2004 Buick Rendezvous Cx Sport Utility 4-door 3.4l on 2040-cars

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GM says safety is a reason it's dropping Apple CarPlay, Android Auto

Update: GM sent us a statement as a follow-up to its original comments seen in this post: "We wanted to reach out to clarify that comments about GM's position on phone projection were misrepresented in previous articles and to reinforce our valued partnerships with Apple and Google and each company’s commitment to driver safety. GM's embedded infotainment strategy is driven by the benefits of having a system that allows for greater integration with the larger GM ecosystem and vehicles." The original story can be read in its entirety below.   General Motors announced its intention to remove Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality from its upcoming EVs earlier this year, and internet comments sections haven't been kind since. As the first of many EVs to follow – the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV – hits the market, GM is expanding on its initial explanations for dropping the tech. Motor Trend spoke with Tim Babbit, GMÂ’s head of product for infotainment, to learn more. Attributed to Babbit, from the story: “They have stability issues that manifest themselves as bad connections, poor rendering, slow responses, and dropped connections. And when CarPlay and Android Auto have issues, drivers pick up their phones again, taking their eyes off the road and totally defeating the purpose of these phone-mirroring programs. Solving those issues can sometimes be beyond the control of the automaker.” Babbit suggests that a world without Apple CarPlay or Android Auto will be a safer one, as folks wonÂ’t be looking to control their infotainment systems via their phones. However, Babbit also tells MT that this theory hasnÂ’t been tested in either the lab or the real world yet. Instead of using a navigation or music-playing app powered through your phone, upcoming GM EVs will use a Google-based infotainment system called “Ultifi” that runs a ton of integrated Google apps. Google Maps will be the native navigation app in the system; youÂ’ll be able to log in to Spotify or other apps to load your music up, and so on. The idea here is that youÂ’ll have all the same apps that were on your phone available but integrated within the infotainment system instead, and you'll be able to use voice controls to control every last bit of it with no need to reach for a phone. That sounds amenable in theory, but how consumers react to the removal of a feature that they know and love now is a risky gamble.

Junkyard Gem: 1964 Buick Special sedan

During the 1960s, the most mainstream possible vehicle for American streets was a GM-built sedan, either a full-sized B-Body or a mid-sized A-Body. These cars flew out of showrooms by the millions during the decade, and the angular 1964-1967 A-Bodies (including everything from the affordable six-cylinder Chevrolet Chevelle to the maniacal Pontiac GTO) remain sought-after by collectors to this day... provided that they're two-door hardtops. The post sedans just don't get much attention in 2018, and that's why this fairly solid 1964 Buick Special sedan didn't get rescued on its way to this sorry fate in California. Its final days before it washed up in this self-service wrecking yard, nestled between GM iron a third its age, some used-car lot failed to get $1,199 for this '64. The interior looks good, much better than what you'll see on most unrestored cars with better than a half-century on the calendar. If this car had been a Skylark two-door hardtop, its story would have had a happier ending. The decklid suffers from the kind of rust that California cars get when they sit outside for decades and the weatherstripping goes bad, and then someone at the junkyard pried it open to look for trunk goodies. There's likely to be more rust under the window trim, too. The engine was long gone by the time I got here, but it would have been a 225-cubic-inch V6 or a 300-cubic-inch V8 when new. The upscale 1964 Skylark was the same car, mechanically speaking, but it a more luxurious interior and snazzier body trim. The car that follows the fun anywhere... and above all, it's a Buick! Related Video: Featured Gallery Junked 1964 Buick Special sedan View 14 Photos Auto News Buick Automotive History Classics Sedan

Buick, GMC making OnStar Connected Services standard

The thing about the future is that so long as you're alive, you're going to get there whether you like it or not. Thanks to over-the-air connections essentially being a compulsory part of EV ownership and an increasingly important — and profitable — component of ICE ownership, it's easiest for automakers to install full-featured Internet connections in every vehicle. GM has taken the first step, a report in GM Authority saying that as of June 2, all Buick and GMC models are sold with the Onstar Connected Services plan good for three years. The OnStar site shows the Connected Vehicle tier that comes with a Wi-Fi hotspot costs $24.99 per month, which would be $900 minus a few pennies for three years. At the top end is OnStar Premium that runs about $1,800 for three years. Both include Connected Services features, yet GMA reports that depending on the vehicles, OnStar Connected Services will cost between $905 and $1,675. Only the GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 is excluded for now. GM confirmed the change to GM Authority, saying, "This offering provides our owners with a full suite of OnStar and Connected Services for three years, providing them with more time to enjoy services such as remote key fob, Wi-Fi data and OnStar safety services. By including this plan as standard equipment on the vehicle, it provides more customer value and a more seamless onboarding experience." Three trims of the GMC Sierra 1500 and two trims of the GMC Yukon and Yukon XL come in at the low end, OnStar adding $905 to their MSRPs. Almost every other vehicle gets hit with a $1,500 charge. The GMC Sierra HD Pro is the only model to charge $1,675 for it, which GMA breaks out as a "$1,500 3-year subscription and $175 OnStar & GMC Connected Services Capability." This brings up the question of the price differences; we can't tell if there's a difference in feature content between the price tiers, or why the Sierra HD gets the extra $175 fee. The automaker told GMA the upcharge will be folded into the MSRP. On the configurator for the Sierra 1500 SLE, for instance, the dialog box for three years of OnStar at $1,500 is automatically checked and can't be unchecked. The Buick configurators we tried don't mention OnStar.