In today’s highly competitive automotive industry, certain giants are determined to win and dominate. This can be said for GMC, a company whose rich history goes all the way back to 1901.
In fact, according to GMC, the company initially established itself as the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company (RMVC) around this time. In 1909, however, RMVC was purchased by General Motors and this became the basis for the General Motors Truck Company. Just a few years later, GM also purchased the Reliance Motor Car Company and merged it. The following year, the company revealed the name “GMC truck.”
Over the years, the company ventured into everything automotive. It worked on manufacturing inter-urban and transit buses until the 1980s. Eventually, the company also ventured into the production of SUVs, sedans and even performance cars.
Because of this, the GMC Fleet has now grown to four highly successful automotive brands. Aside from the GMC brand itself, the company is also home to brands such as Chevrolet, Buick, and Cadillac. From GMC, you have well-known models such as the Canyon, Terrain, Acadia, Yukon, Denali and Sierra trucks. Meanwhile, Chevrolet boasts of the Camaro, Corvette, Suburban, Tahoe, Volt, Bolt, Impala, Malibu, Spark, Cruze, Sonic, Trax, Equinox, Blazer, Traverse as well as the Colorado and Silverado trucks. As for Buick, you’ve got the Regal, Lacrosse, Verano, Cascada, Encore, Enclave and Envision. And finally, for the Cadillac, you’ve got the ATS, XTS, CTS, CT6, XT4, XT5 and Escalade.
What you may not realize about these cars is that they have a tendency to surprise you when you least expect it. In fact, a lot of GM cars have certain capabilities that you may not even be aware of. Just check out what we found out:
25 Find you a parking slot
This probably happened to you at some point. You’re in a rush to a meeting and you realize that parking in the venue is almost full. Hence, it’s almost impossible to find an available parking slot in a matter of minutes. Fortunately for you, a GM car is designed to assist and make parking a breeze.
The feature is known as Automatic Parking Assist. Here, the system uses sensors on the vehicle to locate an available perpendicular or parallel parking for your car. Aside from that, it will also help you park the car by doing all the steering.
24 Reminds you to check the rear seat
In some cases, our minds can become quite occupied that we don’t really pay much attention to our immediate surroundings. Hence, it is possible to forget that there is something or someone else in the rear of the car with you. It can be your child, pet or necessary items.
With the Rear Seat Reminder feature on GM vehicles, you will receive a visual reminder to “Look in Rear Seat” when you are exiting the car. This way, you won’t ever forget anything or anyone again.
23 Schedule service appointments
Especially when you live a busy life, it can be hard to keep track of all the appointments that you need to make. This includes service appointments that your car needs to stay in good condition. To help you out, GM cars have included a function in the myGMC Mobile app which allows you to schedule service appointments for your car easily.
This way, you will never miss another appointment for a change oil or replacement of your worn out brake pads and more.
22 Offer you your own concierge
Wouldn’t it be better if you had a car that sort of welcomes you every time you arrive? Well, it looks like GM had thought of the same thing because some of its car models now have a Concierge Lighting feature.
In fact, the Concierge Lighting feature is available on 2019 Cadillac Escalade so that you would always have a clear path when approaching the vehicle. Moreover, the door handles would also illuminate so that you know exactly where to put your hands.
21 Work with Alexa
As you may know, Alexa is a virtual assistant developed by Amazon to make modern life easier. In fact, according to Amazon, Alexa can be used for entertainment, shopping, productivity, communication, information and much more.
In certain GM car models, you can also use Alexa to perform certain functions. These include remotely locking and unlocking the doors as well as remotely starting and stopping the vehicle. And for security purposes, Alexa would ask for your pin code first before performing any task.
20 Control your home with your car
Aside from controlling your car remotely, certain GM cars also allow you to control and manage your home from outside. According to GM of Montana, Chevrolet vehicles have an available HomeLink wireless control system which lets you manage your home’s security alarms operate the garage door.
In addition, you can also use the HomeLink system to turn your house’s lights on and off. Meanwhile, the system can also be used to operate other appliances in your house along with other in-home electronics.
19 Call you out for using your phone on the road
Today, we live in a world where the phone has become a true necessity. Unfortunately, some drivers can become so distracted with their phones that they no longer pay attention to the road. This practice is incredibly unsafe and dangerous. To stop this, Chevrolet has rolled out an app known as Call Me Out.
When this app is activated, a recorded voice of a friend or family member would call you out every time you try to access your phone while driving. This way, you would be discouraged from becoming distracted.
18 Alert you if someone is breaking into your cargo area
Unfortunately, someone may try to break into the cargo area to get what you have inside. To help prevent this, certain GM cars are equipped with Glass Breakage Sensors.
According to Buick, “The Glass Breakage Sensors in the rear quarter panel windows and liftgate window supplement the vehicle’s Intrusion Sensor capabilities, which may not be able to monitor the rear cargo area in the event the glass is broken. The windows include electric filaments that, if broken, will sound the alarm. If the Glass Breakage Sensors are triggered, that, in turn, will trigger the Surround Vision Camera, if equipped.”
17 Give you an extensive report of your driving performance
Ever wondered how well you really drive when you’re out on the road? Well, today, you can get an assessment of your performance on a monthly basis.
