Actually, your insurance company does...

At first glance, the new telematics system developed by State Farm Insurance and Hughes Telematics, called In-Drive, looks like a good thing, especially to parents. It offers the same emergency crash response, roadside assistance and stolen vehicle location service as competitors like OnStar, but for a lot less money. You can even get vehicle diagnostic alerts and service reminders, and parents can use it to track where a car is driven, or at what speed. If owners can get data on locations and speeds, doesn’t that mean that your insurance company can, too?

Indeed it does, and here’s where In-Drive takes a turn to the dark side. Opt to participate in a voluntary program, and State Farm will monitor your driving habits, just like Progressive Insurance does with its “Snapshot” program. The In-Drive system will record data on your mileage, cornering, acceleration, speed and time of day you’re behind the wheel, reporting it to State Farm. Initial program members will save approximately 10 percent on their insurance premiums, but the discount will range from 3 to 20 percent once enough data is gathered on your habits. Your reviewed for renewal every six months, which has a very ominous ring to it.

Does this mean that State Farm can and will cancel you policy if it feels you’re not a “safe” driver? I couldn’t find a clear answer to that question on State Farm’s website, so I suspect the answer is “yes.” That’s exactly why I’d never participate in such a program; I enjoy driving, which means using all of a vehicles available acceleration, braking and corning ability. To State Farm, I’m an uninsurable menace to society, despite the fact that I’ve driven for decades and hundreds of thousands of miles without a ticket, accident or insurance claim. If you ask me, I’m safer than 90 percent of the drivers on the road, because I pay attention when I’m driving. I don’t text, eat, shave, apply makeup or read the newspaper behind the wheel, but slow drivers who do would probably be seen as safe by In-Drive.

State Farm has other Drive Safe and Save programs linked to OnStar. For now, In-Drive is only available in Illinois, but On-Star linked programs are available for drivers in California, Colorado, Ohio and Texas. If you’re interested in being a laboratory rat, you can find details on the State Farm website. For the rest of us, it’s time to be afraid: these programs are voluntary now, but how much longer will it be until they’re mandatory for all drivers?

Source: Autoblog

Hyundai has long sought to give buyers peace of mind with their warranty coverage; now the automaker is giving owners even greater security with the launch of their OnStar-fighting Blue Link system. Like GM’s OnStar, Blue Link can provide automatic crash notification, give the driver a “panic button” for emergency situations and offer roadside assistance. Just like OnStar, it can unlock your doors or even help police track, slow and immobilize a stolen vehicle. However, Hyundai wasn’t content to simply match features offered by OnStar, so they’ve one-upped the pioneering telematics service in several areas. Want to flash your lights and horn, or get notification when your keyless entry panic button has been tripped? How about sending your current vehicle location to social media friends? Want to send voice to text messages while you drive, or get messages about how other drivers or valets are treating your vehicle? Depending on the Blue Link Package selected, it can do all of this and more.

The base Blue Link package is called Blue Link Assurance, and this will be included on an introductory basis with select Hyundai models (initially, the Sonata and the Veloster). Blue Link Assurance includes automatic crash notification and assistance, SOS emergency assistance, roadside assistance and a monthly vehicle report. Opt for the Blue Link Essentials package, and you also get remote access features, convenience features (like location sharing and voice to text), vehicle self diagnostic features, theft protection and safeguard features (like Valet Alert, Speed Alert, Curfew Alert and Geo-Fence distance alert). Want the ultimate in telematics? Add the Guidance package, and you get turn by turn navigation, point of interest finder, route guidance with traffic monitoring, gas station locator, Eco-Coach (to boost your fuel economy), restaurant ratings and a weather update feature.

There’s no word on pricing yet, but I’d expect Blue Link to be priced competitively with OnStar, which ranges from $18.95 per month for basic services to $29.80 per month for the full suite of options. Hyundai plans to roll out Blue Link across their entire product line for the 2013 model year.

Source: Hyundai Motors America