National Post from Toronto, Ontario, Canada • 85

DRIVER'S EDGE II DTll NATIONAL POST, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2001 GM predicts OnStar will be profitable by 2003 INDUSTRY NEWS General Motors Corp. hopes its OnStar telematics unit will begin generating profits at some point in 2003, after years of losses from investments in the in-vehicle communications service. "Our aim is to be profitable, starting in 2003," Debbie Frakes, an On-Star spokeswoman, says. "Our internal mantra is, 'As soon as we can; even sooner than On-Star, which has about an 80 share of the market for "telematics" or in-vehicle cellular services, with more than 1.8 million subscribers, is available on more than 36 General Motors vehicles those provided by OnStar. The OnStar service is part of General Motors' drive to try to derive more fee and service revenues from its customers.

Ms. Frakes says OnStar is expected to become "cash-flow positive" sometime next year. Some analysts question whether OnStar and similar services will generate considerable profits in the longer term. The possibility looms they might become just another feature that consumers expect to be part of an overall package in new cars and trucks. Reuters and on a few selected competitors' models.

On-Star, which GM expects to continue to expand in the future, allows drivers to contact a 24-hour on-call centre for a variety of service and safety features, such as directions and emergency assistance, without taking their hands off the steering wheel. General Motors is far ahead of its main competitors, Ford Motor Co. and Daimler-Chrysler AG's Chrysler in offering telematics services. Those two companies say they will offer services in coming years that differ from GM hopes consumers prove willing to pay for OnStan Canadian drivers on the CART FedEx ChampCar circuit had a hit-and-miss 2001 season. -'Every time we seem to build momentum, we get our legs knocked out from under Paul Tracy says 2001s frustrating racing odyssev attrition, he says it was worse than making a challenge at the front and failing to finish.

"For me, it was a better season than in the past. We were fast most of the time, in the top five or top 10, so I'm very happy. You have to look at that more than anything." Still, of the three Canadians, Paul Tracy probably had the worst season, mostly because the expectations on him are so much greater. The Team Kool Green driver has finished near the top of the points charts for the past two years winning two races in 1999 and ending up third in points, and winning three times stops." He says the combination of those and a few collisions several under strange circumstances for which he was blameless, such as the starting-lap melee at Road America when the field hit a river of rainwater on slick tires meant he failed to finish nine times, essentially half the season. Two events at the tail end of the schedule typified his misfortunes.

At Laguna Seca, he qualified fifth and was running well in the race. Then, during a round of pit stops, he collided with Helio Cas-troneves while exiting the pit area. His car was damaged and eventually broke. His frustration led to the now infamous likening of Chris Kniefel, CART chief steward, to less than a clown. It was an opinion that cost Tracy and three points, the second time he had been docked points in the season (he lost two for running into Oriol Servia in Toronto).

In Australia, he set the second fastest race lap and was running fourth in the race when his engine blew up rounding the last turn. "It's been one of those years," Tracy says. "Every time we seem to build momentum, we get our legs knocked out from under us." Still, he says the mood within the team is positive. A new car is coming, engine supplier Honda has promised to redouble its efforts for 2002 and the team knows what it has to do. "I want to refocus and I know the team does, too.

Everybody is really motivated. After finishing well in the championship two years in a row, they kind of sat back a bit. Maybe it takes getting your ass kicked to step it up." National Post major turnaround in the team's fortune. However, two poor finishes in Europe followed. Tagliani ran a strong second in Houston until a miscue on old tires put him into the wall.

Laguna Seca was marred by a collision between Tagliani and Carpentier, leaving the latter to watch from the sidelines. Then, in Australia, Tagliani finished third, his second podium finish of the season and his career. It was typical of the roller-coaster season the two Canadians had. Yet, both drivers can count the season as their best to date, Carpentier with his maiden win and top-10 ranking in the points chase, Tagliani with strong upfront finishes that proved his mettle. "Last year, we complained that the car wasn't fast," says Tagliani.

"This year we can't say that. "The most important thing for me is pure speed and being able to show that I can run at the front and beat the best." As if to underscore that point, he qualified on the pole and finished third at the season-ending oval in Fontana, Calif. "If we can start next season the way we are finishing this season, I think we can make a run at the championship," Tagliani says. Readers will get no points for guessing the high point of Car-pentier's season his win at Michigan but his personal pick from the dark side might surprise a few. "The low point was Houston.

I was sick, the car wasn't going as well as it should, and we crashed in qualifying. And in the race the car was not good and I wasn't feeling well." Though he finished a respectable 10th there due to high I (BJ 1 if By Andrew Ross For the three Canadians on the CART FedEx ChampCar circuit, 2001 was a season of hit and miss. In a sense, Paul Tracy, Alex Tagliani and Patrick Carpentier could split their respective seasons in halves: one that showed promise, the other the source of little more than missed opportunities. While Tracy's season was frustrating he finished out of the top 10 in points for the first time in three years Patrick Carpentier and Alex Tagliani, who both drive for Player'sForsythe Racing, had bewildering seasons that mixed long stretches of pointless performances with personal bests. Carpentier scored only one point in the first nine races an eighth-place finish in Detroit but then promptly went out and won the first race of his ChampCar career in Michigan and finished in the points four times in the next five races.

That spurt vaulted him up into the top 10 in the points standings. His teammate Tagliani also struggled to log strong finishes early on and ended up in 11th place at season's end. His first point did not come until the eighth race with a 12th-place finish in Milwaukee. He added a second point two races later in Portland, then put together six straight races in which he collected points, leading up to a dominant performance in Vancouver in September. There, he qualified first and was the class of the field until a broken gearbox ended his race early.

Still, it seemed to signal a It been one of those years. Maybe it takes getting your ass kicked to step it up' in 2000 on his way to a fifth-place finish in the points standings. This year, he led only a single lap, scored points in only nine races and ended up 14th overall. Though his season looked good early two third-place finishes and a fourth in the first three races misfortune came his way often and in many different forms. "It's been a bit frustrating, really.

Things just haven't gone well. We've had a lot of mechanical failures gearbox problems, engine failures and botched pit JAMIE SQUIRE ALLSPOKTf Paul Tracy, a driver for Team Kool Green, had perhaps the most disappointing season of all the Canadians on the CART circuit. i 1 Model Sales Event I -r if. I Over 100 BRAND NEW, DEMONSTRATORS, PRE-OWNED for Sale or Lease 3 pre-owned, the latter two with low mileage and balance of factory warranty. During this Event, our sales and financing staff will be on hand to assist you.

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