OnStar Achieves Another First as Winner of Good Housekeeping's 'Good Buy' Award for Best Service
03 Dezember 2004 - 7:03PM
PR Newswire (US)
OnStar Achieves Another First as Winner of Good Housekeeping's
'Good Buy' Award for Best Service NEW YORK, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ --
OnStar by General Motors was awarded the "Good Buy" Award from the
Good Housekeeping Institute (GHI) today. OnStar is the first
service ever acknowledged in GHI's new "best service" category.
This is the first time any automotive product or service has been
become an award winner since the "Good Buy" award program began ten
years ago. "The Good Buy" Awards acknowledge innovations in
technology, affordability for Good Housekeeping's 4.6 million
readers, and that perform well in Institute tests. "We feel that
OnStar can be a real lifeline to help consumers survive the perils
on the road," said John Kupsch, Technical Director of the Good
Housekeeping Institute. OnStar technology provides a direct
connection to help in an emergency and will automatically send a
signal to an OnStar Advisor when an airbag deploys, and the OnStar
Advisor will contact emergency services if the driver is unable to
respond. OnStar has also extended its services into collaborations
with critical community-based organizations such as the American
Red Cross and the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children. These outreach services include on-site support for
hurricane victims and relief workers and encourage subscribers to
be Good Samaritans in emergency situations to help locate missing
and abducted children. OnStar was the first technology and service
of its kind to achieve a broad-based, proven platform, carving a
path for a series of other industry firsts, including General
Motors' Advanced Automatic Crash Notification (AACN) system. AACN
automatically calls an OnStar advisor if the vehicle is involved in
a qualified frontal, rear or side-impact crash, regardless of air
bag deployment. AACN provides crash severity information to OnStar
advisors, who relay it to 911 dispatchers. AACN systems can
determine severity of crash, direction of impact, air bags
deployed, multiple impacts and rollover (if vehicle is equipped
with appropriate sensors), all critical information that can help
shorten treatment time by EMS and trauma physicians and can make a
difference in survival and recovery. Each month on average, OnStar
receives about 700 airbag notifications and 11,000 emergency
assistance calls, which include 4,000 Good Samaritan calls for a
variety of emergency situations. In addition, each month OnStar
advisors respond to an average of 500 stolen vehicle location
requests, 20,000 requests for roadside assistance, 36,000 remote
door-unlock requests and 19,000 GM Goodwrench remote diagnostics
requests. Chet Huber, President of OnStar, said, "We are honored to
be recognized by Good Housekeeping for receiving the prestigious
"Good Buy" Award. We think it's an important acknowledgement of the
invaluable safety and security OnStar technology provides at an
affordable cost. The entire OnStar team has worked very hard to
achieve our leadership position and we are appreciative of the Good
Housekeeping Institute for recognizing our service." OnStar is
available factory-installed on more than 50 GM models -- ranging
from small sedans with an MSRP around $16,000 through trucks, SUVs
and luxury sedans. GM is the only automotive company with a full
range of vehicles that offer continuous safety protection before,
during and after vehicle collisions. In 2006, GM will equip more
than three million vehicles in North America with OnStar, up from
1.4 million in 2004 and 2.2 million in 2005. About OnStar OnStar, a
wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors, is the nation's leading
provider of in-vehicle safety, security and information services
using the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite network and
wireless technology. OnStar is available on more than 50 GM models
for 2004. OnStar safety and security services include automatic
notification of air bag deployment, stolen vehicle location
assistance, emergency services, roadside assistance, remote door
unlock, GM Goodwrench remote vehicle diagnostics, and OnStar online
concierge. OnStar Personal Calling allows drivers to make and
receive hands- free, voice-activated calls. More information about
OnStar can be found at http://www.onstar.com/ . About Good
Housekeeping Good Housekeeping, founded 119 years ago, reaches 24
million readers every month. The Good Housekeeping Institute,
founded in 1900, is the consumer product testing facility that
researches products appearing in the magazine's articles and
advertisements. Good Housekeeping is published by Hearst Magazines,
a unit of The Hearst Corporation (http://www.hearst.com/ ) and one
of the world's largest publishers of monthly magazines, with a
total of 18 U.S. titles and 138 international editions. Hearst's
magazines are read by more U.S. adult women than any other monthly
magazine publisher. The company also publishes 18 magazines in the
United Kingdom through its wholly owned subsidiary, The National
Magazine Company Limited. DATASOURCE: OnStar CONTACT: Anne
Mittelstaedt of OnStar Communications, +1-313-667-0874, cell:
+1-248-515-2512, Web site: http://media.gm.com/ http://www.gm.com/
http://www.hearst.com/ http://www.onstar.com/
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