TORRANCE, Calif., August 27, 2001 - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. announced today the availability of OnStar® Virtual Advisor and Personal Calling to its current list of features available on the company's 2002 Acura 3.5 RL flagship luxury sedan. The new services will be offered alongside the OnStar Safety & Security and Premium Service Plans currently available to 2002 RL owners.
With the new OnStar Virtual Advisor feature, Acura 3.5 RL owners can receive e-mail, customized news reports, personalized stock quotes, location-based weather reports, sports information and more with a mere voice command. Virtual Advisor employs state-of-the-art speech technology to recognize voice commands and respond accordingly. Subscribers simply touch the activation button and call out "get my e-mail" or "get the weather" to have Virtual Advisor read the information aloud.
The Personal Calling feature also uses voice recognition technology to make sending and receiving cellular calls in the car easier than ever. By simply calling out a phone number or preprogrammed name, OnStar Personal Calling automatically connects the caller, allowing the driver to keep his or her hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.
"In today's society, we are spending an increasing amount of time in our cars, from our daily commutes to vacation trips, and these new services from OnStar will enable drivers to stay connected to their offices, clients, and family in a convenient way," said Dan Bonawitz, Acura vice president of auto corporate planning and logistics.
Standard equipment on the 2002 3.5 RL is the OnStar Safety and Security Plan, which provides emergency services, automatic notification of airbag deployment, stolen vehicle tracking, remote door unlocking, roadside and accident assistance, and an optional Med-Net feature. Also optional is the OnStar Premium Service Plan that provides additional services such as route support, concierge services and ride assist.
OnStar is the industry-leading in-vehicle communications and information service that combines Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite technology and wireless communication to link the driver and vehicle with the OnStar center, where advisors are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to offer real-time, personalized help. For more information about OnStar, please visit www.onstar.com.
Acura offers a full line of premium performance vehicles through a nationwide network of nearly 260 dealers. The Acura line-up features six distinctive models including the exotic NSX supercar, the 3.5 RL flagship luxury sedan, the best-selling 3.2 TL luxury performance sedan, the 3.2 CL luxury performance coupe, the new race-bred RSX sports coupe, and the revolutionary MDX luxury sport utility vehicle. For more information about Acura vehicles, please visit www.acura.com. For media inquiries, please go to www.acuranews.com.