Mrs. Fierro's getting something like this for Christmas (don't tell her, now) -- we'll see how it works out.
Mandatory GPS isn't a failure of technology, it's a failure of government.
BTTT
Instructions on how to disable or destroy the GPS on a vehicle without disabling the vehicle would be on the Internet before the first one is rolling off the assembly line.
Information wants to be free.
Where do they find such crazy guys named "Fed"?
All that would take is driving through a tunnel or into a parking garage. The GPS navigation system in recent Lincoln Navigators has a backup inertial guidence system that can continue giving position updates when the car is driven into places like that where the satellites can't be seen.
excellent
In the Dallas, Texas area the "Toll Tags" are indeed tied to a particular auto as I discovered when I got given new plates. I totally forgot to update my account and was rudely reminded by getting a ticket because my tag no longer matched my (new) plates. The ticket showed a very clear photo taken as I passed thru' the booth ! I pleaded ignorance in an email and they dropped the penalty $$.
Mrs. Fierro's getting something like this for Christmas (don't tell her, now) -- we'll see how it works out.
While it makes a nice entry into a long rant, its an urban legend, and there is no federal plan to put gps tracking into cars.
Some rental car companies do this in areas where car theft is high, but even these do not disable the car, simply result in a large bill if you violate the area rules.
Further, gps units do not track cars, they are a receive only device, and would have to be ganged with a transmitter to some receiver somewhere, which would simply not be able to handle the load. (The hidden truth is that things like On-Star do not scale well, and if even a quarter of US cars were equipped with on-star the system would be unusable.
Relax, people, its a myth.
This paragraph errs in that the author considers it a failure of technology - it is NOT. These failures have been carefully considered and the corrections thereto have been rejected, because the gooberment's purpose here is to generate revenue, and statistics bear out the fact that most people will pay the ticket; not fight it.
My cell phone company has been trying to sell me on upgrading from my old 3 watt analog phone to one with GPS. Problem is, the digital model will not reach from where I work to the nearest tower without shelling out about $350 for amplifier, directional antenna, cable, etc. I already get out just fine with the bag phone and similar equipment.
The nitwit salesperson said "But it has GPS, it will tell us where you are if there is an emergency."
Yeah, right. How isit going to do that if I am in my vehicle in the 'dead zone' between amplified directional signal transmission and being able to hit a tower otherwise?
As for lost, there are not so many roads out there that I done't know where I am, and failing that, a Garmin can be had for $129.00
Big brother hasn't really started watching yet.
Technology BUMP!
This suggestion from the party of smaller government?
heh heh heh, we've been had.
...In Massachusetts where I live,...
That's your first mistake.
Everything that happens to you after that is your own fault.
No way will I get a gps in my vehicles.
I'll set sail first. As we sink further into a third world police state, the real third world looks better all the time.
I enjoyed life more when we used to ride dirt bikes on the street and no one really cared.
Carolyn
People that stop in the FastLane should be shot and then drawn and quartered.
And if it's not a ticketable offense, it should be just for the shear stupidity of doing it.
Makes me miss my old '72 Torino. I'd like to see someone keep me from ripping it out of that. That thing had $15 worth of electronics and could run on anything. One thing's for sure. I'm NEVER getting rid of my '87 T-Bird. It wouldn't take much at all to convert it to carburetor and tear out the computer.
The second this happens it's time to start a web page listing everyone who will be running against their local politicians.
Mandatory GPS in all cars : I wonder if the government will force all cars which cannot be retrofitted with GPS to be turned in to them with a 90 day grace period, and if you turn it in within that grace period you get a huge discount on a new GPS-enabled car...of course those who refuse to turn their cars in will have their cars seized without warning.
You know, I kind of remember hearing a story on the Alex Jones Show where some county government somewhere in America was going to start refusing to grant license plates to all cars 15 years or older. Wouldn't surprise me if the government forces all non-GPS cars to be turned in...wouldn't surprise me either if the government forces all analog TVs and all analog radios to be turned in either when HDTV and HD-radio are in full-swing.