Chevy Spark and Sonic Are First Cars to Get Siri 'Eyes Free'

my dealer gave me a chevy spark to drive around in while my regular car was being serviced. i ended up loving this car! so much so that i am thinking about buying one.

and my regular car needed to be repaired again and this time my dealer gave me a mercedes c300 to drive around in. i kind of wish they gave me the chevy spark again..

The Cadillac XTS and ATS with CUE (Cadillac User Experience) will be getting the functionality next month through a software update.

Apple should include an option to turn off the screen when a headset is connected.

The most annoying thing about the phone is Siri deactivating inadvertently as the phone sits in my pocket looking for screen input.

If BMW (or Benz) do the same feature, I'll buy an iPhone and a new car.

Voice-activated, hands-free calls to contacts is very useful when driving, no kidding.

Lets pretend for a second that chevy makes a decent car. (They don't but we will pretend)

*they may have pay backed the "bailout" but they still do not pay taxes. There are people on this board paying more taxes than chevy (anyone who paid > 1$)

* while the volt is an average hybrid the process to make the batteries emits more toxins than the average regular car throughout its whole lifespan.

* while chevy / Chrysler did not go through a normal bankruptcy they still are outsourcing to china on the Americans dollar.

* Nissan makes the only truck assembled completely in America (Smyrna tn).

* cheap parts + high labor = crap at a premium

The offerings of every other manufacture aside from Chrysler are better in most regards.

Siri integration is a yawn factor to me. My 5 year old pioneer head unit recognizes my iphone. Most modern audio systems (oem) don't. And honestly what's the difference in talking to your steering wheel or phone?

imola.zhp said:

My 2003 BMW 330i ZHP does this, it will be 10 years old on 03/03/2013...

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Oh my gosh! A fellow ZHP'er on Mac Rumours!

I too love my '04 ZHP 330i. I bought it with 34 miles on it-I'm up to 125000 thus far and so far it is the best and most fun automobile I've ever had in my life (my previous two cars were of Japanese origin). My ZHP was born in Munich on May 15, 2004-I bought it on August 24th 2004 so I too am almost coming up on ten years.

Anyway, enough of my gushing about my car...glad to see someone else on this board driving a decent automobile.

So I'm guessing that since this is "hands free" it's not considered a distraction for the driver? I wonder how many innocent children and others will be killed before they decide that allowing cell phones to even operate in vehicles is a major distraction.

When did we all become so self-centred that we can't go 15 or 20 minutes (or even less) without answering the 'phone?

What they really need is a device in the car that will not allow cell phone signals to enter or leave the car. We don't need "eyes free" devices, we need "brain freeing" devices. My 2¢.

jav6454 said:

Whats the MSRP of said vehicles? Although I am waiting for either Toyota or Ford models to include it.

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Why wait? Honda makes a nice car.

Eduardo1971 said:

Oh my gosh! A fellow ZHP'er on Mac Rumours!

I too love my '04 ZHP 330i. I bought it with 34 miles on it-I'm up to 125000 thus far and so far it is the best and most fun automobile I've ever had in my life (my previous two cars were of Japanese origin). My ZHP was born in Munich on May 15, 2004-I bought it on August 24th 2004 so I too am almost coming up on ten years.

Anyway, enough of my gushing about my car...glad to see someone else on this board driving a decent automobile.

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I bet you're fun at parties.

AppleScruff1 said:

I hope it works better there than it does on iOS.

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So you think they will be using a different OS in the car than out of the car?

AustinIllini said:

I doubt it.

And for those of you who don't follow this sort of thing, modern Chevys are surprisingly sophisticated.

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Sophisticated does not mean its built well.

portishead said:

so.... can we get this feature on a car that doesn't suck?

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You're crazy, Audi makes some of the best vehicles right now. What Audi do you have?

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Yes yes, you aren't the only one that thinks I am crazy. I have an '07 A4 Quattro. The only two things I love about it is the 6spd manual & the awd.

Bought the car new, but since the month after my purchase it has been nothing but problem after problem. Every 3 months she is in the shop, and the problems are just getting costlier with post-warranty.

My parents & one of my brothers drive a ford and all they do is rave about it. My other brother just bought a '12 Audi Q7 and the problems just started rolling in on him.

as long as it isn't a GM (didn't approve of the bailout), Siri eyes free could suede my purchase.

