Free Republic

G.M. had provided information about braking, acceleration and speed to LexisNexis Risk Solution and Verisk, firms that generated driver risk profiles for insurers... General Motors said Friday that it had stopped sharing details about how people drove its cars with two data brokers that created risk profiles for the insurance industry. The decision followed a New York Times report this month that G.M. had, for years, been sharing data about drivers’ mileage, braking, acceleration and speed with the insurance industry. The drivers were enrolled — some unknowingly, they said — in OnStar Smart Driver, a feature in G.M.’s internet-connected cars...

When it comes to the manufacturing and use of automobiles, the U.S. government enforces a long list of regulations. In the name of safety, federal law requires that all new automobiles include seat belts, air brake systems, airbags and so on. Thanks to the massive infrastructure bill passed in November and signed into law by President Joe Biden, the government soon will be enforcing a new regulation -- one that gives federal authorities the ability to shut off your vehicle at any time. Advertisement - story continues below Buried on page 403 of the legislation, the provision requires "advance drunk...

Is the government keeping tabs on us through our cellphone batteries?

Well, I really have to hand it to the Obama Administration and General Motors when it comes to promoting green energy initiatives and the Chevy Volt; if nothing else, they are persistent. Unfortunately, that persistence continues to come at the expense of US taxpayers. The latest folly, as reported by Edmunds Inside Line , involves a $10.4 million grant from the Energy Department to create what Edmunds calls "Chevrolet Volt-ville." GM and OnStar have joined a partnership (which includes GE Energy, of course) that had been formed to create a community in Texas called Pecan Street Inc. GM says the...

A driver called the emergency notification system OnStar from inside his GMC pickup truck around 2 a.m. to report he was on Gray Avenue in Greenwich but was too drunk to drive.

Cars fitted with OnStar's technology will be tracked even if the owners don't sign up to the service, in a change to the company's policy that will kick in come December. OnStar is a service offered by General Motors USA, which inserts a mobile phone, along with telemetry tracking kit, into cars sold by the company. Owners are then offered the option to sign up to the navigation and automatic crash reporting, but in a policy change the company will start collecting data from drivers even if they haven't signed up for the service. In the notice being sent out...

Link only - OnStar Tracks Your Car Even When You Cancel Service

General Motors was on hand at this year’s Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas where it announced a number of new high-tech products including the OnStar FMV (For My Vehicle) kit. The automaker just announced that the first batches of OnStar FMV units are set to arrive at Best Buy on July 24. The kit will allow owners of non-GM brands to retrofit the rearview mirror module into their own cars and enjoy all of the features the system offers. Likewise, owners of older GM vehicles will be able to purchase the kit as well. GM has priced the kit...

Continuing a campaign initiated by Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) addressed the Telematics Detroit 2011 conference with harsh words on the growing trend to integrate infotainment technology into cars. David Strickland told those assembled, “I’m just putting everyone on notice. A car is not a mobile device. I’m not in the business of helping people tweet better. I’m not in the business of helping people post on Facebook better.” That’s not to say that the NHTSA and DOT are opposed to all telematics applications. In fact, the agencies support systems...

Audio From Glenn Beck's Radio Program (Aired LIVE 10.22.09)- Did you know OnStar has the ability to shut off your engine, deflate your tires and listen to what you are saying inside your car?? It's true. They never used to use this technology, though it has been available- but now that the government is running GM, apparently they have decided to go ahead with it..Did we miss that press release? At the very least, it should concern you..with this kind of technology in the wrong hands.. Part 1-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDoDwEPKYMA Part 2-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhXEzJHWF1c

<p>When two Visalia, Calif., police officers swung their cruisers behind a sport utility vehicle that had been carjacked at gunpoint early Sunday, they prepared for a dangerous high-speed chase.</p> <p>The 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe roared away with officers in pursuit, but shortly after the suspect made a right turn, operators at General Motors Co.'s OnStar service sent a command that electronically disabled the gas pedal and the SUV gradually came to a halt.</p>

OnStar, the unit behind General Motors' GPS-based in-vehicle security system, offers Stolen Vehicle Slowdown technology: An OnStar operator can send a signal to a vehicle, restricting its fuel and slowing it to 3-5 mph. The technology is available on about 1 million 2009 GM vehicles, OnStar spokesman Jim Kobus says. Another company, Virginia Beach-based StarChase, is field-testing its Pursuit Management System. It's a launcher on the front of a police car that fires projectiles that stick on a fleeing vehicle targeted by laser, enabling police to track it by GPS. The system, which has been tested by police in Columbus,...

