GM Profiting From OnStar Communications for First Time Since Introduction Seven Years Ago

Detroit February 27, 2003; The AP reported that General Motors Corp.'s chief financial officer says the automaker is making money off its OnStar in-vehicle communications system for the first time since it was introduced seven years ago.

"OnStar is in the black," John Devine said Wednesday at an analyst conference in New York.

OnStar is the country's most popular in-vehicle communications system, with more than 2 million subscribers. It is a GM subsidiary and provides service for some GM, Lexus, Acura, Audi, Saab, Subaru, Isuzu and Volkswagen models.

GM does not release quarterly financial information about OnStar or say how much it has invested in the system, said Sheri Woodruff, a spokeswoman with GM financial communications.

OnStar provides crash notification to emergency services. Operators also can locate a stolen vehicle, remotely unlock the doors, provide roadside assistance, remote diagnostics, directions and even dinner reservations.

OnStar subscriptions cost $199-$499 annually, depending on which services are provided.

OnStar, http://www.onstar.com