I have absolutely no clue, best to ask GM that question if you really need to know......

 

I fully know why, it's because if they depended on consumer demand only, they would be defunct in a matter of months. Since the buyer won't buy, we'll charge them for it and MAKE them take it. It's borderline extortion.

 

It's getting clearer! Just signed in to MY Chevrolet App on my iPad. Called OnStar from App. Young Lady said yes I have 3 years on OnStar Service Via my Phone (and assume iPad.) I can Start The Car and Check a few other things BUT DO NOT have NAV and it DOES NOT provide Road Speed Limit on Dash or HUD.

So clears that up:

• For 30 days I had free OnStar which I had to provide a CC number where I could use NAV AND got Road Speed Limit in HUD.
• When I canceled in less than 30 days (so my CC was never used,) Road Speed Limit and NAV were gone.
• With @StairStep help and 1 1/2 hr effort, 16 months ago I installed a "Workaround" by downloading a Google Map of area I selected that provides Road Speed in HUD. Still works fine.
• I have been using WAZE for NAV. Works fine but no indicators showing in HUD.
  • When I tried to use Google NAV a message Pops Up stating Plan Required.
  • A few weeks ago a post said "Just Press Dismiss" when that message appears.
  • Followed the advice and sure enough Direction Arrows appeared in HUD when I was to make a turn.
  • Seldom use/need NAV so other than that try, have not used.
• The only thing I miss is verbal commands. In my 2020 C8 I could ask for a song from the >1500 I have in a Flash Drive. No Longer Works.

 

Onstar is just a rip off and has been died for about 10 years. Just another money stream for GM.

 

The only thing on star is good for is the remote shut down if the car is stolen.

 

I have to wonder if GM makes a lot of money selling the data. Dunno....

 

No it isnt, not even close

Someone paying ADM on a new model is market demand. They could WAIT and not pay the ADM. Like many of us did or are doing, even with Z06s currently that saw some pay a 50k ADM.

The key difference is they chose to do it. We cannot CHOOSE re: onstar. No amount of waiting will avoid it. We CANNOT simply WAIT and not pay for onstar because it is baked into ALL new C8s being produced. Basically we either accept it or NEVER buy another new vette, at least not until GM's nonsense marriage to onstar ends, if ever.

And yeah a lot of standard crap in cars lately adds cost and isnt needed by many of us (lane keeping assist, super cruise, collision avoidance, automatic emergency braking, stop/start...). And none of that should be mandatory either, especially not in a damn sports car.

A manufacturer literally FORCING you to take it if you want to buy their car because it is baked into the price isnt market demand. Its anti-consumer corporate BS.

There is a reason I am looking at custom builds like Superformance's grand sport as my last "new car" ever before going strictly used and older cars to avoid nonsense bloat in cars of late. Dont get me started on giant ipads masquerading as a dashboard/instrument cluster.

And yeah I fully realize this is a 1st world problem, and that the added cost of likely less than $1000 for the 8 years (guessing maybe $500-600 if it were a line item) is very little compared to a 65k-150k (not counting ZR1 models of course) unnecessary toy. But it is a matter of principle. If you dont have principles, you dont have anything.

You can read that last bit in Ross Geller's voice if needed, lol. ("My principles, we're talking about my principles!" I cant recall the exact episode. )

 

 

 

When I called to cancel the rep told me “we have crash detection”, I told him it didn’t matter because if I got into a wreck I would likely be dead anyway. No more pushback, account cancelled.