I’m sure some of the more tech minded and on top of things wouldn’t find that fact to be much, but I was kinda weirded by it.
The HHR came with a year of OnStar. We really didn’t care, but tonight out of boredom we started looking through the OnStar book that came with the car and decided to mess around and activate it.
Turns out the HHR has a phone number. Who knew? That officially makes four numbers you can call to get ahold of me – both house numbers, my cell and the car. (I suppose you could technically call Jamie’s cell too – but that’s not really a direct line to me)
What kind of fucked up world do we live in when I need 4 different phone numbers?
The other kinda cool thing is we can add the car as a line to our Verizon Family plan. That’s a neat little perk that’s a bit cheaper than buying OnStar’s minutes.
Plus, I have to admit that hitting the button on the steering wheel and just talking into thin air to someone else is pretty neat. (I’m so lame)
I’ve actually heard people are dropping OnStar for Verizon’s VZnavigator, but only because I’m told it’s actually a superior navigation program.
Verizon, on the other hand, can’t open your locks.
Yeah, I can see that. (having used VZnavigator before)
The free year included with the car isn’t the plan that includes the navigation though. You get one freebie to try it out in hopes of upselling you to the higher plan.
The “safe & sound” plan includes all those little perks you see in the OnStar commercials (unlocking doors, locating your vehicle, emergency help) and stuff like that. It includes the hands-free calling, but you either have to buy OnStar minutes or add the car to your Verizon account and use minutes from there.
Also included is the Virtual Advisor which gives real-time traffic and weather in a certain radius of your current location. It can give stock quotes too. (I suppose someone might want their car giving stock quotes)
I also get a diagnostic check emailed to me on a monthly basis.
Whatever. For free, it’s a fun little thing. We’ll see whether or not it’d be worth paying for once our free year is up, I guess.