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Transportation

GM Makes $1,500 OnStar Subscription Mandatory On GMC, Buick, Cadillac Models (thedrive.com) 228

Posted by BeauHD from the no-longer-optional dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Drive: If you don't want to pay for in-car subscriptions every month, no problem: Just pay it all upfront. That's the line from General Motors today after news spread that it's making a three-year, $1,500 OnStar connected services subscription a mandatory "option" for new Buick, GMC, and Cadillac Escalade models. The subscription, which enables things like using your phone as a key fob, data-enabled navigation, audio streaming, and Amazon's Alexa virtual assistant, is still optional on other GM vehicles, with the Premium package running $49.99 a month. But don't be surprised if this new setup spreads across the automaker's full portfolio.

The $1,500 charge for OnStar will effectively raise the base prices of these cars, though the exact increase varies from model to model. All Buicks will see a price increase of $1,500. Higher trim GMCs will see an increase of as little as $905 with the Hummer EV getting no MSRP boost. Base model GMC pickups, the Sierra and Canyon, are hit the hardest with a $1,675 increase. By far the most common price hike is $1,500, which also applies to the Cadillac Escalade, Automotive News reports. Speaking to GM Authority, a spokesperson said making customers pay for the service will "enhance [their] vehicle ownership experience." They went on to state that "By including this plan as standard equipment on the vehicle, it provides more customer value and a more seamless onboarding experience." The automaker confirmed to AN that buyers who don't activate OnStar and have no desire to use the services will not be offered a discount. Further reading: BMW Starts Selling Heated Seat Subscriptions For $18 a Month
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GM Makes $1,500 OnStar Subscription Mandatory On GMC, Buick, Cadillac Models More

GM Makes $1,500 OnStar Subscription Mandatory On GMC, Buick, Cadillac Models

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  • they will fuck with your trade in & say it's free at the dealer

    • they will fuck with your trade in & say it's free at the dealer

      That's why I don't discuss a trade in at ALL, until I have the negotiated price for the new car that I want and will accept.

      Two separate negotiations...I don't bring up that I have a trade-in until the new car deal is set.

  • Corporate Arrogance (Score:5, Insightful)

    by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Wednesday August 10, 2022 @10:49PM (#62779012)

    Why are mega-corps doing this? Because Fuck You, that's why.

    This is what happens when a company knows damn well they're Too Big To Fail, and have plenty of customers.

    Enjoy the era of Corporate Arrogance. Believe me it's only going to get worse.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      How do you think all these "connected car" strategies like V2V and V2I are meant to work? Somebody's gotta pay the data costs for all that connectivity and it sure as hell isn't going to be the car manufacturers.

      "Phone as a key fob, data-enabled navigation, audio streaming" are copping the blame here, but the real gold is the onboard telemetry feeds for the manufacturers - they've just worked out how they're going to make you pay for it. And they'll still on-sell your data.

      So yes, "Fuck you, dear customer,

      • Re:Corporate Arrogance (Score:5, Insightful)

        by pete6677 ( 681676 ) on Thursday August 11, 2022 @12:44AM (#62779160)

        They had to force the subscription because nobody was willingly signing up. Even the most clueless people have figured out by now that OnStar is fucking useless in a smartphone-connected world where Apple CarPlay and/or Android Auto do all of those things better and at a lower price point.

        • Re:Corporate Arrogance (Score:4, Funny)

          by zlives ( 2009072 ) on Thursday August 11, 2022 @07:52AM (#62779794)

          thats totally not true, i keep my yukon in my pants all the time in case of an emergency

        • Re:Corporate Arrogance (Score:5, Informative)

          by Zontar_Thing_From_Ve ( 949321 ) on Thursday August 11, 2022 @08:39AM (#62779916)

          They had to force the subscription because nobody was willingly signing up. Even the most clueless people have figured out by now that OnStar is fucking useless in a smartphone-connected world where Apple CarPlay and/or Android Auto do all of those things better and at a lower price point.

          You are correct. I promise I'm not a redneck, but I am a long time Camaro driver. My most recent is a 2015. OnStar is really aimed at Boomers and any Silent Generation people who are still alive. It's a terrible product for Gen X and younger because we know how to use technology. OK, most of us Gen Xers do. Basically OnStar's bread and butter is providing verbal driving directions (Some/many GM cars don't have displays capable of showing maps) to old people who don't know how to connect their phones to their car via Bluetooth. In my car, OnStar was set up so that I could do one of the following but not both.

