Depending on how much you’ve matured over the years, you should know by now that Santa Claus is nothing more than a symbolism of what the holiday season is all about.
Surely there really isn’t someone from the Arctic with reindeers – one of which, with a red nose, no less – ready to fly him to every chimney all over the world where young children breathlessly await for their presents, with milk and cookies in tow, right?
Well, OnStar’s making you think that Santa is indeed coming to town.
From 6 in the morning on Christmas Eve until the early morning of Christmas Day, you can now keep tabs on where Santa Claus is in the world through your OnStar GPS, thanks to a collaborative partnership between OnStar and NORAD.
According to Scott Kubicki, Vice President of OnStar Service Delivery, helping out the ‘world’s busiest traveler’ is an honor that the company could not refuse. "We know with our core suite of services, Santa's travels will be much easier," he said.
In the highly-entertaining press release, OnStar described Santa’s recent visit to the OnStar Command Center to “pick up his newly outfitted sleigh and learn about the real services the company offers subscribers and the custom services OnStar created just for him”.
It doesn’t matter if you believe in St. Nick or not, but if you do have OnStar on your vehicle, it’s certainly worth looking into.
Press release after the jump
PRESS RELEASE
OnStar Connects Children to Santa with the Push of a Button
NORAD partnership provides location information for subscribers; Santa's sleigh gets fitted with OnStar technology
DETROIT –Santa Claus is getting a technology upgrade this Christmas season. This Christmas Eve for the first time, OnStar subscribers will have the ability to follow Santa's journey around the world using their OnStar system thanks to a new partnership with The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
Starting at 6:00 a.m. EST on December 24, drivers with an active OnStar subscription will be able to press the blue OnStar button in their vehicles and request a "Santa Update." From there, an OnStar advisor will share Santa's whereabouts based on location information provided by NORAD. The advisors will receive a new update from NORAD every hour and will be able to inform subscribers of Santa's location through 5 a.m. EST on December 25.
"We are honored to help the world's busiest traveler find his way this holiday season," said Scott Kubicki, Vice President OnStar Service Delivery. "We know with our core suite of services, Santa's travels will be much easier."
For more than 50 years NORAD has used its GPS technology to monitor Santa's whereabouts and share this information with children and families around the world. This year, OnStar will be sharing that location information through its advisors and links to the NORAD website from onstar.com, onstarconnections.com and facebook.com/onstar.
Santa will also be enjoying the safety and security of OnStar in his sleigh this Christmas. St. Nick recently paid a visit to the OnStar Command Center to pick up his newly outfitted sleigh and learn about the real services the company offers subscribers and the custom services OnStar created just for him.
Santa's custom fictional services include: Reindeer Health Diagnostics to keep him abreast of the reindeers' hunger and energy levels, Hands-Free Calling to allow him to keep his hands on the reigns and eyes-on-the-sky and Turn-By-Turn Navigation directions to help route him to the homes of the good little boys and girls around the world.
About OnStar
OnStar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Motors, is the leading provider of in-vehicle safety, security and communication services. OnStar is available on more than 30 MY 2010 GM models. OnStar is standard for one year on nearly all new GM retail vehicles in the United States and Canada. OnStar provides services to nearly 6 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada. More information about OnStar can be found at http://www.onstar.com/.
About NORAD
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is a bi-national United States and Canadian organization charged with the missions of aerospace warning and aerospace control for North America. More information about NORAD and the NORAD Tracks Santa 2009 can be found at http://www.norad.mil and http:/ www.noradsanta.org
About General Motors
General Motors, one of the world's largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 219,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 140 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM's largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. General Motors acquired operations from General Motors Corporation on July 10, 2009, and references to prior periods in this and other press materials refer to operations of the old General Motors Corporation. More information on the new General Motors can be found at www.gm.com.