GM Puts Ordering App in Vehicles

The Marketplace feature is included in 2017 or 2018 Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC models.

​DETROIT December 8, 2017; Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts coffee can now be drunk—and ordered—while driving, thanks to a new app from General Motors, CNN Money reports. The Marketplace app appears on the central computer system screens of 2017 and 2018 Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC models.

The app allows motorists to order food or reserve a table at one of the restaurant partners, or even book a hotel room, all from the comfort of the driver’s seat. “For most retailers and consumer brands the daily commute is the only time not accessible in a consumers' day,” said Santiago Chamorro, vice president for the automaker’s connected customer experience. “Marketplace gives merchants the ability to more safely engage with drivers and passengers in a meaningful way that provides true value for our customers.”

The system taps into “machine learning,” which uses info from your phone apps on your location and what you’ve ordered in the past to dictate menu choices. Retail partners include Applebee’s, Delivery.com, Dunkin’ Donuts, ExxonMobil, IHOP, Parkopedia, Priceline.com, Shell, TGI Fridays and Wingstop.

Jake Fisher, head of auto testing for Consumer Reports, gave the app a test run in a Buick. “It does seem distracting,” Fisher noted, but added that probably not any more so than other interactive things in cars already, such as music or restaurant reservations apps. The service doesn’t require a data plan and will become available to all owners of late model GM vehicles with the required hardware. The company predicts the service will be in around 4 million GM cars in the United States within the next 12 to 18 months.