Guest post by blogger Sew Much Ado

I am a huge fan of The Celebrity Apprentice, are you? Last season one of my favorite episodes was when the contestants were challenged to create and film a commercial for OnStar’s new service, FMV. When I had the chance to try out OnStar FMV for myself, I of course jumped at the chance. In the past, OnStar was only available on GM vehicles as a pre-installed feature, but FMV stands for “For My Vehicle,” which means that many different makes and years of vehicles can now enjoy OnStar service, even my Honda Ridgeline.

The technology comes in a rear-view mirror, with buttons to connect you with everything from directions to emergency response, and even to make hands-free phone calls.

I was excited to see the box arrive on my doorstep, and after opening the box, was pleasantly surprised. I had expected the mirror itself to be fairly bulky and wondered if it would be an eyesore, but it is actually only a touch larger than my previous mirror, and once installed, looked right at home in my truck.

As you know, I have two little boys, ages 2 and almost 4, who are my pint-sized back seat drivers.

Heaven forbid an emergency would happen while I’m driving but Automatic Crash Response can automatically alert an OnStar Advisor if I’ve been in a crash, even if I’m unable to respond. In more common “emergencies,” OnStar can send a locksmith or someone to unlock my doors or to change a flat tire, and I can even make a phone call when I’ve left my cell at home. (If you know me, you know these features will be well used :).

Our previous GPS unit had a touchscreen, with a map to view directions, and since FMV uses voice-only directions, that’s one feature I was sure I would miss. However, the first time I pressed the blue button to find directions, I instantly enjoyed that I didn’t have to put the address in by hand like my old GPS directions required.

If I’m looking for a new quilt shop, I can let the Advisor know the name and city and they’ll look up the address for me and get me on my way — so convenient! I can push the button as I’m pulling out of my driveway and not waste any time fiddling with a touch screen.

Joel and I have been married for 7 1/2 years, and in that time have lived in 6 different states and one province! If only I had FMV’s Turn-by-Turn Navigation 7 years ago, it would have made the many moves so much easier, from finding the closet grocery store, to travelling from state to state. We will be moving to Washington (hello, state number 7) in the upcoming months, and I can’t say how excited I am to have my new best friend to keep me from getting lost at every turn!

Although I love having a real live person at my fingertips whenever I need directions or help, one difficulty I have with OnStar is keeping Wyatt and Weston quiet enough in the background while I’m speaking with an OnStar Advisor. I can’t say I blame them though, I’m sure the friendly voices in our vehicle are a bit strange to them! (I’m sure they’ll get bored of it soon enough and stop feeling the need to join in on the conversation :). Fingers crossed…

I’m thrilled with the Directions and Connections plan that I have, but if you’re only looking for emergency type care, they also have a more limited (and more economical) Safe and Sound plan available.

I have to say that I really do feel more safe and secure with OnStar FMV in my truck. I love the Turn-by-Turn Navigation, and have already made use of the hands-free calling, but the peace of mind that comes with knowing that my family and I will be taken care of in an emergency is priceless.

If you’d like to find out more about the OnStar FMV, visit the OnStar Facebook page.

Guest post by blogger Sew Much Ado.

Have your own OnStar experience? Share your story!

Guest post by blogger Kristen, The Frugal Girl

I have a fancy shmancy rear-view mirror.

It’s called an OnStar FMV (For My Vehicle).

Basically, it’s an OnStar device that can be purchased at an electronics store and installed into your car, even if it’s not manufactured by GM.

It has all the usual OnStar capabilities (like Automatic Crash Response) plus it offers hands-free calling and turn-by-turn navigation.

Since all of this is packaged into a mirror, installation is fairly unobtrusive…the FMV just replaces the normal rear-view mirror.

And there’s a little microphone that gets installed above the driver’s head.

Since the OnStar FMV needs to be wired into the vehicle, it’s not as simple as just slapping the mirror up, and so OnStar recommends professional installation. Installation takes 1-2 hours, so we dropped our van off and waited for a friend pick us up.

Photo provided by The Frugal Girl blog

We amused ourselves by taking pictures while we waited.

