The car keys and rental contract are waiting in the vehicle, and customers are off as soon as they verify their identity with the lot attendant at the exit booth. The system's defining virtue is its simplicity. But GM's OnStar system appears to be one of the few lifestyle devices that may actually live up to its promise. Using GPS technology, cellular airtime, high-powered antennas, the Internet, and a few real people, OnStar can open your car doors remotely if you lock your keys in it. Ultimately, OnStar may say more about the future of GM than it will about the future of the driving experience.
Cars take years to build.
Electronics and the Internet change by the minute. For a company used to knowing exactly what a business unit's future is, it took a strategic leap of faith for GM's management to keep betting on OnStar. But GM has given us every opportunity to succeed.