General
Motors announced that two proven life-saving safety technologies,
OnStar and electronic stability control, will become standard
features for retail customers in the United States and Canada,
covering all segments and prices except for some commercial
vehicles.
The
fast-track expansion of OnStar-equipped vehicles begins
this year and will be completed in 2007. The first year
of OnStar safety and security service is included on all
OnStar-equipped vehicles.
Electronic stability control, sold as StabiliTrak, is standard
on many GM full-size SUVs and will expand to midsize SUVs
this year. Remaining GM SUVs and vans will have StabiliTrak
standard by the end of 2007. By the end of 2010, it will
be standard on all GM cars and trucks sold to retail customers.
As enablers of electronic stability control, antilock brakes
and traction control will become standard as well. "These
moves are consistent with GM's continuing effort to strengthen
its brands, build on our history of innovation and leverage
our global capabilities," GM North America President
Gary Cowger told GM dealers at the National Automobile Dealers
Association convention.
"Only
GM offers a full range of cars, trucks and SUVs that provide
safety protection before, during and, thanks to OnStar,
after a crash," he said. OnStar, currently available
on more than 50 GM models, is recognized as the automotive
industry benchmark for safety, security and information
services and has been credited with helping to save scores
of lives. OnStar features include alerting emergency services
when air bags deploy, assisting authorities in locating
stolen vehicles and remotely unlocking doors when keys are
left inside.
StabiliTrak
helps a driver maintain vehicle control during challenging
or unexpected driving conditions, such as ice, snow, wet
pavement and emergency lane changes or avoidance maneuvers.
It is credited in several independent studies with dramatically
decreasing the number of single-vehicle crashes, especially
those resulting from a loss of control.
"Except
for the growing use of safety belts, we have rarely seen
a technology that brings such a positive safety benefit
as electronic stability control," Cowger said. "Offering
OnStar and StabiliTrak standard is another way to provide
our customers an impressive combination of value, safety
and peace of mind."
Recent
studies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety both indicated
that the widespread application of electronic stability
control could result in a significant safety benefit.
"Electronic stability control is a technology with
significant safety potential," said Dr. Jeffrey W.
Runge, Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. "We at NHTSA commend General Motors
for this progressive action to improve the safety of its
customers."
Based
on stability systems now in use, NHTSA's study reported
a 67 percent risk reduction in single-vehicle crashes for
SUVs. The IIHS said as many as 800,000 of the 2 million
single-vehicle crashes that occur each year could be avoided
if stability control was standard on all vehicles sold in
the United States.
GM began offering OnStar services and StabiliTrak in 1997
and has more than 3 million OnStar subscribers and 2 million
ESC-equipped vehicles on the road.
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