          I could have the sound system pick up and make calls.
          - Or -
          I could stream music or driving directions from the phone and NOT answer and make calls.

          I ended up replacing the Chevy supplied sound system with an aftermarket one that can answer the phone, let me make calls and stream as needed. No just one or the other. As Boomers and above die off, their become fewer technology deficient old people who need OnStar, so that's why they are forcing it. Chevy sends me email begging me to subscribe still, even though I can no longer use it because my sound system has been replaced, and worse, they've admitted that OnStar in my car uses 2G (this will be flat out dead by the end of this year) and they don't seem to have a way to replace its dependency of 2G in my car. No thanks, GM.

          • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

            by eMODGod2 ( 6260822 )
            You may not be a red neck but you are an arrogant shit! Boomer here, was into technology long before you were born. I know many Gen Xers who are clueless when it come to technology. Just because your parents don't know how to operate their phone does not mean that ALL Boomers have the same problem.

          • Basically OnStar's bread and butter is providing verbal driving directions (Some/many GM cars don't have displays capable of showing maps) to old people who don't know how to connect their phones to their car via Bluetooth.

            That may have been the idea back in the day, but it isn't anymore. The OnStar functionality still relevant today includes the automated emergency call in the event of a crash, quick access to an operator who can track your vehicle in the event of other emergency, the ability to have OnStar locate and disable or slow your vehicle if it is stolen, and roadside assistance including remote unlock. There is a related group of functions called "connected services" that do or do not fall under the OnStar umbrella

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by BRTB ( 30272 )

        The V2V and V2I concepts weren't originally subscription-required. These were supposed to be modules that would broadcast (using "open-ish" protocols and radio standards) vehicle telemetry locally so other nearby cars and whatever traffic lights you were passing by can read it. DSRC [wikipedia.org] is the key word there. Now it's turned into C-V2X [wikipedia.org] which still follows the same "local broadcast" concept but needs a bunch of Qualcomm-gated cell technology instead of open-standard IEEE 802.11p radios.

        But that's a different sto

    • It's Cyberpunk, without the cyber implants. The Corporations have almost replaced the government...

    • Too Big To Fail? GM went bankrupt during the Great Recession and they have been slowly shrinking ever since (which is what the plan was when GM got bailed out, giving GM the ability to execute a managed decline). At this point, they are a specialized manufacturer of SUVs and muscle cars. Just buy from better automakers that make better cars too. Unless you really want an Escalade to show off, in which case pay the $1500 bling tax, please.

      • Re:Corporate Arrogance (Score:4, Informative)

        by Enigma2175 ( 179646 ) on Thursday August 11, 2022 @07:50AM (#62779784) Homepage Journal

        Too Big To Fail? GM went bankrupt during the Great Recession and they have been slowly shrinking ever since (which is what the plan was when GM got bailed out,

        Exactly, they got bailed out, hence "too big to fail". They went through bankruptcy so that the taxpayer would be left holding the bag, it ended up costing us ~$12 billion. If getting bailed out by the government to the tune of billions of dollars doesn't meet the definition of TBTF then what does?

        • The thing is, they are not "too big to fail" now. They have been slowly shrinking ever since they got bailed out, a managed decline if you will. GM cars are crap from a reliability perspective anyway, so you can avoid this fee by not buying from them. People who buy GM cars are people with more money than sense anyway, so for them paying an extra $1500 probably seems okay.

    • It seems that companies would rather have an ongoing revenue stream from you than sell you something for a one-time payment. Better still if they can sell you something like a tractor, then demand ongoing payments as well.

      The software companies have pioneered this approach and now it's spreading into other areas. Before long you'll be renting everything except food and air.

      And when you think about it Budweiser is there already. It's only rented and comes out much the same as it went in.

      • The difference with software is the we INSIST upon support, security updates, bug fixes, new features, and keeping up with current hardware matrix. Itâ(TM)s almost impossible to just ship something once and expect it to be as-is forever. Cars are KIND of the same way a though we expect to pay (through the nose) on a by-case basis for repairs - (never upgrades)

    • Michigan is a political swing state now. (as well bordering states that do a lot of trade with them)
      Automakers are Michigan's biggest industry.

