What are the items of which make a tradional DVD nav > OnStar turn by turn?

 

Onstar was a deal breaker for me.

I was looking at a Malibu vs. a Ford Fusion.

Malibu was great...wonderful car, I really liked it. But I was in a new city and needed a good nav system...I was used to using an older Garmin from a family member, so I liked seeing the map.

And then the worst was the Bluetooth hands-free phone feature....I've got to PAY to link my phone to my car (unless I have Verizon Wireless)????? GTFO!!! The Fusion also had Sync (which is of course a different feature that the Malibu doesn't have but it is still great because I can control my iPod on it ), but the point is that I liked everything layed out in front of me to see like a map, and the phone screen I can see too.

The Ford Nav does have some shortcomings....its a DVD Nav, and some roads that are BRAND new don't show up there. Also, not a ton of stores or POIs are listed too (I searched for a nearby Staples and none showed up...this could be solved by updating the Sync system via USB stick which can be done for the Sync, but Ford only uses it for firmware updates).

But overall, I am happy seeing a map and happy being able to switch from Bluetooth phone to Bluetooth phone without having to by minutes that I already bought on my phone from the cell company to begin with (I'm sure you can tell that the phone was the biggest beef of all with me!)

Well my salesman sucked *** then....he didn't show me **** on the OnStar. Ferman Chevrolet in Tampa, FL = fail! Still, I don't think Onstar would've been right for me.

 

Also, the 09 Malibu and other GM cars have direct Bluetooth intergration so it works along with OnStar, and you odnt need verizon, just a bluetooth phone.
the Mapquest thing is AWESOME and I thought of it years ago...dunno what took so long.

 

http://www.onstar.com/us_english/jsp...hands_free.jsp

I'm not seeing that here.

 

Who says the budget could be used for other vehicles? All that adverstising on trucks could be possibly spent on those cars as well, and well, I still see slow selling trucks on my tv screen.

 

Onstar was a deal breaker for me as well. When I was upgrading my Accord to a three-row something, I was down the Lambdas (Outlook / Acadia) and the CX-9. Fully integrated bluetooth was one of my primary requirements.

The Saturn salesman explained it like this:

1. After a year I pay $12.95 for onstar a month.
2. I then have to add another line to my Verizon wireless account ($10 / month)
3. I THEN have my wife call one number to reach my phone, another to reach my car.

Nope, that is NOT BLUETOOTH!! I want people to call my number and have my car play audio through the speakers, cut out the radio, and let me talk truly hands-free.

He did say they could add an aftermarket bluetooth for $200 but at that point I decided to go with the CX-9 that came with an elegantly integrated bluetooth.

Maybe this salesman explained it wrong, but GM could still use the "safety" features of on-star and still integrate via bluetooth to my phone so I am not paying over $20 a month for it.

 

Given that I don't think any navigation system is worth it...(I've done quite fine with maps up to now)...that's not the primary reason I'd like or dislike OnStar. I'll definitely be considering it in the Camaro for it's safety and security features, though. Probably a 90%+ chance I continually renew it, I mean.

Aren't they doing this in '09 and beyond? Integrating Bluetooth into A LOT of their vehicles....or did I misunderstand the release GM put out?

 

I actually hate onstar. Pretty much every car we buy, I end up getting nav or putting it in. I like being able to look at a map and see something visually. The only useful feature of onstar is the option to use it as a cell phone..and most people never did it because it requires buying extra mintutes. That too will become obsolete as bluetooth works its way into the whole GM line.

The worst part about onstar is if you do not renew, they are like a pit bull on your pants leg harassing you.

 

That is because the bluetooth integration doesn't involve the onstar system.

http://eogld.ecomm.gm.com/NASApp/dom...009&regionID=1

Try looking there for 2009 model info.