OnStar has partnered with Google Ventures-backed RelayRides, a company that lets people who need one access a vehicle from someone living down the block or working in a nearby office. The system is
designed to make a short-term rental quick and easy -- and even to give a user a wide range of vehicle choices. Owners, meanwhile, could get a chunk of change that could be applied to their monthly
car payment -- or gas bill.
As part of an exclusive relationship that will begin in early 2012, the car-sharing service will focus on GM vehicles equipped with OnStar. Columnist Paul
Eisenstein explains that the deal makes sense since "Vehicles with OnStar have a built-in data link that doesn't depend on having the owner's cellphone nearby. An OnStar operator thus could unlock the
door of a vehicle for an authorized RelayRides user. Otherwise, someone participating in the car-sharing venture would have to install a special device in the vehicle to allow access."
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