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OnStar RemoteLink mobile app coming standard on all new GM vehicles

As an evolution and improvement of its OnStar technology, General Motors has announced that it will be expanding the RemoteLink Mobile App on most 2014 model year Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles. The new, aptly named RemoteLink Key Fob Services will allow users to remotely operate all of the same systems as the car's key fob, including locking and unlocking the doors and remote starting (on vehicles equipped with a factory remote starter) using a smartphone.
These Key Fob Services will be free for five years - starting from the vehicle's delivery date - but the full suite of RemoteLink features will continue to be offered only with a subscription (trial or paid). These premium features include contacting a live adviser, getting turn-by-turn directions and remotely monitoring the vehicle's diagnostic systems.
Scroll down below for the complete press release with all the details.

Facelifted Cadillac ATS spied completely uncovered

The Cadillac ATS makes for a pretty svelte little coupe, and General Motors appears to know it, because multiple, completely undisguised prototype sedans have been spotted testing wearing what look like many of the forthcoming coupe's body parts.
Not only does it wear at least the outline of the brand's new, broader crest, it has the same front air dam with continuous chrome strip found on the coupe. The only real difference is that it has the somewhat taller side view mirrors from the sedan, rather than the narrower, longer ones from the coupe. Around back, the changes are harder to spot because the test car is outfitted with an unpainted lower bumper. However, it seems to lack the chrome strip that offsets the lower portion of the coupe from the sedan.
The ATS sedan is already a looker, but it is good to see Cadillac is taking a second pass using what it learned on the coupe. There's no word yet on when this revised sedan is going to hit the streets - let alone what changes will take place beneath the skin - but we're thinking it looks about right for 2015.

GM intends to offer semi-autonomous vehicles by 2020

Prepare for a few years of technological saber-rattling, as the world's automakers begin pushing to bring self-driving cars to market. Earlier this week, Nissan announced that it aims to offer autonomous vehicles by 2020, while Google, BMW and several other marks are working on similar efforts.
General Motors is doing things differently, though. Rather than push for a fully autonomous car, it's continuing to refine its semi-autonomous Super Cruise, a product that we tested in April 2012 and that will eventually see use on some Cadillacs before trickling down to the rest of the General Motors family. Super Cruise, which is undergoing testing in the Cadillac SRX, doesn't take complete control out of the driver's hands. Rather, under a very specific set of circumstances on the freeway, it will marry the capabilities of things like lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control to allow the driver to take their hands off the wheel. All of which sounds a lot like the system Mercedes-Benz is launching on the 2014 S-Class.
The system is still in development, according to John Capp, GM's director of electrical controls and active safety technology. Now that that the biggest hurdle, steering control, has been cleared, GM's engineers can focus on things like teaching the system to adapt to differing road conditions and visibility levels. As we reported in 2012, Super Cruise is still befuddled in low-visibility situations or when road markings aren't particularly clear.