GM to make OnStar service standard on all vehicles

0 Comments | USA TODAY, January, 2005 | by Sharon Silke Carty

DETROIT -- General Motors said Sunday that it plans to make OnStar and electronic stability control standard equipment on all of its vehicles in the USA and Canada by 2010.

With cash incentives losing their ability to attract new customers, the announcement is a sign GM is trying to differentiate itself in the marketplace.

OnStar, a device in cars that connects drivers to a live person 24 hours a day, can detect when an air bag has been deployed and send emergency personnel to an accident site immediately. Stability control, which helps keep a vehicle from tipping if a driver is losing control, is expected to reduce the number of fatal rollover accidents by nearly 50%. It is being heralded as the next big life-saving technology in cars.

"These moves are...