General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and Kia have come out in full force and publicly supported a combined Sirius-XM. Chrysler even sent a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and Assistant Attorney General Thomas Barnett expressing no opposition to the merger.

GM cited the enhanced program offerings and lower prices, Ford point to a positive impact that the merger would have on the competitive landscape, and Hyundai noted the pricing benefits and the "best of both" option.

Here's some select statements released by Sirius-XM:

"General Motors believes the proposed merger is and will be in the public interest because the merged company will be able to offer consumers expanded programming choices and a broad range of service packages, including packages at lower prices." - (Richard M. Lee, Executive Director - Satellite Radio Services, General Motors North American Operations)

"We believe that a company that combines the capabilities of Sirius and XM could serve the interests of consumers by offering a more dynamic and potentially cost-effective product, spurring additional competition with audio entertainment providers such as terrestrial radio, and that this may result in greater innovation."
- (Paul Mascarenas, Vice President Engineering, Product Development - The Americas, Ford Motor Company)

" ... It has become evident that satellite radio and digital satellite services must compete mightily in the U.S. with a wide array of burgeoning entertainment forms and an ever-widening list of technology participants who are delivering services in this space."
- (Charles Koch, Manager, American Honda Product Planning)

"This expanded choice and lower price is exactly the value our consumers want and deserve."
- (Len Hunt, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Kia Motors America)

"Rather than being forced to choose between content that currently is exclusive to one satellite radio provider, our customers will gain access to packages offering the 'best of both' services for significantly less than the current combined price, as well as packages of fewer channels at much lower prices."
- (Wayne Killen, Director of Product Planning, Hyundai Motor America)

Last year, these auto manufacturers sold over 85% of the light vehicles sold in the United States.

Ford Motor Co. is going all out at the upcoming 2008 International CES show (don't worry, Orbitcast will be there in full force with live daily coverage as well), and the auto manufacturer will be flexing its technological muscle with several new products on display.

Ford will be having its largest presence ever at CES, showing off both the Ford SYNC and Sirius Travel Link among other technologies (like THX, Dolby, Gracenote, and Sony-branded audio systems).

Sirius Travel Link is set to appear first on the 2009 Lincoln MKS (pictured), and then will roll it out on other vehicles throughout the second half of 2008. The system will be standard on Ford's next-gen navigation system and will be offered with six-months of service on multiple Ford, Lincoln and Mercury.
[Press Release]

As for Ford SYNC, the folks at Ford sent me some interesting updates on how the well system is being received by consumers. A few of their findings include…

• Nearly 80 percent of owners admit SYNC has “exceeded or greatly exceeded” expectations
• Over 90 percent of owners would recommend SYNC to a friend
• Over 50 percent of owners rated SYNC as “very easy” to use; over 80 percent rated the system “easy or very easy”
• Dealership personnel are doing the job as well: over 80 percent of owners noted sales people showed adequate knowledge of SYNC.

Very interesting. I suspect that satellite radio would have a similar response though, anecdotally, I wouldn't say dealership personnel are very knowledgeable about either Sirius or XM. The "cool factor" seems to have diminished over the years.

(And, you know what would be a big injection of "cool factor" for satellite radio? The voice-recognition interface by VoiceBox we saw over two-years ago. XM must be pretty annoyed over the delays in implementing that feature... I know I would be.)

Bentley, which already had an exclusive agreement with Sirius here in the States, has signed with Sirius Canada to make the service available in select vehicles for our neighbors up north.

Sirius Canada will be available as a standard feature in all Bentley Continental GT, Continental GT Speed (pictured), Continental GTC and Continental Flying Spur vehicles starting with the 2008 model year.

The Bentley vehicles with Sirius Canada built-in will also come with a complimentary lifetime subscription. Because, you know, people buying Bentleys are strapped for cash.

[Press Release]

Mitsubishi and Sirius Canada have struck a deal to make the satellite radio provider available factory-installed in their 2008 model year vehicles, several as standard equipment.

Sirius will be available as standard equipment on the 2008 Mitsubishi Outlander XLS, Eclipse Spyder GS & GTP, Eclipse GTP and Endeavor SE & Limited.

The 2008 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS, Lancer GTS and the incredible EVO (pictured); as well as the Outlander ES & LS; all get Sirius Canada as a factory installed option. Sirius Canada will also be made available on the new 2009 Galant.

Mitsubishi will offer a free 6-month subscription with their factory-installed Sirius receivers.