We developed a multimethod modeling approach to evaluate strategic alternatives for GM's OnStar communications system. We used dynamic modeling to address some decisions GM faced in 1997, such as the company's choice between incremental and aggressive marketing strategies for OnStar. We used an integrated simulation model for analyzing the new telematics industry, consisting of six sectors: customer acquisition, customer choice, alliances, customer service, financial dynamics, and dealer behavior. The modeling effort had important financial, organizational, and societal results. The OnStar business now has two million subscribers, an 80 percent market share of the emerging telematics market, and has been valued at between $4 and $10 billion. The OnStar project set the stage for a broader GM initiative in service businesses that ultimately could yield billions in incremental earnings. Most important, OnStar has saved many lives that otherwise would have been lost in vehicle accidents.

Soybean [Glycine max. (L.) Merr‐.] double‐cropped with small grain accounted for 16% of the total U.S. soybean acreage in 1982. Projections indicate that double‐cropped acreage will increase in areas where adequate growing seasons and irrigation capabilities exist. Field experiments were conducted from 1982 to 1985 to determine the effect of continuous wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)‐soybean double‐cropping on yields, costs of production, and net returns for both irrigated and nonirrigated conditions. Treatments included monocrop soybean and three wheat‐soybean double‐crop systems planted either in standing stubble or burned residue with either conventional, minimum, or no‐till land preparation. Total returns for each irrigated production system in the stubble environment indicated monocrop soybean was more profitable than any of the double‐crop systems. However, for the nonirrigated production systems, total returns were higher from the double‐crop systems, mainly due to returns generated by wheat. In the burned stubble environment, the double‐crop production systems with minimum tillage provided maximum profits in both the irrigated and nonirrigated experiments. Returns from nonirrigated monocrop soybean were not sufficient to cover land rental charges.

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