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Luton, a small town north of London, is best known for its airport, which “budget airlines” use as a “London replacement” airport. Up to 60 employees will soon be sitting there and setting up the European Opel OnStar service. OnStar is a GPS and cellular-based assistance system. In the USA, the services of General Motors have been known for almost 20 years - for Germany and the EU, the system in its current form is a novelty.
Opel OnStar - your friend and helper
The command center in Luton looks a bit like sci-fi, like Captain Kirk's command bridge or, alternatively, a disease control center from a Stephen King film. A map with the active emergency and assistance calls can be seen on a large video wall. You can see the incoming “accident reports” from the system, keep an eye on the current calls and at the same time watch the current news on a TV monitor. Storm approaching? Onset of winter? Experience from 20 years of OnStar in North America has shown that such impending bad weather conditions will lead to increased accident rates. More accidents = more OnStar reports. The OnStar headquarters will prepare for such situations preventively. The direct call center, in which up to 60 employees will later accept OnStar calls from all over Europe, will then look completely normal again - just like a call center.
The partner when it crashed
In North America alone, OnStar has recorded 380 vehicle thefts, in which one helps to find the vehicle. And 140.000 “locked out” drivers alone. Per month!
Providing help quickly and in a coordinated manner in the event of an accident, that was the basic idea of OnStar. Thanks to GPS tracking and transmission of the location, rescue workers can be brought to the scene promptly and directly. Sensible. But sometimes it's also funny, as this video shows:
But it does not even have to crack to understand the benefits of OnStar. Opel integrates 5 services into the OnStar service:
- Route navigation - remote
- Vehicle service and diagnostics
- Dien steel protection
- Remote control
- Wi-Fi hotspot
Service at the push of a button
In addition to the emergency call function, remote navigation is probably the most important. Do you want to quickly enter the navigation address when you're on the highway? This is often associated with distraction. Opel OnStar offers a remedy at the push of a button. Press the blue “On” button once and the call center will be called. In Luton they will answer the call and answer in the correct language. All OnStar employees are multilingual and based on the on-board computer settings of the calling vehicle, the call center recognizes which language the caller prefers.
Live Test
We tested the system on a test drive between London and Luton. Sending the navigation data to the sat nav in the vehicle succeeded straight away without any problems. Later we wanted to test the other functions of the call center and drove to a parking lot. There we have the plug from the new air mass meter 2.0 liter of diesel in the Insignia deducted, the engine started and were rewarded with a glowing engine control lamp.
Calling the OnStar call center again and asking for a vehicle diagnosis. Opel Onstar is able to read and analyze the data from the OBDII interface. The OnStar employee was able to read the correct cause of the error within seconds. Impressive. Instead of having a service car come, we put the plug back on and continued our journey.
In the US, 7 millions of customers now use the OnStar system. And over the past 19 years, over 900 millions of OnStar contacts have been recorded. The OnStar data center now sends 4 millions of service emails every month.
Digital hotline
With Opel OnStar, the vehicle manufacturer is building a permanent digital hotline between the vehicle, the customer and the manufacturer. This makes sense for vehicle service and in the case of OnStar it creates a real service. In addition, a real and meaningful contact between manufacturer and customer. The necessary service work can be notified by means of a monthly diagnosis and the customer receives a monthly service report about his vehicle.
OnStar even without a car - only with a smartphone
Not yet available on the first test drive - but soon in the app stores. The OnStar app. This means that many functions of the service can also be used directly from the cell phone. For example, the question of where I parked my car. Or have I locked the key in the vehicle? No problem, the vehicle can be unlocked using the mobile app.
On Star also helps with the “stolen vehicle”. If the vehicle has been reported as stolen, the OnStar headquarters can not only locate the vehicle via GPS, but also “shut it down” and then send the police to the action.
OnStar - Online for 7
The first year includes a Wi-Fi hotspot with 4G / LTE speed. Here you can pair up to 7 devices. Opel will announce the exact cost structure for the data tariffs. So far, these prices are not yet fixed.
German scared?
The subject of “privacy” in the Opel OnStar system is completely new. Based on the desire for data protection, the EU OnStar customer can deactivate the transmission of his GPS data (location) by pressing a button. Useful? No, because it takes the many good ideas of the OnStar system to absurdity. Without “Location” there is no route guidance and no help in the event of a breakdown. This is exactly why the OnStar call center can deactivate the “masking” of the location data - but only when the car has reported an accident to the control center.
OnStar - a service with utility?
Clearly yes. For the original idea alone, in the event of an accident, knowing exactly where you need the help (GPS location) and the possibility to keep in touch with the employee on the OnStar hotline by voice - a clear security plus.
The fact that Opel is now rolling out the OnStar system in Germany (from August 3rd) and that it will be available for all model series is a real “plus”. Call for help quickly and easily in the event of a breakdown? OnStar helps. If you want to continue using OnStar after the first year, you will be asked to pay 99 € - these costs are put into perspective because the cover letter (similar to an ADAC membership) is already integrated.
OnStar - the future?
The system is the right step in the right direction. In the future it will also be possible to import software updates via this interface and who knows whether Opel will soon add a “Concierge Service” to the OnStar system? After all, it would be nice if you not only get the next address sent to your navigation system via OnStar, but also a message about general recommendations and local specialties in the case of restaurants.
OnStar starts with us on 3. August 2015.