General Motors expects to equip twice as many vehicles over the next two years than it does today with the OnStar system, the automaker announced Tuesday. The automaker said that about 3 million GM vehicles in the 2006 model year will have OnStar, the mobile telephone based voice and data communication system. Today 1.4 million 2004-model vehicles are equipped with OnStar, GM said. For the 2005 model year, GM expects 2.2 million vehicles sold in the United States and Canada to have OnStar. The automaker plans to include the technology and the first year's service fee as standard equipment or part of popular option packages. Capabilities of the OnStar system include automatic notification of airbag deployment, remote unlocking, vehicle location and tracking, remote diagnostics and summoning roadside assistance. After the first year, consumers need to pay a service fee to keep the system active. Currently, the fee for OnStar's basic Safe & Sound plan starts at $16.95 per month.
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