Great, so if I accidentally drop it in the lake while boating, I’ll be out $150. What’s the point of this if the vehicle already has a DIC that provides most of this information (fuel level, tire pressures, odometer/trip odometers, etc.)?

this is perfect for all those who suffer from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. “what’s my tire pressure?” “did I lock my doors?” “what’s my tire pressure?” “did I lock my doors?” “what’s my tire pressure?” “did I lock my doors?” “what’s my tire pressure?” “did I lock my doors?” “what’s my tire pressure?” “did I lock my doors?” “what’s my tire pressure?” “did I lock my doors?” “what’s my tire pressure?” “did I lock my doors?”

Comments 1 & 2 MUST have been provided by two of the oldest men. I have to think that much the same would have been said had a message board like this existed when keyless entry was first introduced or automatic windows & locks. “Ehh.. kids today are lazy! Can’t even roll down their own windows anymore! Why in my day….blah blah blah” Come on guys.. it’s called CONVENIENCE. Something we all love. We don’t need automatic windows & locks. Hell, we don’t even need air conditioning. But it’s nice to have. This is no different. Sure, we don’t NEED it, but it’ll be a nice convenience to have. Another first from GM… now we just have to wait a year or two for Toyota to perfect it.

Interesting idea and concept, but I dunno about $150. I used to have (many years ago) a pager for my alarm system, and it did come in handy one time, I actually ran and “caught” the guys messing with the car (the cops arrested him as he ran away!!!). Maybe if ythis fob could monitor it through OnStar idea too, that would be something.

To 90Z above, I understand your point, but c’mon. If you drop your current key fob while boating, it wont work either! Tell me you aren’t careful wwhile boating with you basic fob too…

I could see this as a nice option for independent contractors who need to keep track of mileage and fuel paperwork for tax reasons. Being able to check mileage by looking at a key fob instead of going out to the car to read it each time it is used, especially if multiple company vehicles were involved, would be way easier. GM should offer this on the Silverado and the new HHR panel.

sheesh Chris C… where’s your sense of humour?

It costs $100 to replace the fob.

I think $150 is pretty cheap considering replacements for basic laser cut keys with just the lock/unlock/alarm/door…etc. for some premium brands is at least $150.

This may be overkill, but it’s a pretty cool option that I think most people will gladly pay for. Plus, GM can market themselves as “the first”…….as sometimes that is important for some.

The tire pressure and fuel level report are stupid, but if it does the radio station (or CD) preferences, seat and mirror adjustments, steering wheel angle and telescope and perhaps driving preference and suspension presets (sportier, aggressive, passive, soft …) then it could be cool for a shared upscale vehicle.
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But anyone who regularly has to check a key fob for tire pressure and fuel level is a big poooosay …. but the world is full of those so the market is there.

Don’t take it so personally buenos – you’re cute but you’re not *that* funny.
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This is an awesome idea, especially the notion of getting the odometer reading. Sometimes you’re on the phone at home and you need to know what it is when you’re talking to the insurance company, or when you take the car in for an oil change, the reading will be right there with no need for a tech to turn the ignition to get it off the digital readout in the dash. Fuel readout is something I’d personally find useful, especially since sometimes I have to change my driving plans when I’m parked elsewhere from home. Tire pressure is an important element of safety but too many people ignore it and take it for granted. Having that reminder there will help. Even if some people just don’t understand it’s a critical factor to the car’s handling/safety, they at least would get used to the idea that the pressure must be kept in spec. As for door lock status, this is useful to a point. Picture this: the fob’s last update on status of the car when you parked it tells you that the doors were unlocked at the time. You didn’t catch this earlier because your hot date’s intoxicating smile and scintillating personality is more than a little distracting. Try locking the doors when you’re in line at the movies. Opps.. out of range. I think all cars should lock themselves after one minute if the key is not present within the vehicle itself. The reasons to have this feature on any car should be obvious, but of course an option to enable/disable it should be easy to use as well. GM has an advantage on making this work flawlessly since they offer On-Star with all their cars; accidental lockouts are already covered by that service.

Excellent idea, GM. I love it.

@ChrisC: I’m not old. I just don’t need all this redundant stuff. I’d rather see GM put their R & D money into something that will help them keep up with Toyota than frivilous stuff like this. All Caddys already come with the memory package, so all the radio presets, seat/mirror positions, and on some models (not Escalade), the power steering wheel/column positions, etc. can be automatically recalled when unlocking the vehicle with the current fob. If I REALLY need to see the odometer and/or tire pressures, I can just get into the vehicle and take a look at the DIC. I don’t think that it’s an inconvenience.

@A non E Moose: Of course I’m careful, but **** happens. I think $150 for something I didn’t want in the first place is a little excessive. I’d rather just have the plain old fob, but it’s really a moot point since I won’t be buying an Escalade anytime soon anyway )

whats the range? doesnt seem worth it if it only works with in the normaly keyless entry range. if it will go a significant distance then hell yea thats awesome!

@YourNameHere: Not sure on the exact range, but if it’s like the extended range on the fobs for GM vehicles equipped with remote start, it’ll be about 60m/197 ft.

