We’ve started the car with the key fob from inside our 18th-floor downtown Chicago office while the Impala sits on the 11th or 14th floor at the parking garage across the street.

To the consternation of unaware owners, Toyota's remote start key fob functionality requires a paid $8 per month subscription service.

But this is a physical key fob that needs to communicate directly with the vehicle via radio frequency—no remote connection back to Toyota is needed. So why require a subscription?

General Motors is making the Key Fob Services component of its RemoteLink smartphone app free for 2014 model year Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac vehicles.