Last year, GM announced that they were ditching Android Auto and Apple CarPlay in favour of their own system based on Android Automotive in its electric vehicles. While the motive to those on the outside was to create a new revenue stream for GM, the automaker denied this. This is what they said at the time:
Tim Babbitt, GM’s head of product for infotainment, gave MT a better explanation at a press event for the new Chevrolet Blazer EV, the flagship vehicle in the no CarPlay or Android Auto strategy (and our 2023 MotorTrend SUV of the Year winner). According to him, there’s an important factor that didn’t make it into the fact sheet: safety. Specifically, he cited driver distraction caused by cell phone usage behind the wheel.
According to Babbitt, CarPlay and Android Auto have stability issues that manifest themselves as bad connections, poor rendering, slow responses, and dropped connections. And when CarPlay and Android Auto have issues, drivers pick up their phones again, taking their eyes off the road and totally defeating the purpose of these phone-mirroring programs. Solving those issues can sometimes be beyond the control of the automaker. You can start to see GM’s frustration.
Babbitt’s thesis is that if drivers were to do everything through the vehicle’s built-in systems, they’d be less likely to pick up their phones and therefore less distracted and safer behind the wheel. He admits, though, GM hasn’t tested this thesis in the lab or real world yet but believes it has potential, if customers go for it.
Fast forward to today and GM has just started shipping their Blazer EV which is supposed to be an electric vehicle that appeals to the masses. But they’ve had to stop selling it. Here’s why:
Our automotive editor was scheduled to test a Blazer EV soon, but it looks like that will have to wait — GM has paused sales of its brand-new Chevy Blazer EV following reports of significant issues.
In a statement provided to The Verge, Chevrolet communications executive director Chad Lyons said, “Our team is working quickly to roll out a fix, and owners will be contacted with further information on how to schedule their update.” Chevrolet vice president Scott Bell said, “We’re aware that a limited number of customers have experienced software-related quality issues with their Blazer EV. Customer satisfaction is our priority and as such, we will take a brief pause on new deliveries.” GM did not confirm how many vehicles are affected, other than saying it’s a “limited” number.
Edmunds reports that two months after purchasing a 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV RS AWD for its long-term test fleet, the SUV has been at the dealership for two weeks. With 23 fault codes on a diagnostic test, they wrote that “What we got back from the dealer was alarming: the single longest list of major faults we at Edmunds have ever seen on a new car.”
Things went even worse for InsideEVs writer Kevin Williams, whose weeklong test ended after 28 hours. The vehicle’s CarPlay- and Android Auto-free infotainment system went blank while he was driving, and then an attempt to charge the battery failed, producing a “Service Vehicle Soon” error message.
Let’s get this straight. GM’s brand new electric vehicle is on a sales pause because “a limited number of customers have experienced software-related quality issues with their Blazer EV”. This after trashing Android Auto and Apple CarPlay for having “bad connections, poor rendering, slow responses, and dropped connections” which sound like they are throwing shade on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. After spending a considerable amount of time trying to stickhandle around the blowback from this decision to dump Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in their electric vehicles, I think it’s safe to say that this decision has blown up in GM’s face in spectacular fashion.
Now I’ve tested many, many cars over the years, and only once have I had one issue with the infotainment system that came with the car. And that was with this GM vehicle which didn’t have Android Auto or Apple CarPlay in it. And GM couldn’t explain to me why it didn’t work. And I’ve never encountered the issues that GM claims are present in Android Auto and Apple CarPlay outside of say a bad cable or a bad USB port. Rather than try to reinvent the infotainment system in cars to simply facilitate making a buck, perhaps GM should focus on making great cars that are reliable and leave infotainment systems to Google and Apple.
Just a thought.
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GM’s Ditching Of Android Auto And Apple CarPlay Has Officially Blown Up In Their Face
Last year, GM announced that they were ditching Android Auto and Apple CarPlay in favour of their own system based on Android Automotive in its electric vehicles. While the motive to those on the outside was to create a new revenue stream for GM, the automaker denied this. This is what they said at the time:
Tim Babbitt, GM’s head of product for infotainment, gave MT a better explanation at a press event for the new Chevrolet Blazer EV, the flagship vehicle in the no CarPlay or Android Auto strategy (and our 2023 MotorTrend SUV of the Year winner). According to him, there’s an important factor that didn’t make it into the fact sheet: safety. Specifically, he cited driver distraction caused by cell phone usage behind the wheel.
According to Babbitt, CarPlay and Android Auto have stability issues that manifest themselves as bad connections, poor rendering, slow responses, and dropped connections. And when CarPlay and Android Auto have issues, drivers pick up their phones again, taking their eyes off the road and totally defeating the purpose of these phone-mirroring programs. Solving those issues can sometimes be beyond the control of the automaker. You can start to see GM’s frustration.
Babbitt’s thesis is that if drivers were to do everything through the vehicle’s built-in systems, they’d be less likely to pick up their phones and therefore less distracted and safer behind the wheel. He admits, though, GM hasn’t tested this thesis in the lab or real world yet but believes it has potential, if customers go for it.
Fast forward to today and GM has just started shipping their Blazer EV which is supposed to be an electric vehicle that appeals to the masses. But they’ve had to stop selling it. Here’s why:
Our automotive editor was scheduled to test a Blazer EV soon, but it looks like that will have to wait — GM has paused sales of its brand-new Chevy Blazer EV following reports of significant issues.
In a statement provided to The Verge, Chevrolet communications executive director Chad Lyons said, “Our team is working quickly to roll out a fix, and owners will be contacted with further information on how to schedule their update.” Chevrolet vice president Scott Bell said, “We’re aware that a limited number of customers have experienced software-related quality issues with their Blazer EV. Customer satisfaction is our priority and as such, we will take a brief pause on new deliveries.” GM did not confirm how many vehicles are affected, other than saying it’s a “limited” number.
Edmunds reports that two months after purchasing a 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV RS AWD for its long-term test fleet, the SUV has been at the dealership for two weeks. With 23 fault codes on a diagnostic test, they wrote that “What we got back from the dealer was alarming: the single longest list of major faults we at Edmunds have ever seen on a new car.”
Things went even worse for InsideEVs writer Kevin Williams, whose weeklong test ended after 28 hours. The vehicle’s CarPlay- and Android Auto-free infotainment system went blank while he was driving, and then an attempt to charge the battery failed, producing a “Service Vehicle Soon” error message.
Let’s get this straight. GM’s brand new electric vehicle is on a sales pause because “a limited number of customers have experienced software-related quality issues with their Blazer EV”. This after trashing Android Auto and Apple CarPlay for having “bad connections, poor rendering, slow responses, and dropped connections” which sound like they are throwing shade on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. After spending a considerable amount of time trying to stickhandle around the blowback from this decision to dump Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in their electric vehicles, I think it’s safe to say that this decision has blown up in GM’s face in spectacular fashion.
Now I’ve tested many, many cars over the years, and only once have I had one issue with the infotainment system that came with the car. And that was with this GM vehicle which didn’t have Android Auto or Apple CarPlay in it. And GM couldn’t explain to me why it didn’t work. And I’ve never encountered the issues that GM claims are present in Android Auto and Apple CarPlay outside of say a bad cable or a bad USB port. Rather than try to reinvent the infotainment system in cars to simply facilitate making a buck, perhaps GM should focus on making great cars that are reliable and leave infotainment systems to Google and Apple.
Just a thought.
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This entry was posted on January 5, 2024 at 2:39 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags GM. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.