      Neither political party can risk pissing off automakers and/or the United Auto Workers Union.

      Politics is no longer about ideology, or the good any particular group, it is just about one party trying to get power over the other. Companies use that for their advantage to make sure both side give them what they want, despite the consequences or effect on the rest of th

  • No, thanks (Score:5, Insightful)

    by T-RayTombstone ( 9147355 ) on Wednesday August 10, 2022 @10:50PM (#62779016)
    GM wasn't really in the running for my next vehicle purchase, but now--absolutely not.

  • Wah Wah Wah, don't like it? Don't buy the car.

    There is a LOT of competition in every segment of the auto industry. If their cars or o star service are so popular people will still buy in then more power to em. If not then the marketplace will punish them. No one is forced to buy any of their vehicles.

    I didn't even turn on my free 3 months onstar. Didn't need or want it. If they forced me to buy the I'd have told the dealer to drop the sales price by that amount or I'd get something else.

    Thankfully ou

    • Re:Who cares? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Martin Blank ( 154261 ) on Wednesday August 10, 2022 @11:04PM (#62779036) Homepage Journal

      At the moment, most vehicle sales are above MSRP, so the dealer will just go to the next person in line. Even Edmunds.com's price recommendations are mostly above MSRP.

      • Which is why now is, for the most part, not a good time to buy a car unless you have more money than brains. There are very few people who need a new car. The average age of the US fleet is like 11 years. Cars last twenty or even thirty years. If you have enough money to just look at this as a $1500 price increase for a car where you were going to pay above MSRP anyway, well then, enjoy your new car. For the rest of us, we can improve our financial situation and fight inflation by keeping that money sa

    • Re:Who cares? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by aaarrrgggh ( 9205 ) on Wednesday August 10, 2022 @11:39PM (#62779098)

      Interestingly enough, there isn't actually enough supply to allow you to vote with your wallet... especially on EVs.

      • You can vote with your wallet by not purchasing any new vehicles. Unless you have a twenty year old rust-bucket, you don't need a new or newer car. Just keep driving the one you have. (You as a general term, not you aargh specifically)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sjames ( 1099 )

      My only problem with that is that they'll then do an end run around the market and get bailed out by all the people who didn't buy in to their crap.

  • OnStar Premium features (Score:5, Informative)

    by Martin Blank ( 154261 ) on Wednesday August 10, 2022 @11:03PM (#62779030) Homepage Journal

    Here's what comes with OnStar Premium [onstar.com]:

    • Turn-by-Turn Navigation: No matter where you are headed, getting directions is as easy as pushing a button. Disclosure*
    • Automatic Crash Response: The help you need in a crash without having to ask for it. Disclosure*
    • Emergency Services: Specially trained Advisors are here in your moment of need. Disclosure*
    • OnStar Guardian App: Safety services right on your phone or smart speaker. Disclosure*
    • Crisis Assist: In a crisis situation, OnStar Advisors have a plan to help you. Disclosure*
    • Roadside Assistance: We’ll send the help you need for roadside trouble. Disclosure*
    • Stolen Vehicle Assistance: Technology that gets your stolen car back quicker and safer. Disclosure*
    • In-Vehicle Data: Get access to an available Wi-Fi® Hotspot that can connect up to seven devices. Dislcosure*
    • Remote Key Fob: Put your car’s key fob controls on your phone. Disclosure*
    • Voice Service: Integrate your vehicle with voice commands to your home’s Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant device. Disclosure*
    • Vehicle Locate: See your vehicle’s location on a map, and set and share custom boundary notifications for arrivals and departures. Disclosure*
    • Vehicle Settings: Customize In-Vehicle Apps* and preset radio stations using your vehicle mobile app. Disclosure*
    • On-Demand Diagnostics: Advisors are available 24/7 to run a vehicle system check if a warning light appears. Disclosure*
    • Alexa Built-In: Take the convenience of Amazon Alexa on the road with a fully embedded in-vehicle experience (if properly equipped). Disclosure*
    • In-Vehicle Apps: Access In-Vehicle Apps like Spotify, Audiobooks, The Weather Channel and more. Disclosure*
    • Connected Navigation: See real-time traffic and points of interest on your center display. Disclosure*
    • In-Vehicle Data: Power the built-in Wi-Fi® Hotspot, and support up to 7 devices that keep you connected on the go. Disclosure*

    Note that every one of them has disclosures limiting liability. And In-Vehicle Data is so neat, they mention it twice! The data cap on what seems to be a 4G service is apparently unlimited, unless, of course, the modem no longer works (see 3G-equipped cars from sometimes only a few years back that are losing connections because everyone is turning off their 3G networks).

