Chevrolet has announced an interesting bit of connected car technology. A new opt-in feature in the myChevrolet app called Vehicle Locate not only locates your vehicle (obviously) but also lets you send an automated text when you arrive or leave.

Family Link is Dead. Long Live Family Link.

If it sounds similar to the service previously offered by OnStar Family Link, give yourself a cookie. This app-based feature replaces that service. It’s improved and enhanced by the app, letting you zero in on exactly where the vehicle is parked with a satellite map.

Owners can use Vehicle Locate to pinpoint the location of their connected vehicle at any given time. (Photo by Jeffrey Sauger for Chevrolet)

It’s a handy feature that eliminates the need to buy expensive third-party hardware when all you need is something that lets you know when your driver arrives or leaves. You can set up a boundary of up to 20 miles around any given location. Then, when the vehicle enters or leaves that area, anyone who opted in to receive alerts will get a notification.

Vehicle Locate allows Chevy owners to send automated text alerts to friends and family when their connected vehicle enters or leaves a designated boundary area, or arrives at or departs from an address. (Photo by Jeffrey Sauger for Chevrolet)

But is it safe?

I talked to Alejandra Gonzalez, product manager of remote services at Chevrolet, a bit about the new feature.

Does the feature work with hardware built into the car or the key fob?

Vehicle Locate works with the standard hardware built into the car. It is utilizing the vehicle’s built-in GPS in order to pinpoint the location or trigger the automated text alerts.

Does the driver have the option of opting out of the feature?

Yes, it is actually an opt-in feature, and both parties – the driver and the text-receiver – need to opt-in to activate the automated text alerts. After opting in, both parties still have the option to opt-out at any time. Vehicle Locate is designed to be used knowingly and with each person’s’ consent.

Will additional features, such as automatic trip logging, be built off of this technology?

We are investigating adding additional features to Vehicle Locate, such as direction and speed, time-based notifications, driving history and driving behavior alerts, but those plans are very much in the developmental stage.

What vehicles will it work with? And is there a subscription charge?

The service works on nearly all 2012 and newer Chevrolet vehicles in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Vehicle Locate is included in any paid connectivity plan. The most common plan is the Remote Access Plan ($14.99 month), which also provides mobile apps features like remote key fob services and on-demand diagnostics.

When Your Car Is Just Another Piece of Tech

I’ll be interested to see how Chevrolet develops this tech going forward. Companies such as Tesla have already moved the bar on how connected a vehicle can be, but despite Elon’s best efforts, not everyone has one in their driveway.

With a Big Three automaker like Chevrolet diving into deeper integration between their vehicles and your phone, everyone gets a chance to enjoy the app-ification of their garage.