Once my mirror was installed, I wanted to give it a try right away. Having never used an OnStar device before, I just sort of started randomly pressing buttons and accidentally called an OnStar advisor, who was very gracious about being called for no good reason.

After that, I read my manual, and things went better. If you prefer, though, you can press the OnStar button and someone will walk you through a demo.

The button on the left is for hands-free calling…after you push the button, everything else is entirely speech-activated. This is great if you live in an area where it’s illegal to use hand-held devices while driving. And even if you don’t, it’s still a great feature because legal or not, messing with a cell phone while driving isn’t safe.

OnStar offers pre-paid minutes that you can use with your mirror, or you can sync your existing phone to the FMV.

The voice recognition system works pretty well, although it did occasionally misunderstand the numbers I was trying to say. You can program in the numbers you call regularly, which would make the process simpler….instead of having to speak my phone number, I could program it so that I can just say, “Call home”.

The middle button is what you press to be connected to an OnStar Advisor, who can help you with any number of things, like sending someone to change a flat tire or to supply you with gas. I’ve only had occasion to ask for turn-by-turn directions, thankfully, and all of the reps I’ve spoken to thus far have been uber-polite, pleasant, and helpful.

I was a little bit skeptical about how well this would work as compared to a GPS, but both Mr. FG and I were fairly impressed. Basically, you just tell the OnStar rep where you want to go, and they download directions straight to the FMV. The FMV gives you plenty of warning when a turn is coming up, so even though there’s no visual map, it’s pretty easy to follow the directions.

Because the FMV operates off of voice commands, I think it would have a definite leg up on a GPS if I got lost or needed to change destinations in the midst of driving. A GPS needs to have its buttons pushed manually (that’s not safe while you’re driving), but with the FMV, you can push a simple button and get someone on the line to help you.

The FMV is equipped with crash recognition capabilities, so if your vehicle gets into an accident, the FMV can automatically send an alert to OnStar. An Advisor is immediately connected into your vehicle to help you. Even when you can’t speak, the Advisor can use GPS technology to send emergency responders to your exact location.

The FMV also has an emergency button, which gives you a priority connection to an OnStar emergency advisor. I didn’t have opportunity to test either of those functions, fortunately!

So, what do I think of the FMV overall?

If you:

- really value the safety features that OnStar offers
- want a multi-tasking device
- process auditory information better than visual information
- tend to get lost while driving
- don’t already own a GPS
- don’t mind the price point ($299) or the monthly subscription fees (these vary depending the service level you choose)

then the FMV could meet your needs really well.

I also think it would be a handy device for someone who isn’t particularly good at using electronic devices…since almost everything on the FMV is voice-activated, anyone can use it, even people who aren’t remotely tech-savvy. Or if you’ve got an elderly parent that you worry about, installing an FMV in their vehicle could provide peace of mind for you while maintaining your parents’ independence.

If you don’t need the OnStar safety features, prefer a visual interface and are on a tighter budget, a traditional GPS system would probably be more appropriate for your needs. Most new GPS systems offer bluetooth capability, and obviously they offer navigation services…they just don’t have the OnStar specific features and they’re not usually voice-activated.

So, if you’re trying to decide between an FMV and a GPS, the decision probably would boil down to just how much you value the safety and connectedness that OnStar-specific services offer.

If you’d like to find out more about the OnStar FMV, visit the OnStar Facebook page.

Guest post by blogger Kristen, The Frugal Girl

What do you think? Would you buy the FMV for yourself or a loved one?

Have your own OnStar experience? Share your story!

Guest post by blogger Lindsay, The Cottage Home

Have you heard of OnStar? Well, if you have then you may only be familiar with it as being a product on GM vehicles and if not, you’ve got to check it out. OnStar recently came out with a product that can be installed on a wide range of vehicles (does not need to be GM) that will provide the OnStar service. The product is an after-market OnStar rear-view mirror that is installed in place of the regular rear-view mirror that comes standard on most vehicles. The mirror contains all of the OnStar technology needed to activate and enable all the services they provide.

