General Motors launched OnStar in 1996 to great fanfare, arguably becoming the first automaker to enter the age of the connected automobile. Twenty years later, every GM product in North America and across much of the world comes connected to OnStar, which today can give you turn-by-turn directions, call people from your contact list, and notify emergency services in the case of an accident. It even measures G-forces and vehicle systems in case you can’t call 911 yourself.
Or in case you’re John Hennessey, who was recorded accidentally triggering OnStar while testing the new 650 horsepower Camaro Z28 with the HPE650 package. You can hear the OnStar representative laugh as the Hennessey’s head man explains it was all just a mistake.
Hennessey apparently triggered the OnStar Automatic Crash Response System that uses built-in sensors to monitor speed and g-forces, among many other things. OnStar can actually tell emergency responders not just where you crashed, but the speed, severity, direction of impact, and likely injuries based on the accident parameters. It’s almost unsettling just how much OnStar knows, but the system obviously isn’t without its flaws.
The video picks up just as the OnStar call begins, apparently towards the end of a drag strip run with Hennessey at the wheel. Later in the video he starts talking about his love for the new Z28, how the big carbon ceramic brakes help it stop like a car 1,000 pounds lighter. Hennessey really wrings the Camaro out too, taking it up to 135 MPH as that 7.0 liter V8 sings its supercharged song.