NEWS

The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, February 7, 2006 - 3

ON CAMPUS
Workshop to teach
students about
event planning
The Trotter Multicultural Center is
sponsoring a workshop to help students
learn about the importance of evaluat-
ing the campus events and activities they
plan. Students will learn how to deter-
mine their own strengths and weakness-
es when it comes to event planning. It
will take place today at 6:30 p.m. at the
William Monroe Trotter House.
Lecture will explore
gender across
various disciplines
Women's Studies and Afroamerican
and African Studies Prof. Elizabeth
Cole will present a lecture titled "Inter-
sectionality: From Practice to Theory."
The event is part of a series on gender
across the disciplines and is sponsored
by the Institute for Research on Women
and Gender. The event will take place
today at 4 p.m. in Lane Hall.
School of Music
honors legendary
jazz musician
The School of Music is sponsoring
a Black History Month celebration
concert titled "Mary Lou's Mass"
today at 8 p.m. in the Power Center.
The program is inspired by Mary
Lou Williams, a pianist, composer
and arranger who was a major figure
in the American Jazz movement. Stu-
dents from Detroit-area high schools
will participate in the event as well as
several University faculty members.
CRIME
NOTES
Mailbox tampered
with at University
Hospital
The wooden support beams of a
mailbox located at the Child Care
Center at University Hospital were
stolen sometime between Friday and
Sunday, the Department of Public
Safety reported. There were no wit-
nesses and DPS has no suspects.
Vehicle hit-and-
run occurs at
University Hospital
A vehicle hit-and-run occurred
at the University Hospital's M-18
parking lot yesterday morning,
DPS reported. The suspect's car
was described as green and the sus-
pect was described as a petite blond
female about 30 years old.
Student with
difficulty breathing

taken to ER
A female student at Stockwell
Residence Hall was taken by ambu-
lance to the University Hospital
emergency room after she had trou-
ble breathing, DPS reported.
THIS DAY
In Daily History
Couples gather
for biggest hop
in 'U' history
Feb. 7, 1949 - Three thousand cou-
ples attended the J-Hop at the Intra-
mural Sports Building this weekend,
making the dance one of the largest
hops in campus history.
From its meek beginnings in 1877
with a crowd of only 20 couples, the
"country's greatest formal" has come
a long way. The J-Hop gets its name
from the junior class that started the
event, but now fraternities also con-
tribute to its organization.
J-Hop is one of the activities for this
year's Winter Carnival, which began

Auto workers
urged to fight
for health care

Gov. Granholm and
the UAW met to discuss
fall-out of massive job cuts
WASHINGTON (AP) - Michi-
gan lawmakers met with members
of the United Auto Workers yester-
day, urging the union to fight for
improved health care, protection of
their pensions and more equitable
trade policies.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm and sev-
eral members of the delegation met
privately with UAW officials yes-
terday during the union's four-day
Washington conference. The meet-
ings came as auto workers are deal-
ing with the aftermath of massive job
cuts announced in recent months by
General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor
Co.
"Right now, for us in Michigan,
the most critical thing that we need is
support from the federal government
on trade, health care (and) pensions,"
Granholm said.
Several lawmakers said they were
concerned about upcoming free trade
negotiations between the United
States and South Korea. Some offi-
cials contend that President Bush's
free-trade policies cost American
jobs and note the large disparity in
the hundreds of thousands of South
Korean automobiles sold in the U.S.,
while only a few thousand American
autos make it to South Korea.
"We do not seek protection. We
seek fair trade. We seek fair treat-