Um…to replace my key fodit’s allready $150!

Only special feature is…I can lower all my windows and my sun roof by holding down unlock, and raise them with lock.

hmm…that seems to take away from some of its usefulness to me. whats the point of knowing if your doors are locked if you can see your car? i like the tire pressure thing. would be nice to just take a quick glance at a gas station. the odo. doesn’t do anything for me. Gas tank level is cool if it shows MPG also. but again…all these features lose some of there usefulness if it only works with in 60m of the car. preset radio station does nothing, show me a car that changes the station after you turn it off. now, if it can warn you of someone breaking into your car, thats a very good thing. but again…60m, thats not far enough. that wouldn’t reach to my office. the concept shows someone still has a pulse in GM, the execution all depends on the range. i will almost guarantee MB, BMW, Audi, VW, Toyota and everyone else will have a very similar thing very very very soon. also…on a side note…that thing looks like the size of a stopwatch…i dont want that in my pocket.

Here is a link with a bit more info on it. Apparently is has some water resistance and works 4 to 6 times the range of the other fobs out there. I think this is a great idea as well.

Oops I hate it when that happens.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=4958

So the real question here as to true value is “can this new Fob in any way help me to get chicks at a bar?”
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Any ideas?

…..and it also looks like the interior of a GM vehicle….not good! They should just take an extra little step and add some style to it.

I think the tire pressure monitors can be helpful to aid in obtaining the highest miles per gallon.
Although it is not commonly mentioned, GM has been an innovator- OnStar, Remote engine start- that other companies eventually integrate into their option lists.
But I believe at the vehicle price range it will be offered, it should be standard. Come on, if I am paying over $50 grand for an Escalade, it should not be an option.

Does it give you a bar graph depicting the “level of suck” your car has.

Well put Kaptain about the new key fob. On the subject of an automatic lock. The only thing I’d worry about is the idiots that leave their kids and pets inside, it does happen.

yeah $150 is real cheap… the flip-key fob for my audi was $260 for an extra one.. and it certainly doesnt have any of these cool little gadgets. Great, affordable, attractive option.

Cooper: those people need to be taken out back and shot!

This is an idea that I would say has potential, but I can think of two major flaws.

A) Look at it. Not only does it look like a digital watch from 1992, but it also looks to be about as user friendly as a bed of nails. I mean sure, it says it will tell me the tire pressure–which is a feature I think is fantastic–but from looking at the display and the fact that it’s got about 3 or 4 buttons which have other primary functions, I’m not entirely sure how this information will be easily accessible.

B) Why does this information need to be sent to yet another specialized electronic device? Why can’t it work in tandem with a cellphone/pda/laptop/ipod/pc/whatever. Not only is that a simple idea, but it can save automanufacturers and consumers money. Either way they have to build the sensors and some manner of transmitter, but this way they’re not on the hook for any kind of reciever. And the range is then potentially limitless. You could lock or unlock your car from anywhere you can get cellphone service.

Here’s an example: away missions on Star Trek. The crew have communicators that they can use to talk to anyone of the crew members or the Enterprise’s computer. “Geordi, can you increase warp core efficiency?” “Guinan, can you get me some Romulan Ale?” “O’Brien, beam down my Romulan Ale.” “Computer, what’s the tire pressure of my 2007 Cadillac Escalade program running in holodeck six?” “Data, what’s the square root of a billion?” and so forth. All by tapping a silver and gold pin on your chest. I want that. I want one thing that does a zillion things. I don’t want a huge black nylon briefcase with industrial strength velcro straps for carrying a zillion different things that all do one thing.

/no

i dont think that would work quite as well considering cellphones are much more fragile, and less reliable than a dedicated product. Codes matching your vehicle could get erased with resets or viruses, and it could be much more easily hacked for theft than a dedicated keyfob. as convenient as the cellphone setup would be, it would have too many flaws to justify its positives.

I think this is an interesting new type of technology, but one that will be buggy and expensive

This is a GREAT idea along the lines of Segway’s new wireless InfoKey(tm). Good job.

Tire pressure report is money!! I check mine every month, anything that does so no my key, wirelessly, is money! I’ll pay the $150 with a grin. Now, BMW, get this ****.

A device which will save GM motor company and its bankruptcy fears lol. Would have been better to put the money towards better products in the first place

Nowei……are you really William Shatner or Leonard Nimoy??? Illogical, but a great idea nonetheless….and a great post

Live long and prosper.

This is a wonderful development. I presume that my $150 will get fobs for both keys. Let us not forget that this is the first iteration of the technology. It will only improve. By the time it trickles down the the Cobalt and Aveo, everyone will wonder how we ever got along without it.

Does it come with a 100k warranty? I would hope so if there cars have anything to do with it.

gm ur doing pretty good im glad to see u above everybody else and ur moving foward alot faster than ford is!

1c3d0g loves the idea because GM came up with it, if Toyota came up with it, he’d hate it. So much for his opinion. I agree with Chris C, we need to wait for Toyota to perfect this one hah

“Hah”…retard. Even your precious Toy Ota couldn’t invent this, so shut it, asshole.