    A few of these are potentially useful. But I get roadside assistance with AAA. I get navigation, streaming, and 100GB of hotspot data from my phone (plus another 100GB from my wife's phone). Google tells me where I left my car. I do not want Alexa and I really do not want Spotify; all the apps I need are on my phone and should play just fine through the speakers. And data about how my car is operating should be accessible to me by a simple app that can call up the status without having to go through proprietary systems. Overall, it's certainly not worth another $50 per month (or even $41.67 per month at the $1500 up-front rate).

    • I get navigation, streaming, and 100GB of hotspot data from my phone (plus another 100GB from my wife's phone).

      Maybe I'm old fashioned but I prefer a car that doesn't have any need for internet access, hotspot provided or otherwise. I wasn't even too keen on having a touchscreen in the dash (thanks to the backup camera regulations, they're now impossible to avoid), but thankfully since the car I most recently purchased was an el-cheapo base model, the touchscreen controls are only for the radio/bluetooth system.

    • It won't be long before the start button refuses to function unless OnStar can phone home. After all, advertisers NEED to know what time of day you like to drive.

    • Re:OnStar Premium features (Score:5, Interesting)

      by kamitchell ( 1090511 ) on Thursday August 11, 2022 @01:13AM (#62779194)

      I have a UniFi network set up in my apartment, and looked at the detected Neighboring Access Points.

      I'm finding SSIDs like myChevrolet, myCadillac, Toyota Sienna. Most everybody goes past my home on their way into the neighborhood, so the access points see their cars going by. Some people have even put their real names on their car!

      I've got logs with the SSID, BSSID (like a MAC address), and the last seen time. I know when the bus went by because of SSIDs like Free WiFi on Bus 3231.

      So yeah, turn on that convenient In-Vehicle WiFi and you can be tracked.

      • So yeah, turn on that convenient In-Vehicle WiFi and you can be tracked.

        Your vehicle can be tracked assuming there is a substantial network monitoring access points. Are you the only one who drives that vehicle and is that the only vehicle you drive? If your vehicle wasn't detected on a particular day does that mean you weren't there? Or maybe you went in somebody elses car, maybe you caught the bus, maybe you walked, maybe you rode your bike, maybe somebody else borrowed your car. Wouldn't it be far more accurate and better resolution - given it would work when you're not in y

    • Re:OnStar Premium features (Score:5, Insightful)

      by arglebargle_xiv ( 2212710 ) on Thursday August 11, 2022 @02:58AM (#62779292)
      So in summary:
      • A bunch of shit that helps GM, not you.
      • A bunch of shit that you get for free, and better, on your phone.
      • A bunch of shit that no-one cares about.

      No wonder they're having to force this on people at gunpoint.

    • - Remote Key Fob: Put your car’s key fob controls on your phone.
      - Voice Service: Integrate your vehicle with voice commands to your home’s Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant device.
      - Alexa Built-In: Take the convenience of Amazon Alexa on the road with a fully embedded in-vehicle experience (if properly equipped).

      No.
      Hell no.
      Fuck no.

      Any of those that interconnects a phone and the car -- No.

      • Key fob on a phone is nice. That way you don't have to carry the key fob with you. You can leave it at home. Have you ever had to get one replaced? It will set you back 300 dollars or so if you do it at a dealer.

        • Key fob on a phone is nice. That way you don't have to carry the key fob with you. You can leave it at home.

          Have you ever had to get one replaced?

          It will set you back 300 dollars or so if you do it at a dealer.

          Never been a problem...my car is in the driveway, if I get out to the car without my keys (fob attached to keychain)..I just walk back into the house and get my keys.

          That rarely happens, as that it means I'd not have locked my house up on exit.

