, with the whole crew enabling owners to access vehicle-specific information, vehicle diagnostics, and even lock / unlock the doors. There's still no word on widespread Facebook integration, but hey, baby steps... right?
Shocker: Volt's gas engine is indeed mechanically connected to the drivetrain (updated with GM engineer's response)
Interesting news from General Motors today that's resulted in some puzzled expressions at Engadget HQ. We've learned that the Volt, which Chevrolet has been making quite a fuss about calling an "extended range electric vehicle," is actually just a traditional hybrid with some... potentially misleading marketing behind it. Since the concept stage the company has been saying how the onboard internal combustion engine was just to charge the batteries, that only the electric motors (there are two) are actually connected to the drivetrain. Indeed that's what we were told in person when we test drove the thing back in March. We're now learning that is not the case, that the Volt's gasoline engine can directly provide power to the wheels in concert with the electric motors. Is that a problem? In terms of efficiency the answer is "apparently not," as we're guessing the car would not have been designed this way if it weren't the most frugal way to go. So, why all the deception? Why insist this isn't just a hybrid when it apparently is? When the company went looking for a government bailout it was in part awarded one because of the innovation shown in the Volt. Now that we're learning the Volt is basically just a plug-in hybrid with a bigger than average battery pack (Popular Mechanics is finding 30-odd miles of purely electric range), we're left wondering: where's the innovation? Update: We've added some further details and analysis below, and a confirmation from Chevrolet as well.
Tesla, Nissan, and GM working today to find uses for tomorrow's used EV batteries
The single-biggest cost of an electric or hybrid car today? Batteries, of course. A full set of cells is around half the cost of many such vehicles, and that they'll likely need replacing in 10 years means we'll soon have a huge number of formerly very expensive and still very toxic entities lying about. So, many companies that produce cars containing the things are taking this opportunity to hypothesize what to do with them when you're through. They could, of course, be stripped down and recycled, but after a decade they should still offer around half of their capacity, enough to buffer the power generated in a home solar array or wind turbine. In other words: reuse is the name of the game, with SolarCity and Tesla partnering to see if the former can make use of the latter's depleted batteries. GM (creator of the Chevrolet Volt) and Nissan (grower of the Leaf) have recently established similar partnerships with various energy and electrics firms, meaning that today's greenest cars could continue their enviro-friendly ways in the future -- even as their shells rust away in the scrap heap.
OnStar announces MyLink smartphone apps, voice-based SMS, Facebook plans
Looks like OnStar users (and not just the Modest Mouse-lovin' yuppies in the commercial below) will soon get their beloved social networking where they need it least: behind the wheel. The slogan for the company's latest re-branding campaign is "responsible connectivity," meant to highlight the company's next-gen hardware, OnStar MyLink smart phone apps, and the Audio Facebook Updates feature we saw last month that, along with voice-based SMS, is being tested as we speak. MyLink, by far the most interesting of the lot, will let you start your car, hit the horn, control lights and door locks, and check your vehicle's diagnostics -- from your iPhone or Android handset. Now that we got all that out of the way, why don't you check out the newest commercial (and read some sweet, sweet PR) after the break?
OnStar expected to add Facebook updates and texting soon, might make some services free
Time waits for no infotainment system and GM's OnStar seems to be well aware of that fact. Plunging headfirst into the social world, the driver assistance service is said to be planning to start conveying Facebook status updates and text messages in an upcoming update, reputedly landing later this month. Text-to-speech translation will be done on incoming notes and voice-to-text is said to be undergoing testing for outgoing updates. So you can tell your friends you're free as a bird, born to run, rocking the highway, or whatever else, without ever having to speak to them directly or going to the effort of typing anything. The future sure is awesome. Oh, and it might not be all that expensive either, as we're also hearing that OnStar might make some services completely free to better compete with Ford's Sync. Original image courtesy of merriewells (Flickr)
General Motors upping Chevy Volt production by 50 percent in 2011
On Friday, during a visit from President Obama to its Detroit-Hamtramck plant, GM announced some good news for all the Volt fans out there. Production from 2011 to 2012 for the electric vehicle -- originally slated at around 30,000 units -- has been boosted to a projected 45,000 units, a 50 percent increase. The Volt, which has a range of 340 miles (on gas -- it goes approximately 40 miles on battery alone) is being produced at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant, which received $336 million in investments to prepare for the production. The full press release is after the break.
OnStar expands smartphone control over entire 2011 GM lineup
It's safe to say that General Motors is struggling for relevancy these days and, while the Chevy Volt could be a huge step into the modern era for the company, that still leaves every other car looking a bit -- traditional, technology-wise. OnStar is going to help, expanding its Volt-specific controls to the entire 2011 lineup of GM cars. When we saw OnStar's Volt app earlier this year we loved how it not only let you control recharging but also unlock the doors and monitor system specs from anywhere. While monitoring recharging status obviously won't be much good if you're rocking a good 'ol ICE vehicle, you will still be able to start the car remotely, unlock doors, and also monitor stats like tire pressure and oil level from your iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android handset, as demonstrated in a video after the break. Yes, you'll need to be an OnStar subscriber to use the app, with rates currently starting at a somewhat steep $18.95 per month. Now, if only there were an app that could help us to afford a new ZR1.
Google Maps Send-To-Car feature goes live on Ford SYNC systems
Avid OnStar users received this here functionality a fortnight ago, and BMW owners have been bragging about it for years. But it looks as if the world's other automakers are finally coming around to one of life's undeniable facts: Google Maps is top-notch, and in almost every instance, trumps whatever factory mapping system that any given consumer has overpaid for. Today, drivers of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles in the US enabled with Ford SYNC can send business listings or addresses found on GMaps directly to their cars (from a web browser, naturally). With the new additions, Google's Send-To-Car feature is now active in 19 countries and across 20 brands, but we're guessing that your brand isn't one of them. Or maybe that's just us moping and looking for company.
Robonaut 2 enters final preparations before flying off into space
Tests, upgrades and final checks are being carried out on the Robonaut 2, the humanoid spacefaring robot that has been in the works since 2007. The baby of NASA and General Motors, this sack of metal and wires has already produced a catalog of 34 new patents and, according to GM, is setting the stage for new safety features in forthcoming generations of its road vehicles. Sensor technology being developed in the R2 could deliver better lane departure warning systems, adaptive cruise control, and more intelligent parking assistance. That's good news and all, but can we ship it out to the ISS already -- we'd rather it be off-world when its instruction set switches from "serve humans" to "serve human meat."
Chevrolet bringing 10,000 Volts in 2011, but it's the current of change that will kill you
Good news for all electric heads out there: "intense interest" in the Chevy Volt has led General Motors to expand its launch markets to now include Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Texas. They join California, Michigan and Washington DC, although only Austin in Texas and New York City will have the honor of retail Volts before 2010 is through; the rest of the new markets will get their fill in 2011. Though Chevy still hasn't set down a final date and price for its electric car, late 2010 availability seems to mesh well with a November 1 rumor we heard earlier. Beyond this year, 10,000 units are planned to be built in 2011, with 30,000 more coming up in 2012. So it's gonna be a pretty exclusive club however you look at it, now can we get a cheesy music video going for this car or what? Oh wait...