I was recently sent the new OnStar FMV mirror to try out on our Toyota Sienna mini-van and I have to admit that it is pretty darn cool! I had my mirror installed at a local car place in the area that was a certified professional in the installation of these mirrors. The installation and set-up took a total of about 2 hours. I was really impressed by the customer service I received from the OnStar folks. It just so happened that the Director of Sales lives in my area, so because this was one of the first installs of this new product, he personally came by to make sure everything was installed properly and activated correctly.

Once the OnStar mirror was installed into our mini-van, I could start using it as soon as I needed it. With OnStar there are several different services that are provided. My favorite one is probably the automatic crash response (ACR) option. I like knowing that if I end up in a car accident with my children and am not able to dial 911, that OnStar will send help our way. There is a button for you to push on the mirror to call for emergency assistance, but if you are in such a severe crash that you cannot reach the button or even speak, OnStar can recognize that there is an issue and send help immediately. This feature is covered by ACR. The emergency services button gives you a priority connection to an Advisor who can direct emergency service providers to your exact location. You could essentially call for emergencies inside and outside of the vehicle.

Secondly, by having this mirror, you get roadside assistance. So it’s essentially like having AAA, but even better. OnStar can send someone to unlock your vehicle (should you lock yourself out), change a flat tire or should you run out of gas, they can bring you enough gas to help you get to a nearby gas station. Pretty neat if you ask me!

My husband and I recently went out for dinner and decided to give the turn-by-turn navigation a try. Now our car does have built in navigation, but sometimes when we try to use it, it won’t recognize our destination (especially if it’s a brand-new place). So I find having the OnStar folks at the touch of a button very handy in these sorts of situations.

If you’d like to find out more about the OnStar FMV, visit the OnStar Facebook page.

Guest post by blogger Lindsay, The Cottage Home

What do you think? Would you buy the FMV for yourself or a loved one?

Have your own OnStar experience? Share your story!

Guest post by blogger Lorie, Be Different Act Normal

I have seen the OnStar commercials a hundred times. There is an accident and the friendly OnStar voice lets you know that help is on the way. Even my 10 year old son thinks it is pretty cool that they call 911 for you. But I didn’t drive a GM car, so it wasn’t an option for me.

Or so I thought.

About a month ago I learned about OnStar FMV. You can now purchase a rearview mirror that contains the core safety, security and connectivity features of OnStar for just about any vehicle.

Their Facebook page had a tool I used to find out that it was available for my car and it also had all of the information I wanted to know about their available services.

So I had it installed in my car (it took 36 minutes from start to finish, so simple) and this is why.

Like most moms, I spend a lot of time in the car with my kids and no other adult. I love knowing that if anything happens, help will come even if I can’t ask for it. I also like that asking for help is as easy as pushing a button. If something were to happen and my kids needed to ask for help, they would be able to push that little blue button and talk to a real live person.

Photo provided by blogger Be Different Act Normal

I feel like they deserve a real live person in that situation. In addition to emergency services they also provide roadside assistance. And I don’t even need to know where I am! They use GPS technology to send help to you.

In the car I use my cell phone for directions and making calls. Sometimes I forget my cell phone at home. Sometimes I put my purse on the floor when I am buckling my daughter in her car seat and forget to move it to the front seat. Sometimes I don’t have service on my cell phone at all. This happened a lot more than I was comfortable with on our last road trip and even happens around the corner from my house. Not to mention that looking down at my phone, even just for a second, isn’t the safest option. The OnStar mirror offers turn by turn directions and handsfree calling options. Both require absolutely no eye contact.

It is some pretty cool technology. The speaker is clear and the volume actually adjusts to levels that a human ear can hear. I can’t say either about my husbands GPS or his bluetooth speaker he uses in his car. I can look up directions on my computer at home and send them to my car in a matter of seconds, another thing my hubby’s GPS can’t do. And my favorite part…real live people. Nice people. Friendly people. They call me Mrs. Albright and they find the nearest Chick-fil-A when we are on our way home from the swimming hole.

Guest post by blogger Lorie, Be Different Act Normal

Have your own OnStar experience? Share your story!