OnStar's Family Link Keeps Tabs on Teen Drivers

Waiting is the hardest part for many parents of teen drivers. They wait with cell phones in hand to get a call or text message that their young driver has arrived safely at a destination.

OnStar’s Family Link pilot program takes waiting out of the equation, allowing OnStar subscribers to check on the progress of a car equipped with the subscription-based communication system.

The Family Link program’s Vehicle Locate allows OnStar subscribers to log on to the Family Link website to view a map with the car’s exact location at any time. Vehicle Location Alert can send an email or text message to let parents know a car’s location. Parents can choose the day, time and frequency of the messages.

The pilot may expand to include speed, boundary and arrival/departure alerts, according to OnStar. About 10,000 OnStar subscribers in the U.S. will be invited to the pilot program. Pricing for the program hasn’t been announced.

The program sounds a lot like Big Brother — make that Big Mother — but parents of teens may appreciate the extra set of eyes on their young ones.

GM Experiments With Free Car Insurance

GM and MetLife are teaming up to offer one year’s worth of free comprehensive car insurance to car buyers in Oregon and Washington.

The insurance, which is issued through MetLife, includes standard liability coverage as well as coverage for uninsured motorists, which is the basic coverage required in Oregon; Washington doesn’t require uninsured coverage. On top of that, the insurance policy includes underinsured coverage, collision and comprehensive coverage for car damage.

The promotion could save buyers thousands of dollars, depending on their age and other lifestyle factors. The average premium paid in Washington this year was $1,463; in Oregon it was $1,187, according to carinsurance.com.

To take advantage of the promotion, car shoppers must buy a new 2010, 2011 or 2012 Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick or GMC and must be a resident of Oregon or Washington with a valid driver’s license. The promotion ends Sept. 6.

It’s an interesting experiment. The offer can be considered a typical incentive like a warranty, and it removes an obstacle before buying a new car and leads people to an insurance partner, benefitting the two companies.

Continue reading below for more details on the insurance coverage:

GM Adds Two Years Free Maintenance to Certified Used Cars

General Motors has added more complementary services to its certified pre-owned vehicles today. All Chevy, Buick and GMC certified pre-owned vehicles will get two-years/30,000 miles of free maintenance. GM is the first automaker to offer free maintenance on its certified pre-owned inventory.

The free maintenance, called Owner Care, includes oil changes, tire rotations and multipoint vehicle inspections free of charge.

Owner Care is added to GM’s existing certified pre-owned warranty program; which includes a 12-month/12,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty and a five-year/100,000-mile limited powertrain warranty with 24-hour roadside assistance.

A 172-point inspection — increased from 117 points — along with a free trial of satellite radio remain standard.

Cadillac is not part of this change because the brand already has a six-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty but no complementary maintenance program for certified pre-owned vehicles.

Chevy Volt Plant to Get Solar Power

General Motors, trying to keep the green image of its Chevy Volt untarnished, said today that it will start installing a large solar panel array near the assembly plant that builds the plug-in hybrid; the plant will also soon start making the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu.

The Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant will get some 6 acres’ worth of photovoltaic panels that will face true south to maximize solar output. The $3 million project is being performed in conjunction with the DTE Energy utility company. Overall, the solar array will be able to generate enough electricity to fully charge 150 Volts every day.

Along with the lighting upgrades and other green measures at the plant, about $3 million in energy costs will be saved every year, GM says.

Next-Generation Chevrolet Corvette Still at Least Two Model Years Away

If you’re looking for the latest, greatest sports car, you’ll have to wait another two years for something new from Chevrolet. General Motors, Chevy’s parent company, is working on a next-generation Corvette, but it will continue to produce the current Corvette for at least two more model years.

GM said in a press release that it would commit to a $131 million investment for the Bowling Green, Ky., factory that makes the Corvette in preparation for the new model.

The current sixth-generation Corvette has been on sale for six model years, though significant upgrades were made for the 2012 model year.

The 2012 Corvette goes into production in July and should arrive at dealerships shortly afterward.

2013 Chevrolet Malibu to Launch Four Months Early

When GM first teased the next-generation 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, the carmaker was expecting to launch the vehicle in May 2012. It now appears GM is trying to move that date up by four months, according to the Detroit News.

Malibu production is being accelerated to a January 2012 launch, according to an internal GM report from earlier this year. This means the new model could arrive at U.S. dealerships in as little as eight to nine months from now.

While the current Malibu is a competent car, it’s still not selling at the same volume as the Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Ford Fusion or the redesigned Hyundai Sonata. The Malibu is GM’s third best-selling car — after the Cruze and Impala — year-to-date. The vehicle came in seventh place in our $25,000 Family Sedan Shootout, where the Malibu was dinged for its outdated interior and weak four-cylinder.

From what we know about the 2013 Malibu, including exterior and interior teaser shots and GM’s top brass’ public comments, we can expect a more competitive product.

GM’s CEO Daniel Akerson advocates an early Malibu launch to put the car on a better footing with new and upcoming midsize competition; a new Nissan Altima is coming next summer and a new Toyota Camry is in development, according to the Detroit News.

