General Motors announced that for 2007, the company will outfit more than two million vehicles in the U.S. and Canada with OnStar Turn-by-Turn Navigation, the first factory-installed, fully-integrated off-board GPS navigation system. The new service from OnStar by GM will be standard for the first year on a number of GM retail vehicles sold in 2007 including nearly all Buicks and Cadillacs. OnStar Turn-by-Turn Navigation will also be available on many other GM vehicles through a $100 optional OnStar package upgrade during the initial year of service. After the first year, customers can renew their package for $299 per year, which also includes OnStar’s suite of safety, security and communications services. OnStar Turn-by-Turn Navigation allows a consumer to talk to a live advisor who sends step-by-step directions to the customer’s vehicle through their OnStar system. Audio directions are then automatically played through the vehicle’s stereo as they are needed, triggered by the OnStar system’s GPS capabilities. Customer demand for in-vehicle navigation systems is rapidly rising. According to a J.D. Power and Associates estimate, 1.2 million 2005 model year vehicles in the U.S. were equipped with factory-installed navigation systems, representing a 41 percent increase over the 2004 model year.
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