Among Buick models, the OnStar Basic Plan comes with the OnStar Smart Driver feature. According to Craig Dunn, “Drivers will need to enroll in OnStar Smart Driver, and once they do, they’ll be sent monthly feedback about their driving performance. Hard braking, hard acceleration, late night driving, distance driven, time spent idle, speeds over 80 mph and average speed will all be included in the monthly report, as will tips for enhancing driving skills.”
16 Advanced Memory Settings
Sure, memory settings are nothing new especially when it comes to the driver’s seat. Often times, driver seats at least come with two memory settings so that you and another driver can easily save your preferences. However, what if these memory settings extend to other parts of the car as well?
That’s exactly what GM cars are now capable of doing. In fact, according to Cadillac, “If your vehicle has memory settings, they include two presets for your driver seat, outside rearview mirrors, power tilt/telescoping steering column and your power-adjustable pedals (if equipped).”
15 Do Away With Fuel Caps
When you’re filling up a new GM car, chances are you don’t have to deal with pesky fuel caps anymore. That’s because these cars are now using the GM Capless Fuel Filler System. According to the website GM Authority, “When a fuel nozzle is inserted, the nozzle pushes these doors, which are designed to assure the system will remain airtight through years of use.”
With this system, there’s absolutely no more possibility of misplacing your fuel cap or losing it altogether.
14 Engage brakes in case of a front-end collision
In some cases, the car in front of you can slow down or brake without warning. And if you don’t have a safety system in place, it is possible for you to engage your brakes late and hit that car in the process. Fortunately, GM cars are equipped with a feature known as Forward Collision Alert.
According to GM Authority, this system is an “active safety technology that provides alerts to help the driver avoid crashing into a vehicle they are following, whether that vehicle is moving or has come to a stop.”
13 Deploy 360-degree smart airbags
Without question, airbags have saved a lot of lives over the years. In fact, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), airbags have saved as much as 44,869 in the U.S. from 1987 to 2015.
Today, GM takes things one step further by introducing 360° Air Bags. According to Jeff Gordon Chevrolet, “A 360-degree smart sensor system, available on select models, ensures optimal airbag deployment and is able to adjust inflation according to the severity of a collision.”
12 Connect you with an advisor instantly
Whenever you’re on the road and something goes wrong, GM cars can be used to immediately connect you with an advisor. This can be done using the available OnStar feature.
This technology can be used to have an advisor help you with directions in case you can’t find your way around. Moreover, it also comes with an Automatic Crash Response where an OnStar Advisor will assist you using the car’s built-in sensors. Indeed, you can always feel safer when you have available assistance like this.
11 Alerts you where side danger is coming from
Onboard several Cadillac models, there is a unique crash avoidance system that alerts where the danger is coming from. According to Cadillac, the Safety Alert Seat system would “detect a possible collision or hazard, and indicates where the potential threat is coming.”
Furthermore, the Carmaker explained, “Pulses are sent through the driver’s seat cushion on your left or right, or both sides, if the threat is to the front or rear of your vehicle. When either happens, you will also see visual alerts.”
10 Provide you with a multipurpose tailgate
When it comes to pickup trucks, traditional tailgates can be such a hassle to work with. Because of this, GM decided to come out with a MultiPro tailgate.
According to the carmaker, “MultiPro’s design consists of the primary gate – which is hinged like a conventional tailgate – and a smaller inner gate, which is hinged within the primary gate panel itself. Raising and lowering these two tailgate panels in different combinations allows MultiPro to take on a variety of different roles, ranging from a bed extender to an entry step, and many functions in between.”
9 Manage trailer easily
Another challenge when it comes to pickup trucks is trailering. Sometimes, it’s not just easy as it sounds. Fortunately, GM trucks are designed to make a trailering life a lot easier. Just to give you an idea, Chevy trucks are now equipped with the Advanced Trailering System. According to Hard Working Trucks, this comes standard in the 2019 Silverado LTZ and High Country trim options.
The Advanced Trailering System comes with features such as the Auto Parking Brake Assist, Hitch Guidance with Hitch View and Trailer Tire Pressure Monitoring System.
8 Give you a bird’s eye view of your surroundings
Nowadays, it’s not enough to be able to see ahead and behind while you’re driving. In fact, it would be great if you can get a complete view of your entire surroundings. This way, you are completely sure that there are no objects or pedestrians in your path.
Onboard Chevrolet, Cadillac, GM, and Buick vehicles, you can utilize the Surround Vision feature, which is designed to give you a bird’s-eye view of your entire area. You can use this when you are in reverse or low-speed drive.
7 Prevent you from following a car too closely
Sometimes, it might be a challenge for drivers to keep a safe distance from the car ahead. Unfortunately, when you follow a car too closely, there is an increased possibility of hitting the car ahead. To keep this from happening, GM cars are now designed to prevent you from getting too close to the car in front of you.
Today, a Tailgating Alert has been added to its Forward Collision Alert feature. According to Buick, “a green icon shows a vehicle ahead; get too close and the icon flashes yellow.”
6 Manage and grade your teen’s driving
Parenting a teen certainly comes with some unique challenges, one of which involves teaching them how to drive safely and responsibly. To help you out, a lot of GM models today come with a Teen Driver feature. When activated, certain active safety systems in the car would stay on. These include the forward automatic braking, forward collision alert, front pedestrian braking, lane departure warning, rear cross traffic alert features and more.
Moreover, the Teen Driver system is also designed to give you a report card regarding your teen’s driving performance.