The 2013 Malibu will be unveiled Monday at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show. It will be Chevrolet’s first global midsize sedan.

GM puts Malibu production on fast track (The Detroit News)

Ford Has Highest Loyalty: GM, Toyota Close Behind

Ford Motor Co., the maker of Ford and Lincoln vehicles, ended 2010 with the highest loyalty rates in the auto industry, according to R.L. Polk & Co. About 63% of all Ford car owners bought or leased another new Ford vehicle when they returned to the market in 2010.

The 3.9 percentage point increase in Ford’s loyalty score was enough for the automaker to surpass General Motors, which had the highest loyalty score in 2009. GM (59.9%) and Toyota Motor Co. (58.8%) come in second and third for most-loyal customers.

When you break down loyalty scores to the brand level, the Ford brand remains in the top position (60.3% bought another Ford), followed by Mercedes-Benz (56.7%), Honda (56.6%), Toyota (56.4%) and Chevrolet (53%).

The numbers for Toyota are particularly impressive since buyers were returning to the market shortly after and even during the recall woes the company faced in 2009 and 2010.

In terms of specific models, car shoppers were the most loyal to the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (44.2%), followed closely by the Ford F-Series (44.2%) and Lincoln MKZ (41.6%).

As a vehicle class, luxury carmakers saw the biggest improvements in loyalty rates in 2010. Land Rover (+8.2 percentage points), Acura (+7.5) and Cadillac (+7.1) saw huge gains in loyalty, which is primarily attributed to an improving lease market, according to Polk.

2010 Year-End Analysis Shows Ford, GM, Toyota Lead in Automotive Loyalty, According to Polk (R.L. Polk & Co.)

More Car Shoppers Leasing Again

We’ve been beating this drum for at least six months now: Leasing is back with a vengeance. After a painful lull in 2009, attractive lease rates and high trade-in values are reviving leasing as a viable option for some car buyers, according to R.L. Polk & Co. That’s good news for shoppers looking to get more car at a lower monthly payment.

Nearly 19% of all car shoppers leased in 2010, up 5.8 percentage points from 2009 (13.1%), according to Polk.

The biggest beneficiaries are luxury carmakers like Mercedes-Benz and BMW, which relied on leasing for more than 50 percent of their business in 2010. Leasing is an attractive option for folks trying to get into a luxury vehicle.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: March 2011

Despite mounting pressures on the auto industry from rising gas prices and growing concerns involving the production delays and the earthquake in Japan, car shoppers still bought new vehicles in droves in March.

While all automakers generally did well, Hyundai (up 32%), Ford (up 28.2%) and Nissan (up 26.9%) performed above average. Ford (selling only Ford and Lincoln models) with 212,777 cars sold, outsold all four brands at GM (206,621 cars sold, up 11.4%) to become the best-selling automaker in the United States in March. GM is still the best-seller year-to-date.

Ford has three vehicles in the top 10 for March, the most of any automaker. That’s an accolade typically reserved for Honda. Toyota was the only major automaker with losses compared with March 2010 (down 9.2%). The Toyota Camry and the Toyota Corolla were the only vehicles showing falling sales in the top 10.

Seven vehicles on the list sold more than 30,000 units in March, compared with only three that did that in the first two months of 2011.

The list also shows significant gains in the midsize sedan category. Typically, the top two spots are pickup trucks, but the Honda Accord managed to wrestle the second spot from the Chevrolet Silverado, a perennial favorite. The Camry, typically the best-selling midsize sedan, fell behind both the Accord and the Nissan Altima in March. The Hyundai Sonata rejoins the top 10 after a four-month abscence, with sales up 63.4% for the year.

Check out the full list below:

Canadian Dispute Won't Delay Minivans, SUVs

We’ve reported extensively on the anticipated delays of Japanese imports, but are union disputes causing a similar situation in Canada? A dispute between Allied Systems Holdings — a transportation company that moves finished vehicles for automakers using those familiar tractor-trailers — and its Teamster union have held up deliveries of both Chrysler and General Motors vehicles to the U.S., according to the Windsor Star website. The issue is significant because the vehicles in question are popular ones for both companies, the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans and the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain crossovers.

GM had arranged alternative transport quickly, while Chrysler terminated its contract with Allied today, according to the Windsor Star. “We have re-sourced the business to other suppliers and are working to ensure a smooth transition. Vehicles continue to be shipped to dealers, and we do not anticipate any disruptions in production as a result of this change,” Chrysler spokeswoman Katie Helper says.

Chrysler continues to offer incentives on the refreshed minivans — both vans have $1,250 cash-back incentives or 2.9% APR for 60 months during the automaker’s “Premiere Event” campaign.

Today, the Detroit News reported that GM is suing Allied for holding more than 1,700 of its vehicles including Silverado trucks and Camaro sports cars. Some of the vehicles in question have already been purchased by customers, which we would assume means there are some unhappy folks waiting for the lawsuit to be resolved.