Many of these comments remind me how snobby this community can be. Talk about legitimizing the Apple stereotype...

My £69 JVC Mechless Bluetooth Headunit from Amazon in my'02 CRV has eyes free!!!

Make calls, Compose texts, switch playlists, ask for songs, find the way home everything Siri does just by pressing the 'Phone Icon' on the HU or Remote.

Forget buying a new car, just get a new HU!

Good, I'll know to avoid any Sparks and Sonics I see on the road, knowing that the drivers might be busy playing with Siri instead of, oh, I dunno, paying attention to the road.

dugbug said:

anyone know if bmw plans to roll this in? They support iPhone pretty well.

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Dunno if the have a Siri activation button in the pipeline but Siri integrates via bluetooth to the phone system - I can get Siri to read texts over my car's speaker system and respond to them using my car's microphone. I have to activate Siri from the phone though.

webbuzz said:

Spark $12,185 - $16,895
Sonic $14,185 -$23,205

The sedans are slightly higher.

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Lol i guess this will be the end of the "apple is like a ferrari" comments.

portishead said:

You're crazy, Audi makes some of the best vehicles right now. What Audi do you have?

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The make the best all-around ride/performance package in their class. It's all fun and games until you have to fix the vehicle.

Optheduim said:

Yes yes, you aren't the only one that thinks I am crazy. I have an '07 A4 Quattro. The only two things I love about it is the 6spd manual & the awd.

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Anyone who has ever owned and Audi should know you're not crazy. Audi's are not reliable by any stretch of the imagination, and they are extremely costly to fix. I'm essentially biding my time until my wife makes me replace my A4. I love that car.

Apple integrates Siri into cars.....fanboys have pissing contests over whose depreciating asset is cooler!

15 grand for a car is a fine price considering what you do with it - drive it until it is dead.

I like that Apple is putting this in cars that are affordable for most. Putting it in an Audi limits their market exposure as many can't afford it, and for some that can, simply won't because cars are places where money goes to die (meaning it is not an investment).

So?

Color me unimpressed. I mean, it doesn't look that much different that Siri support on ANY car with Bluetooth capability. Most cars (2008 and later) have bluetooth you can play Pandora, iTunes wirelessly, and when you get a text without even looking down hold the Home button and talk to Siri through the car audio system. Of course, you can also make calls without looking.

Other than the fact that you have a button on your dashboard, anything else justifies this?

I'm so impressed that a car audio system can activate Siri just like a $10 bluetooth headset from a grocery store can. Not.

Tiger8 said:

Color me unimpressed. I mean, it doesn't look that much different that Siri support on ANY car with Bluetooth capability. Most cars (2008 and later) have bluetooth you can play Pandora, iTunes wirelessly, and when you get a text without even looking down hold the Home button and talk to Siri through the car audio system. Of course, you can also make calls without looking.

Other than the fact that you have a button on your dashboard, anything else justifies this?

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No, not really.

Siri in cars..

How is that better than what we currently have ?

Although helpful, Siri can't even get a simple task right, as is...

Rushing stuff out won't help......

Get it perfect first.... then put into cars. ..

* i'm just wondering...why a Chevy.... There are other cars you know*

blacktape242 said:

Forget Chevy, i will never own and american car company's car....ever!


Give me Asian or European car with this and im happy!

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You do realize that European car quality is pretty poor don't you? Especially VW and Audi. Not only that but they are crazy expensive to repair. No thank you. Japanese is still your best bet.

Eduardo1971 said:

A shame we can't 'down-vote' these type of remarks.

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I really miss the down vote option. So many forums are going away from that.
I want my down boats back!

The problem you have now, is you might see a comment with 20 upvotes, but not realize this thread had MASSIVE traffic. You'll think 20 upvotes, seems like this guys comment is well received. Well, you didn't know the thread got 200,000 thousand views and if you had down votes it might have been a comment with 89,000 down votes and only 20 upvotes. But you just see the upvotes and don't know squat about what the community thinks about the particular comment.

Now you have to get a snapshot of the whole thread and compare it to the other upvotes for all comments to be able to gauge if the comment you're reading was well received.

TLDR: only having upvotes is pointless. Might as well just remove voting all together.