ment for our people," said Rep. John
Dingell (D-Mich.)
Union delegates convened after
months of troubling news. Delphi
Corp., GM's former parts division,
filed for bankruptcy in October and is
seeking steep wage cuts from work-
ers. Ford plans to cut up to 30,000 jobs
and close 14 plants in North America
by 2012, while GM's restructuring
plan would slash 30,000 jobs and
close 12 North American plants by
2008.
Richard Smith, a retired Delphi
worker from Adrian, Mich., said
union members were hopeful that the
upcoming fall elections would lead to
policy changes to help manufacturing
and the auto industry.
"American workers can compete
with anybody if there's a level play-
ing field," Smith said.
UAW Vice President Richard
Shoemaker plans to talk today to
delegates about the restructuring of
Delphi. UAW President Ron Gettel-
finger told reporters Sunday that he
didn't think the auto supplier should
be in bankruptcy proceedings.
"Bankruptcy is big business. Cor-
porate executives gain a lot from it,
workers struggle as a result of it,"
Gettelfinger said. The union was
keeping "all of our options open" on
a potential strike, he said.
Several members of the delegation,
including Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-
Mich) and Reps. Dale Kildee (D-Flint)
and Sander Levin (D-Royal Oak) also
met with union officials yesterday.

GM upgrades OnStar safety and navigation system

With the new system,
motorists can get step-by-step
audio directions as they drive
DETROIT (AP) - Ten years after it first
introduced the OnStar safety and navigation
system, General Motors Corp. is making a sig-
nificant upgrade that will allow customers to
get real-time directions as they're driving.
GM plans to announce the new option
Wednesday at the Chicago Auto Show, the
same venue where it introduced OnStar in
1996. Turn-by-Turn Navigation will debut on
the Buick Lucerne and the Cadillac DTS in
March and will gradually be added to other
GM vehicles. GM says it will be available on
approximately 1 million cars and trucks by
the 2007 model year.
About 4 million drivers now have OnStar,
a service unique to GM. That will increase
exponentially in the next few years, because
GM plans to make OnStar standard on all
vehicles by 2007.
OnStar has always been able to give direc-
tions, track a stolen car, unlock a car when the
keys are left inside or summon an ambulance
after an accident. Gradually, other features
have been added, such as the ability to make
hands-free calls and send monthly vehicle
diagnostic reports.
Right now, OnStar owners can press a but-

ton to dial an operator and get audio directions
based on their location, which is pinpointed
by satellite. The directions are read off imme-
diately. The system lets customers tape the
directions and play them back as they drive,
but it doesn't keep track of the vehicle's prog-
ress as it follows the route.
With the new system, drivers will call an
operator and ask for audio directions, which

"It will demystify the user interface with navi-
gation," Huber told The Associated Press in a
recent interview. "It will be easy to use. Normal
people will be able to get value out of it."
Huber wouldn't give the exact cost of the
Turn-by-Turn Navigation option, but he said it
will be less than $34.95 per month, which is
what customers currently pay to access direc-
tions from OnStar. Customers pay $16.95 per
month for OnStar

are downloaded
by the operator.
A computerized
voice will come on
and talk the driver
through each step
of the route as
they're driving. If
the driver leaves
the route, the sys-
tem will alert the


"It will demystify
interface with na
It will be easy to
Normal people w
to get value out (

driver and recal-
culate the direc-
tions based on the
new location.
OnStar President Chet Huber said the new
system is easy to use and safer than screen-
based navigation because drivers never have to
take their eyes off the road. It also will be less
expensive than installing a navigation screen,
which can cost between $1,500 and $3,000,
he said. Directions are available in English,
Spanish or French.

the user safety features,
such as an auto-
vigation. matic call when
the air bag deploys.
use. Hands-free calling
minutes are pur-
chased separately.
- Eighty-fivepercent
Oi lt. of OnStar customers
currently get only
- Chet Huber the safety package,
OnStar president while 15 percent get
____ tar__pre_ _ entthe directions pack-
age, Huber said.
Huber said Turn-by-Turn Navigation is less
labor-intensive than the current system, which
depends heavily on live operators. OnStar
currently has three call centers, in Michigan,
North Carolina and Ontario.
GM doesn't release separate financial data
for OnStar, but company officials have said
GM first started making money from OnStar

