OnStar

LAS VEGAS--Today OnStar announced it would make its services available in non-GM cars through an aftermarket rearview mirror replacement. The mirror frame features the blue OnStar button, along with buttons for emergency response and hands-free phone calling, similar to its appearance in GM vehicles.

The bulky replacement mirror combines a GPS chip, accelerometer, Bluetooth hardware, and a cellular chip to connect with OnStar services and operators. OnStar uses Verizon for its voice and data connections.

The mirror uses its accelerometer to determine if a crash has occurred, which triggers OnStar's emergency collision response. An OnStar operator will attempt to … Read more

The less you drive, the less likely you are to get into car accidents--at least that's how insurance companies look at it. To better align drivers' automobile insurance rates with risk, State Farm is offering its California customers discounts based on their odometer readings.

The insurance giant created Drive Safe & Save (DSS), a new voluntary program for California customers that adjusts future policy rates based on the previous six months of driving. Prior to the program, the insurance company rated drivers as either a low- or high-mileage driver, with the cutoff point at 7,500 miles per year. … Read more

The 2011 Chevy Cruze this week was voted "Urban Car of The Year" by Decisive Media and an independent panel of 15 automotive journalists.

The Chevy Cruze, which comes in five including the Cruze LS, Cruze LT, Cruze 2LT, Eco Cruze, and Cruze LTZ, has an MSRP range from $16,995 to $22,695 in the U.S.

"If you really want to see evidence of a turnaround at GM, look no farther than Cruze," said Lyndon Conrad Bell, editor in chief of Decisive Auto. "Handsome styling, an attractive interior, competent power trains, an enjoyable … Read more

General Motors recently released a suite of iPhone and Android apps for OnStar and 2011 Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC models as a first step toward improving in-vehicle communications technology. I was eager to take the OnStar MyLink app for a spin in a 2011 Buick Regal during a road trip from New York to Boston, but I was surprised at how little opportunity I had to use it. OnStar's MyLink app is primarily a safety application for emergency situations, so not finding opportunity to use it was a good thing. But if the app is a step toward … Read more

GM just announced myChevrolet for owners of 2011 Chevy models. myChevrolet and OnStar MyLink applications are available for free on the Android or Apple iPhone.

Ever lost your car in a mall parking lot? MyChevrolet includes a GPS-enabled map and a feature that lets you add a note or photo with details or where you parked your car. There's a timer, so you can track how much time you have on the parking meter.

If you get back to your car but there's a problem, you can use the app to request roadside assistance or to locate the … Read more

To increase consumer adoption of its operator-assisted telematics service, OnStar is working with auto insurance companies to offer its subscribers discounts on their policies.

OnStar's data shows their subscribers are safer drivers and more conscientious on the road. Its service also help insurance companies lower loss and reduce insurance claims, said OnStar spokesperson Jim Kobus. If stolen, a GM vehicle equipped with OnStar has a higher chance of recovery before it ends up in a chop shop, and in the event of an accident, OnStar's operators are automatically alerted and use the car's telematics to help first … Read more

DETROIT--General Motors' OnStar subsidiary today unveiled a Web site that lets Chevy Volt drivers manage charge times and track their mileage.

The MyVolt.com site, which can be accessed from a PC or smartphone, lets Volt drivers schedule Volt charging much the way they would program a thermostat. Over time, OnStar will let people automate more features, such as radio station settings, from the Web, said OnStar president Chris Preuss here today.

The application includes a wizard that walks the driver through battery charge scheduling. A person could choose to have the Volt charge as soon as it's plugged … Read more

Welcome to another week of The 404 Podcast! We're running through several stories on today's episode, including OnStar reading you Facebook updates in the car, Cablevision and Time Warner teaming up to offer "free" public Wi-Fi in NYC parks, carrier pigeons beating the Internet, Americans increasingly distracted by the Internet, a useless product appropriately called the "Textee," and a nerdy new Tumblr that looks at how the Internet and hacking culture are portrayed in film!

Our first story in the rundown is a shameless plug for AccessMainComputerFile, a new blog that pokes fun at images of hacker culture and embellished UI in popular movies like "Independence Day," "Richie Rich," "Terminator 2," and more. Submissions are also welcome, so send over your YouTube links!

Facebook is already a ubiquitous part of daily Interlife, but now OnStar is testing a service that connects your car to the social network as well. The system uses voice recognition and even interprets Web-slang like LOL as "laughing out loud," and drivers can also record audio as status updates without taking their hands off the wheel.

Additionally, if you have an Android-powered phone with Bluetooth, OnStar can receive your text messages and translate them to audio and from there, you can use voice commands to send a reply (like "yes" or "can't talk--driving"). OnStar hopes to have an similar app available for the iPhone soon, but in the meantime iPhone users can download OnStar's MyLink App that shows you service information, tire pressure, and even offers the capability to lock your doors remotely from anywhere in the world.

New York's two main cable providers are teaming up to offer free wireless Internet in select New York City public parks. Before you head out, though, we should mention that Time Warner and Cablevision promise only three free 10-minute sessions per month; after that, you'll be charged $0.99 a day to get on the network. It sounds like a classic bait-and-switch scenario, and we can't see people jumping to pay for public Internet when truly free wireless access is already available in thousands of hot spots around the city.

Everyone complains about sluggish Internet, but a CTO of a U.K. ISP put his own pathetic broadband speeds to the test...against a carrier pigeon. The only thing more bizarre than the test setup is the result: the pigeons were able to deliver the 100MB of video by MicroSD Card faster than it took to upload the clip to YouTube. The stunt is a half-joke, but it makes a good point about the necessity for Net neutrality.

No voice-mails today, so it's up to you to call us up at 1-866-404-CNET and help out the show! You can also hit us up on Twitter or just e-mail us at the404(at)cnet(dot)com!

It seems that GM is realizing it needs to play catch-up to Ford's SYNC infotainment system, and has promised to release new features in addition to the beta testing of its OnStar-to-Facebook and voice text messaging capability that it announced this week.

"Within the next nine to 18 months, GM will aggressively introduce a wide variety of in-vehicle infotainment solutions providing smart, intuitive, and safe technologies that will improve the driving experience," says Micky Bly, GM's executive director of electrical architectures and infotainment.

On GM's blog, Bly says that the automaker will integrate online streaming applications … Read more