Trademark Foreshadows Launch of GM Subscription Service 'DriveScription'
While we’ve bashed them for being one of the most expensive ways to acquire a vehicle, automotive subscription plans have becoming increasingly popular among premium nameplates. General Motors already has one exclusively for Cadillac but it appears that it’s setting up another for its less illustrious brands.
Late last month, the automaker filed a trademark application to register the name “DriveScription” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The document clearly states that the term will be used in association with the Goods and Services categories of automotive subscription services, rental services, and vehicle sharing. Considering that Maven already handles most of the short-term rental and ride-sharing aspects of GM’s new mobility services, DriveScription is almost certain to be the mainstream equivalent to Book by Cadillac.
According to GM Authority, who first spotted the filing, the service appears to be an attempt to further normalize automotive subscription plans. While this doesn’t guarantee the service will reach daylight, it does prove that General Motors is working toward that end.
Assuming it doesn’t get lost in development, there’s no reason to expect it will operate any differently than other subscription services. The price point and vehicles on offer will differ, but you’ll still likely be paying a monthly fee to have access to a collection of models, auto insurance, and maintenance. It will also probably begin as a trial run in markets deemed receptive by the manufacturer, before being thrust upon the rest of the population.
Book by Cadillac initially launched in New York City in 2017 (prior to its expansion) and runs customers $1,800, plus a $500 activation fee, to drive any vehicle in the company’s lineup. Customers have the option to swap their vehicle free of charge for another several times per year. We imagine that DriveScription would ask for substantially less to offer unlimited access to makes like Buick or Chevrolet. It also probably won’t have a valet service that will deliver a new vehicle to a pre-agreed location. But the overall experience should be similar in nature.
Once General Motors makes an official announcement and includes a pricing breakdown, expect us to criticize it for being too expensive. However, there is a very slim chance that the company will keep pricing low enough to rationalize. One of our biggest gripes about the luxury subscription services was their lack of variety. You end up paying top dollar to have access to a fleet almost entirely comprised of SUVs and luxury cars. Mainstream brands are usually a little more diverse, offering everything from pickups and utility vans to comfortable sedans and economy cars. If GM can keep costs down, some customers might like the idea of being able to source every vehicle they’d ever need to borrow from one place.
[Image: General Motors]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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Maybe GM can do an Obamacare version, where skilled and prudent drivers with perfect credit histories and living in low accident parts of the country are forced to accept "Cadillac" subscription prices that allow them to use a bare-bones menu of cars consisting of Sonics and Trax as a means of funding subsidies for accident prone drivers with poor credit histories and living in bad neighborhoods, who can then enjoy "Chevrolet" level subscription prices and access to Z-28 Camaros, ZR1 Corvettes, Escalades, twin-turbo CT-6s, etc. Why should social justice be limited to only medical care, education, and employment?
OK, moving along from those strong opening 2 posts.... The more I think about it the less I'm sold on these subscription services. Especially for GM. People's car needs don't change very frequently, and when they do it's very temporary (i.e. an Ikea run or family coming to town). GM doesn't have compelling enough lineups that anyone is getting any heartburn choosing between their offerings. I think a possibly more viable system would be a regular lease with "access" to higher end cars. So you do a 36 month Malibu lease, and for another $2000 or so you can swap it for a Corvette or Sierra Denali for like 3 months out of the lease. Just to break up the monotony and whet one's beak. But the prospect of being able to switch between an Equinox/Cruze/Impala.... just not very exciting. Same story with pretty much any mainstream brand.