in 2003.
OnStar had trouble catching on since driv-
ers didn't immediately understand the system
or its benefits. But Huber said that's chang-
ing. OnStar subscriptions were up 30 percent
between 2004 and 2005, and more than 60
percent of customers who get the system for
free in the first year of ownership are now
renewing their subscriptions, he said.
"Everybody thought there was a lot of hype
about this, and the main value was going to be
that as you're driving by a Starbucks we will
beam a latte coupon to your dashboard," Huber
said. "But we thought, we'll take this technology
and make sure this technology has the ability to
save lives or meaningfully impact somebody's
peace of mind while they're driving."
Huber said competitors have been slow to
match OnStar because the technology is com-
plex and needs constant updates. GM has
licensed the technology to a few competitors,
but only Isuzu Motors Ltd. and Honda Motor
Co.'s Acura brand have some OnStar features
in 2006 models.
But Huber thinks the pressure will be on as
OnStar moves into every GM vehicle.
"We know that the other vehicle manufacturers
are seeing the same things we see, and that is that
ultimately, these kinds of services are going to be
expected as the minimum price of entry to be price
of entry to be seriously considered in a wide range
of vehicle categories," Huber said.

Bowl reveals Detroit transit troubles


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Visitors to Detroit
waited hours for buses
headed downtown
DETROIT (AP) - If there's one
weight slowing down the city's rising
Super Bowl star, organizers say it is
transportation.
Detroit is at the core of one of
the largest metropolitan areas in
the country without a comprehen-
sive mass transit system, a weakness
that showed itself during Super Bowl

and other large-scale events.
He said he would like to see rail
service between downtown and
Detroit Metropolitan Airport, about
20 miles away in Romulus.
"The missing link is this mass
transportation," Alexander said.
Detroit's competitors for event
business, such as Chicago and Wash-
ington, all have train systems in
place, he said.
Frank Supovitz, the NFL's senior
vice president of events, said the
lack of rail service wouldn't hurt
Detroit should

weekend, when
suburbanites com-
ing downtown for a
winter festival over-
whelmed a shuttle
bus system.
"Everything was
absolutely perfect,
except the Park and
Ride," Mayor Kwame
Kilpatrick said at a
post-Super Bowl news
conference yesterday.


"Everything was
absolutely perfect,
except the Park
and Ride."

it seek anoth-
er Super Bowl
because the city
was able to move
large numbers of
people with buses
last weekend. But
rail service "is

light rail trolley route, said Alex
Bourgeau, the group's coordinator
of intermodal transportation.
Railroad tracks already link
the Amtrak stations in Ann Arbor
and Detroit, but the Detroit station
is north of downtowp. The study
includes ways to get trains to the
heart of downtown, Bourgeau said.
Consultants are now calculating
the capital and operating costs of
each option and will present details
to a steering committee in April.
Early cost estimates show that the
options would run from just under $500
million to as high as $2 billion to build
the entire system, Bourgeau said. Light
rail trolleys would be the most expen-
sive option, and commuter rail trains on
existing tracks the least, he said.
To get the $100 million, the region
would have to compete with other
metro areas and would have to come
up with at least $20 million in match-
ing funds, Bourgeau said.
But if it got the money, at least part
of the system could be designed and
built. "We could do some significant
portion of this, probably not all 50
miles," he said.
The matching money could be a
problem, though. Detroit is facing a
projected $40 million deficit in the
current fiscal year, and the state has
faced several years of tight budgets
and spending cuts.
Since most transit systems can't

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VI


Outlying lots, particularly Satur-
day night at a Macomb County shop-
ping mall, were filled to capacity, and
there were reports of people waiting
hours for buses headed downtown.
More than 300,000 people used the
shuttles Saturday alone, and Kilpat-
rick conceded that officials didn't
expect such large crowds.
He said the region needs mass

Kwame Kilpatrick certainly help-
Detroit Mayor ful," he said.
Kilpatrick, a
Democrat, said
that during Super Bowl week, he
brought Michigan House Speaker
Craig DeRoche (R-Novi) down-
town to see the festivities and talk
about mass transit funding and
other issues.
DeRoche said he and Kilpatrick agreed
to work together on mass transit.
"While we don't have anything to
announce immediately, I hope to be