          Nope..never had to have one replaced. They generall

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by kenh ( 9056 )

            Nope..never had to have one replaced. They generally give out two of them per car.

            Some car makers are handing new car buyers one fob and a promise to give them another next year - they point to supply-chain/chip mfg issues.

            Oh look, Toyota made remote start a subscription service:

            https://www.thedrive.com/news/... [thedrive.com]

    • My iPhone tells me where my car is parked for free. Some clever dev obviously realised that connecting via Bluetooth to a device with a car profile meant, shock and horror, that it was probably connected to my car! Easy as pie to put a pin down in the map app when Bluetooth disconnects.

  • GM (Score:3)

    by Anonymous Crowded ( 6202674 ) on Wednesday August 10, 2022 @11:04PM (#62779034)
    GM has not had a clue since before I started driving. Tone-deaf, they dropped cars that people liked, heavy-handedly pushed on-star and led the charge in the "NO MORE MANUALS" 'trend'.

    When they had to get rid of bad management, they paid for the 'golden parachutes' by raiding the retirement fund that was for ALL GM employees and blamed the UAW. When the union got custody/responsibility for the medical coverage, do you know what GM did? They sent people like my grandmother letters telling them that their insurance was cancelled. No explanation that it was just changing over.

    So now, we're still pushing the biggest gas guzzlers and we're racing to micro/macro payments . . .

    Just like most retail corporations, GM has survived thus far despite itself. They have ZERO concept of long-term survival and they have a blindfold on about even current events like the price of gas and their product's role in what's happening with the planet.

    GM doesn't even deserve a "get off my lawn".

    • They don't have to worry about surviving. Government Motors knows that it's too big to fail, and that it would never be allowed to fail, even if the US government has to bail them out again.

    • Are manual transmissions still really something that has a market? Until about ten years ago, manual transmissions were better than automatics and the sequential manual transmissions were even better. It was always the SMT-equipped variation that was used when quoting 0-60 times. But now six and eight-speed automatic transmissions with torque-locks (or clutch lockups or whatever they are calling them these days) have gotten so good that the only value in shifting gears seems to be nostalgia.

      I have a 20

      • Automatics are so much more efficient than any driver, the only folks stuck in the "OMG it doesn't have a 3rd pedal" are old "I can save 1 MPG by shifting" people. I recently got rid of a manual car, not because it had a stick but other reasons, and would go automatic all day if I were in the market for a car.

        • For me, it's not about that 1 MPG. It is partially just for the fun of driving. I see no reason that driving should be a dreary slog, and really *driving* makes it more fun. I actually have flappy paddles instead of a real shifter in my current car, and even though it's performant; it's just not as fun and engaging as a proper shifter. And I'll be going back to a manual with my next car... assuming I can still *get* a manual whenever that day comes anyway.

          Another good reason (In the US anyway.) for a ma

      • Out in the country manuals are definitely a better choice. Getting out of a ditch is way easier than with an automatic.

        • Re: GM (Score:3)

          by Malc ( 1751 )

          This, and any low speed manoeuvring. Also helps to have a manual handbrake too, especially if there the vehicleâ(TM)s on a slope.

          Then again, manuals are still more popular outside North America. That might be because we all learn to drive in manuals to avoid having a restricted driving license.

      • Are manual transmissions still really something that has a market?

        To me, a sports car without a manual stick shift is a complete waste.

        I'd really love a new mid engine corvette, but without manual...pass.

        It's not so much about the performance gain...it is the fun of driving with one.

        It keeps you alert and more engaged with the driving experience.

  • Over the last seventy years, Detroit, and associated dealers, has had a heyday of lax consumer protection laws, US federal government boondoggles. and redneck nationalism.

    Now, that old business model is failing and they are in the same situation as the RIAA, MPAA, etc... have encountered in the last 30 years, they are in a panic. .

    And they are handling it in the same shitty way that corporate thieves always do, grasping for the last straw of profit.

    P.S., I have been a car guy since the 1970's. I ch
    • I guess let them enjoy those last gasps of profit from people who want to own cars as a status symbol. Hopefully newer players will come along who will sell cars direct (without shady dealerships) in a way that people actually want to buy them. I was hoping that would be Tesla, but they seem to have fallen into many of the established-player traps. Hopefully, overall, the car market gets smaller as people decide that there are better ways to spend money.

