OnStar is letting owners of 2011 Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC vehicles control key functions of the cars by using their smartphone.

Vehicle owners will be able to remotely start their car, power the horn and lights and lock and unlock the car. Drivers who forget their keys can just use their handset to start their vehicle.

?Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC are leveraging OnStar technology to develop mobile applications for owners of most of their 2011 products,? said Nicole Carriere, spokeswoman for OnStar, Detroit. ?This is actually an expanded use of the technology, not of the app itself.

?We previously announced the technology on the Chevrolet Volt mobile application ? coming to customers in tandem with the product launch later this year ? and ever since, our customers have been asking when we would bring it to other vehicles," she said.

?The technology will be launched to customers via unique separate apps from Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC that they will begin rolling out in the months ahead.?

OnStar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Motors, provides in-vehicle safety, security and communication services.

Mobile lock
For users who are traveling and forget to lock their vehicle, they can access the application and send a remote lock signal to car.

The Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC applications will use OnStar?s connection to the vehicle to provide key diagnostic information, such as fuel tank level and range, remaining oil life, current and recommended tire pressure and lifetime average miles per gallon.

?The OnStar technology is validated to work on iPhone and Android platforms, but we?re exploring opportunities to expand beyond in the future,? Ms. Carriere said.

?Right now, we?re just demonstrating the OnStar technology for media, but once the brands are all ready to bring the technology to customers in their apps, I?m sure they?ll have plans to get the word out in a big way," she said.
 
The applications will be tailored specifically for each brand?s consumers.

The applications are set to hit the market in a few months.

?From an OnStar perspective, we view the mobile space as a big opportunity,? Ms. Carriere said. ?As you may have seen with our technology demonstration at Google I/O, we?re working a lot with navigation ? sending a turn by turn route from your smartphone to your vehicle, but the most important thing for us is the issue of distracted driving.

?What mobile devices can really help us do is allow drivers to make as many decisions as possible before they physically enter the vehicle, so when they?re driving, their minds are focused on the road,? she said.

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