General Motors Makes OnStar Mandatory $1,500 On GMC, Buick and Cadillac models

If you do not want to pay for car subscriptions Every month, no problem: just pay the amount up front. This is the line from General motors Today after news broke that it’s offering a $1,500 three-year 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 keychain, enabled data navigation, voice streaming, and the Amazon Alexa virtual assistant, is still optional on other GM vehicles, with the Premium package running at $49.99 a month. But don’t be surprised if this new setup spreads across the entire line of automakers.

Although he is getting attention today after a Detroit Free Press Report, News of Onstar becoming a mandatory subscription was first reported on July 5 General Motors Authority. OnStar’s $1,500 fee will effectively raise base prices for these cars, although the exact increase varies from model to model. All Buicks will see a $1,500 price increase. Top-trim GMCs will see an increase of up to $905 Hummer EV Not getting an MSRP payment. The base GMC pickup models, the Sierra and Canyon, were hit hard by the $1,675 increase. By far the most common price hike is $1,500, which also applies to a Cadillac Escalade. Car News reports.

Talking to GM body, A company spokesperson said making customers pay for the service “will enhance [their] Vehicle ownership experience. “They went on to say ‘By including this plan as standard equipment in the vehicle, it provides greater value to customers and a smoother driving experience,'” the automaker assured AN Buyers who do not activate OnStar and do not wish to use the Services will not be offered a discount.

The way this change was implemented is a very classic GM forced mistake. Regardless of dealer brands, new car prices are somewhat insulated from rapid inflation because they are usually set in annual increments with each new model year. We’re now in the 2023 lineup launch season, and we’re already seeing some huge price jumps to take into account rising supply chain costs. GM could have raised all of those MSRPs, nailed it down to inflation, and offered a free three-year subscription to OnStar to cushion the blow.

Instead, it threw itself into the fray that irritates consumers about new-car subscription options with this mandatory option nonsense. It’s not as bad as trying to push things like heated seats. As BMW recently discoveredAlso, it is not complicated As Toyota’s plan to operate the ignition key remotely It operates in a subscription service. But the idea of ​​forcing buyers to pay for something they might not want and that was previously an optional subscription will undoubtedly raise concerns. And the whole thing feels a bit Orwellian when GM insists on continuing to call it the “option on offer”.

We reached out to GM to ask if this mandatory subscription model would go to other Chevrolet and Cadillacs after that, and a company spokesperson responded by saying that the plan is “offered to the new Buick, GMC and Cadillac Escalade at this time.”

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