1959 Chevrolet Brookwood Station Wagon on 2040-cars

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OnStar to offer 90-day driving assessment, possible insurance discount

General Motors has announced a brace of new features for OnStar, two of which could help you save money assuming you're willing to sign over some (more) personal details. The first is a driving assessment program in which OnStar takes note of certain driving parameters for 90 days, then provides the driver feedback on their driving, both individually and when compared to other drivers in the program, as well as driving tips. Think of it as OnStar's ICE version of the Nissan Leaf's CARWING feature that compares how efficient your electric driving is compared to other BEV drivers. In this case, though, certain drivers will have the chance to share their assessment with Progressive Insurance, and if the numbers are right they might get a "driving-based" discount from the insurance company. The assessment program is voluntary, and requires opting in. It will be available this summer on all new GM cars and some GM vehicles back to 2013. In case this sounds like Big Brother, let's not forget that Big Brother is already here and moved in so long ago that he's a member of the Kiwanis club and is hosting neighborhood block parties. Progressive already has a million enrollees in a program called Snapshot that tracks OBD II data to offer usage-based insurance to provide annual pricing based on how much you drive your car, with discounts of up to 30 percent. The OnStar effort is just another way to do that. The second feature is proximity offers through AtYourService, which notifies drivers to deals and information on their driving route and provides coupons from RetailMeNot and Entertainment Book. Beyond that, a deal with Priceline will let OnStar agents book hotels for you starting this year, there's a tie-in with Dunkin' Donuts, too, but we're fuzzy on those benefits, and third new feature lets Chevrolet owners know when certain parts need replacing. News Source: Detroit NewsImage Credit: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio Chevrolet GM Technology

Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #313 LIVE!

We record Autoblog Podcast #313 tonight, and you can drop us your questions and comments regarding the rest of the week's news via our Q&A module below. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #313
2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra introduced

NHTSA upgrades probe into 1.7 million GM vehicles over wiper failures

WASHINGTON — The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Tuesday it is upgrading an investigation into 1.7 million General Motors vehicles for windshield wiper failures. The auto safety agency opened the probe in November 2018 to see if GM needed to expand a 2016 recall of 2013 model year Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain SUVs to cover additional vehicles. The engineering analysis probe covers 2010-2012 and 2014-2016 Equinox and Terrain vehicles. NHTSA could demand a recall after it completes the probe. NHTSA said it has reviewed 1,900 complaints and reports related to the issue in the 1.7 million vehicles. NHTSA said it has seen elevated failure rates in the 1.7 million vehicles, even though GM said the recalled vehicles have "double the warranty rate and five times the complaint rate." GM said it will "fully cooperate to support their investigation. We do not believe these windshield washer systems are defective." The wiper failures that prompted the 2016 recall were attributed to water and debris intrusion into the windshield wiper assembly ball joints, leading to excessive wear and eventual detachment of the ball joint. GM said it was installing an improved windshield wiper motor and transmission assembly and relocating a drain hole at the base of the windshield. Related Video: