LAS VEGAS -
In reaction to popular demand, General Motors’ OnStar services can soon be added to other-make and older GM vehicles thanks to a stand-alone retail rearview mirror to be introduced this spring.
 

The retail stand-alone mirror will first be available at Best Buy, before expanding to other select retail electronic outlets later.

“For years, thousands of drivers have asked us to get OnStar in vehicles that didn’t feature it as standard,” stated Chris Preuss, OnStar president. “With the retail product that we’ve introduced today, they certainly can.
“This move in to the consumer electronics space represents the biggest development in our business model since introducing OnStar as standard across all GM products several years ago,” he added. “It represents a quantum leap forward in our plans to grow our business and provide a strong new revenue base for GM and OnStar from which we can further develop our core offerings in the factory-equipped market.”

The mirror’s cost is $299 on top of installation fees, which officials project will fall somewhere between $75 to $100. Service plans will start at $18.95/month (or $199/year) on up.

Among the services to be included in the OnStar mirror are automatic crash response, turn-by-turn navigation, stolen vehicle location assistance, one-button access to emergency and roadside services, in addition to hands-free calling. The latter feature includes Bluetooth connectivity.
Drivers can use the mirror to tap into all of the aforementioned services. No mobile phone is required.
Officials explained that as of now, the OnStar mirror has been certified for 99 percent of GM’s 20 best-sellers in the last decade. More models are projected for certification soon. 
Lisa Farrell, senior vice president and general manager portable electronics customer solutions group at Best Buy, noted: “We’re proud to be OnStar’s first strategic retail partner for this innovative offering, which is one more way Best Buy can help our customers stay connected whenever and wherever they want.
“We provide a one-stop solution for consumers. In addition to purchasing the device at Best Buy, we offer our customers the convenience of having it installed by our Geek Squad Auto Techs — all at one location,” she added.