Chevrolet is betting big on in-car 4G LTE connectivity. The company announced at CES that beginning this summer, its Corvette, Impala, Malibu, and Volt will offer OnStar 4G LTE as extra-cost options, with the Equinox, Silverado, Silverado HD, Spark, and Spark EV following sometime after.

By the launch of Chevy's 2015 lineup, most of the U.S. and Canadian vehicles will have a built-in 4G LTE connection.

So what does that mean exactly? Each car will essentially function as a rolling Wi-Fi hotspot, letting passengers and families connect several smartphones, tablets, and laptops to the Internet at once. That could be great for everything from road trips to business calls, where using your phone by itself just isn't good enough. It also has implications for the kinds of apps vehicles can run in the future.

For this to work, Chevy is partnering with AT&T. Current subscribers can add their vehicle to a sharable data bucket, and all drivers can also buy data as a standalone option. Scant details are available just yet, with the big missing piece being pricing—we'll find out later in 2014 exactly what Chevrolet and AT&T have in mind.

AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega was also at the Audi keynote last night to announce that the carrier will provide 4G LTE connectivity in the new Audi A3.

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This also affects Chevrolet's MyLink—select 2015 models will be able to view and download apps in an AppShop that will provide music, vehicle data, news, weather, and travel information. On the list are iHeartRadio, Priceline, The Weather Channel, and Slacker Radio, among others.

GM, which makes Chevrolet-branded vehicles, is doing well lately. The new 2014 Chevy Impala is an impressive redesign; some magazines have already found it to be superior to the Ford Taurus by a significant margin. The Malibu has been getting regular updates, and every car enthusiast has already seen the new Corvette Stingray. The Volt isn't selling particularly well, but it's a good car and you can get a good deal on one. All of these make for good, if higher-end starting points for Chevy to see what kind of customer takeup it gets on 4G LTE.

Chevy isn't the first to offer a rolling hotspot—Chrysler launched a 3G one with Uconnect five years ago, for example. The big question, aside from pricing, is whether consumers will prefer a built-in connection—which is admittedly the cleanest way to go—or if they'd rather save money by leveraging the data connection they're already paying for on their smartphone. Time will tell, but as cars get more connected and capable with tech, you can make a strong case for a dedicated LTE radio.

Earlier this week, Chevrolet showed off a new "Performance Data Recorder" (PDR) system intended to help drivers perfect their moves, which will debut in the 2015 Corvette Stingray.