General Motors is serious about satellite radio, and the amount of nameplates that offer standard XM is growing all the time. Previously, GM made XM standard on all Cadillacs, and now the subscription radio service will also be available for all new Buick, HUMMER, and Saab models as well. The move enlarges XM's customer base while also giving new-car drivers a chance to test the technology for three months free of charge. Of course, after the gratis period runs out, those drivers are free to become former XM customers, but by then, the hope would be that they're so in love with the service that they simply renew and keep it going. There are now 50 GM products with standard XM, and six million XM-equipped vehicles have been built by the General since 2001.
[Source: GM]
PRESS RELEASE:
GM EXPANDS XM AS STANDARD ON ALL 2008 BUICK, HUMMER AND SAAB MODELS
XM Also Standard on Many of GM's Most Popular Saturn, Chevrolet, Pontiac and
GMC Vehicles
WASHINGTON, DC, October 18, 2007 - XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR), the
nation's leading provider of satellite radio, today announced that XM Radio
is a standard feature for the first time on all General Motors 2008 model
year Buick, HUMMER and Saab vehicles.
XM is also now widely standard across many of the most popular vehicles in
the Saturn, Chevrolet, GMC and Pontiac lineups, including: the all-new 2008
Chevrolet Malibu, Silverado, Tahoe, Cobalt, Corvette and Impala; Saturn VUE,
OUTLOOK, AURA and SKY; GMC Acadia, Yukon, and Sierra; and Pontiac G5 and
Solstice models among others.
Cadillac was the first automotive brand to offer XM as a standard feature.
In total, XM is available today on more than 50 model year 2008 GM vehicles
sold through thousands of GM dealerships nationwide.
GM was the world's first automaker to offer satellite radio as a
factory-installed feature when it introduced XM on Cadillac models in 2001.
GM has produced more than six million vehicles with XM.
"XM looks forward to offering our unmatched music, sports and talk
programming to all Buick, HUMMER and Saab buyers," said Steve Cook,
executive vice president, Automotive, XM Satellite Radio. "This expansion
will continue XM's outstanding growth in the new car market that will
provide us with sustained growth for 2008 and beyond."
"XM Satellite Radio has been one of the most successful entertainment
offerings ever launched by General Motors," said Rick Lee, General Motors
executive director. "The XM service has broad appeal, with a growing number
of our customers asking for the service in their new car or truck. In the
2008 model year, General Motors will build more than 2.5 million vehicles
with XM."
Every new General Motors vehicle with factory-installed XM comes standard
with a complimentary three month trial subscription. An XM Radio trial
program is also available to GM Certified Used Vehicles, Cadillac Certified
Pre-Owned Vehicles, and HUMMER Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, making the
program available to buyers of both new and certified used models equipped
with XM.
For more information on XM in GM vehicles, visit
http://www.xmradio.com/whatisxm/inyourvehicle/.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
eddie @ Oct 21st 2007 4:33PM
Thats cool. I like XM. The content is much better than FM. The sound quality sucks for the money, but the lack of commercials makes up for it.
MoonRover @ Oct 21st 2007 4:39PM
I really like the XM in My New GMC, The sound is much better than FM and the choices are almost too many. I am still finding new stations I like, you just can't listen to them all. I really like the sports broadcasts and news channels, but my favorite is "The 70's".
I just sent in my subscription payment for 1 year.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Oct 21st 2007 4:59PM
I'd trade the XM for Bluetooth handsfree support.
Get on the ball, GM.
TriShield @ Oct 21st 2007 5:28PM
That's a nice looking H3.
Bart @ Oct 21st 2007 6:14PM
Wow, 3 whole months...........
If I recall, vehicles that come with Sirius get 1 YEAR free.
I've had both, and the sound quality is horrible. Also, be aware that they're run by idiots. XM billing people managed to loose my credit card data and then I had to call them 5 TIMES to get it fixed, during which I received warnings they were going to send my bills to a credit collection agency and they turned off my radio, for which they tried to charge me a 50 dollar fee to reactivate.
My new grand cherokee crd has sirius and I like it slightly more than XM; probably enough to keep it when the free period runs out next year.
RicardoHead @ Oct 21st 2007 6:39PM
Had satrad in a number of rentals. I'd never pay for it. Lame, monotonous stations, spotty reception at best, poor sound quality. My company will pay for it if we want it, and no one takes them up on it so the opinion goes beyond me.
I actually consider it negative to offer it standard. Like paying $250 for parts content that I consider zero value added. They should offer me credit if I don't want it - just pull the chips and I'll never miss them. Same goes for OnStar, BTW.
Rob @ Oct 21st 2007 8:10PM
I have XM. Sound quality is better than FM, not as good as CD. Stations blow the local stations away. If you like hearing the same 20 top 40 songs shuffled over a 2 hour period tune into FM. If not fork over the $13 and get a sat radio. Seriously, its $13/mo, if you're that poor you probadly cant make your car payments to begin with.
Toledo Guy @ Oct 21st 2007 8:52PM
As others have said, Chrysler has a much better deal going with Sirius. $195 on the vehicles that it's not standard on, and that includes a year of service. A lot of models have Sirius standard now, including all of the Jeep
Wranglers.
Having had both XM and Sirius radios, I like the Sirius programming better. XM has a programming deal with Clear Channel and programs a lot of XM channels in exchange for the ability to sell commercials. No commercials on the Sirius music channels.
But XM vs Sirius isn't enough to make me select one brand over another. I love Hondas, but I'd have my Sirius radio installed over standard XM.
bobsjeep @ Oct 21st 2007 9:57PM
Agreed. XM is nice, but even Ford has Bluetooth now. Who wants to pay $15/month (and have a Verizon phone) to use their phone hands free?
doug delano @ Oct 22nd 2007 10:05AM
THOUGHT I'D MENTION THAT ALL 2008 CHEV. SILVERADOS AND GMC SIERRAS ALSO COME STANDARD WITH XM AND THE 3 MONTH TRIAL PERIOD.
rawdawg @ Oct 22nd 2007 5:16PM
i wish gm offered sirius radio , honestly i own a gmc envoy now but , i have the sirius radio attachment i added , but im looking into getting a new small suv , but i want sirius not xm , i listen to xm and they only have better country stations that it , i wish we had a choice instead of or the other.