  • How much to rip it out? (Score:3)

    by gurps_npc ( 621217 ) on Wednesday August 10, 2022 @11:23PM (#62779064) Homepage

    What if you do not want them to have a radio installed on their property that can be activated remotely, listen in, turn off your engine, etc. etc. etc.

  • OffStar (Score:4)

    by Wokan ( 14062 ) on Wednesday August 10, 2022 @11:28PM (#62779074) Journal

    OnStar can go fuck itself and GM can go down with it.

  • A "mandatory option" is an oxymoron.

    Years ago I sometimes ending up writing requirements documents. I was in development, not product planning, but the engineers often wrote the requirements document for projects in consultation with product planning and field people - that approach resulted in "contracts" that actually were objective, measurable, and not ridiculously overbroad. I admit I would sometimes include a section of "Optional Requirements" for capabilities that were considered desirable but certain

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by kenh ( 9056 )

      The 737 Max airplane had optional required equipment, that didn't workout so well for a couple airlines that tried to save a few bucks on their airplanes. In the end, Boing had to include the optionally-required feature on all 737 max airplanes.

      It was their MCAS system, as I recall.

  • Pants (Score:3)

    by dosun88888 ( 265953 ) on Wednesday August 10, 2022 @11:56PM (#62779114)

    I think we're less than a decade out from not being able to buy pants anymore, instead needing to subscribe to them monthly.

    What a world this is becoming.

  • They can take away your warranty, or refuse service, but what else are they going to do? Send you a letter in the mail? I'm willing to bet that if you walked into a dealership and refused the extended warranty or balk at the 1500/yr price for onstar, you could get rid of that charge pretty quick. But this is a dumb marketing ploy, and I don't think they ran the number right, becasue they will lose sales over this, esp with inflation. And I think they will lose more sales than their marketers do. We'll see
    • It's included in the sale price. You can turn the motherfucking thing off (probably, for now) by removing the SIM, but you can't refuse to pay the cunts

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by kackle ( 910159 )
      Contract followed by a collection agency.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by kenh ( 9056 )

      Cars are selling above list price.

      The manufacturer refuses to discount the item if you don't want it (not a delectable option).

      You won't be able to roll off the lot in one of these cars without paying for it.

      Your entire plan relies on the car dealer being so desperate to sell a car that they'll eat the $1,500 charge? That seems unlikely in the current car market.

      It's a $1,500 line item on the window sticker, it used to be a separate contract after the purchase, that has changed.

  • In socialist countries... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by VeryFluffyBunny ( 5037285 ) on Thursday August 11, 2022 @12:50AM (#62779170)
    ...we can just say, "Ah, fuck it. I'm not going to buy a new car & just take the bus, train, tram, metro &/or walk or cycle to work instead." Most of us have that choice (except for the anti-social people & farmers who live out in the sticks). Socialist public transport works pretty well & socialist urban planning means that the everyday goods & services that people need are within easy reach. All the supermarkets do delivery now although we might want to shop for fresh fruit & veg to see what's in season & what's good at the moment. We can also hire cars if/when we want to. With all the time we save not sitting in traffic jams, we can do things like spend quality leisure time with our families & friends in cafés, bars, restaurants, public spaces & parks. They're usually pretty busy & lively. I like living in a socialist country.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by c-A-d ( 77980 )

      Must be nice to live in a city with public transit. My city has a total of 10 bus lines... and it's 4-5 times faster to drive.

    • If you already own a car, and take care of it, the thing will likely last as long as you will. There is a third option you haven't reckoned upon. Just keep driving what you have.

    • Prove me wrong.

      That's the main argument used by IDrs and other religious people.

      I'm against what GM is doing but - you are the one making the assertion. It's upon you to prove it, not others to disprove.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by kenh ( 9056 )

      No, you support your assertion - it's a charge on the windows ticker, it's not hidden, so what's the crime? If you don't want it, don't activate it. On what basis is it illegal?

  • If you say "fuck you" and refuse to buy their car, rest assured that those 1500 will come out of your tax money the next time you have to save those "too big to fail" dinosaurs.

    • In the last round of bailouts, the US government made a profit (although not on the automobile portion). This is a $1.5k price hike on a $50k car. If your prediction is accurate, the best thing to do is to not buy any car and save the money for the lean times ahead.