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. -- Investigators said a Manalapan teenager was caught causing $24,800 worth of damage to a soccer field after the On-Star system in his car tipped off police that he was the culprit. Authorities said the 17-year-old spun a 2007 GMC Denali to make "donuts" all over the soccer field at Saint Joseph's School located at 3300 S. Seacrest Blvd. in Boynton Beach on Nov.21, according to a police report. Police used On-Star GPS records to link the teen to the scene at the time of the vandalism, according to the report. A police subpoenae of OnStar documents...

Some car owners and other users of General Motors' OnStar service may find themselves in trouble this February, the Associated Press notes. As of February 18th, the FCC will allow GM to halt the analog version of OnStar, in a bid to make its network all-digital. The difficulty is that while the approximately one million OnStar cellphones can be replaced, some cars built as late as 2005 can only access OnStar via analog signals, and have no support for GM's $15 digital upgrade. Meanwhile, some home alarm systems with OnStar must default to a backup connection without analog. OnStar service...

When Adele Rothman bought her 16-year-old son a car in 2003, she made sure to pick one that had OnStar, the onboard communications and safety system. What the Scarsdale, N.Y., resident didn't know was that the OnStar system in the car was already doomed to die. The federal government decided in 2002 to let cellular carriers shut down analog cell phone networks, used by Rothman's Saab and about 500,000 other OnStar-equipped cars, after Feb. 18, 2008.

DETROIT (AP) — Say some clown steals your car from the parking deck at work. If it's equipped with General Motors' OnStar service, he could be in for a big surprise and you could get a little revenge — and even see your car again. Starting with about 20 models for 2009, the service will be able to slowly halt a car that is reported stolen, and the radio may even speak up and tell the thief to pull over because police are watching. OnStar already finds 700 to 800 cars per month using the global positioning system. With the...

Service Will Be Available In About 20 Models In 2009 Reporting NEW YORK (CBS) ―- New technology could put the breaks on those high-speed police chases that are a danger to us all. On Tuesday, General Motors and OnStar announced a new way to stop those chases with a flick of the switch. There are 30,000 police car chases every year, many injuring and killing innocent bystanders. John Phillips lost his sister Sarah to a police chase when two suspects slammed into her car as they fled. The tragedy was caught on a dashboard camera. Sarah is among the 300...

OnStar technology can stop fleeing vehicle October 9, 2007 BY MIKE WENDLAND Convergence Editor and Technology Columnist OnStar has announced a bold new technology that can activate at the request of law enforcement and bring a high speed chase to a rapid halt by disconnecting the accelerator of a stolen vehicle. OnStar’s new Stolen Vehicle Slowdown is being hailed by police and emergency responders as a major safety tool that will help save lives. There are more than 30,000 high speed chases in the U.S. each year, resulting in some 300 fatalities. The technology will be introduced on 1.7 million...

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- A man showing off his OnStar system in his Cadillac Escalade found out the system worked too well. Ralph A. Gomez, 38, was being held in the St. Johns County Jail Wednesday on $15,000 bond on charges of possession of an illegal narcotic within 1,000 feet of a church and possession of drug paraphernalia. Gomez was showing off his OnStar system to his girlfriend, but the volume was set so low that he couldn't hear the OnStar operator. OnStar comes on many new General Motors vehicles and allows a customer to contact an OnStar representative in...

AN elderly motorist driving along a 130km/h expressway in eastern France caused a crash when he followed the advice of his onboard GPS computer - and made a U-turn. Police said the hapless 78-year-old driver, who was not named, and the occupants of the vehicle he ran into escaped unharmed from the collision on Sunday, but it could have been much worse. The man told officers his car GPS had told him to "make a U-turn immediately" as he drove along lost near the town of Nancy in search of a hotel. He did so, not realising the limitations of...