  • Marketing 101 (Score:5, Insightful)

    by OpenSourced ( 323149 ) on Thursday August 11, 2022 @02:27AM (#62779262) Journal

    If they had said that they were rising the prices by $1500, cause inflation, but, hey, we'll give you FREE a 3 years' worth of OnStar! the feeling would have been different.

  • Car manufacturers plaster this premium subscription shit all over the screens of the vehicle. Even if you don't want it, it's stinking up the user interface with icons and notifications nagging you to turn it on. Whether that be satellite radio, onstar, internet or whatever. All that garbage should live in a settings screen and when it isn't enabled, it should not be visible anywhere else.
  • What idiots.

  • "enables things like using your phone as a key fob, data-enabled navigation, audio streaming, and Amazon's Alexa virtual assistant"

    I don't want any of those things so I won't have a problem continuing to buy from Honda.

  • Another way to look at it, GM increased MSRP for cars (hey, welcome inflation) just like everyone else, but to make it sting less they included 3 years of OnStar for free. I don't, nor ever owned GM stock or any GM cars, but seriously don't see what the problem is. Prices of everything have gone up. I am waiting on a car since over a year ago and new model year (which I may or may not be able to get) went up by almost $3K, and they even reduced the included options (probably semiconductor shortage related).

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by kenh ( 9056 )

      The problem is not that they added a feature to the car, nor that they raised the price, it's that they insulted our intelligence by calling it an "optional requirement" and listing it as a line item on the window sticker.

      Today, the ford lightning EV pickup truck price went up by $6K for all new orders, they had stopped taking orders a few months ago after the took in 200K reservations... The reason we're not talking about that here is Ford just said, going forward, the price is higher, like a responsible,

  • After 3 years is up, makes you wonder how much you will have to pay.
  • The problem with GM is that the engineering is excellent....the ATS-V is a great car. Likewise the new C8 Corvette...but.... They then build them out of the cheapest world sourced parts possible. After three alternators, and five wheel bearings, I gave up on Cadillac for good. The GM Parts Bin is horrible...the commodity parts you don't see are marginal chinesium. Caddy gives good warranty for the first owner, which is how they compensate for the high failure rate. Everything folks claim about out of

  • This makes Tesla's Premium Connectivity look really cheap at only $10/month or $100/year.

    • Yeah. *if* GM's tech actually worked, i'd be willing to throw $10 / month at it. *however* Onstar is a steaming pile of shit and doesn't work reliably.

  • I don't know anything about India's auto industry or lack thereof, but I remember hearing about farmers switching to tractors from India in response to John Deere's shoving ever more costly and damaging vendor lock-in up their bank accounts.

    When it comes to the auto industry, maybe it's time to start a "DON'T buy American" movement with a viable offshore supplier that doesn't make a policy of fucking over its customers, if there is such a thing. I'm all for buying products from one's own country and I'm kin

    • On an added note, if I was stuck with a car that had all these spying "extras", I would pay good money to have them fully disabled or, preferably, removed altogether. But I suspect it's difficult or impossible to disable this crap and still have a functioning vehicle. And if it is possible to disable it, it soon won't be.

  • Onstar is a dumpster fire (Score:5, Insightful)

    by kallisti5 ( 1321143 ) on Thursday August 11, 2022 @08:27AM (#62779874)
    Onstar f*cking sucks.

    I have a Bolt EV, and Onstar (mobile command, aka reading your battery info remotely via their app) never works correctly. It doesn't work when i'm on the "Free for 5 years plan", and it even doesn't work when I wave my "i'll pay you money after this trial period" dick at them.

    F*ck GM.

  • US vehicles have been long known for being ugly, inefficient and ugly. Now they are the early pushers of unavoidable subscription fees.

    If the rest of us are fortunate, this will keep the idea away from the over 95% of humanity outside your country in the same way that the worst of your vehicle styling has avoided us!

  • "For one low price of $3.99 per minute, you too can subscribe to the wonders of the GM Experience, enabled on your personal automotive device..."

    It will come with exclusive, gourmet, VIP access to an Automotive Experience Coordinator, who will help you decide what your destination should be and whether you really need two kidneys.

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