Posted on 10/09/2007 8:08:42 PM PDT by Eyes Unclouded
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 new technology, which OnStar President Chet Huber said GM will apply to the rest of its lineup in future years, OnStar would call police and tell them a stolen car's whereabouts.
Then, if officers see the car in motion and judge it can be stopped safely, they can tell OnStar operators, who will send the car a signal via cell phone to slow it to a halt.
"This technology will basically remove the control of the horsepower from the thief," Huber said. "Everything else in the vehicle works. The steering works. The brakes work."
GM is still exploring the possibility of having the car give a recorded verbal warning before it stops moving. A voice would tell the driver through the radio speakers that police will stop the car, Huber said, and the car's emergency flashers would go on.
"If the thief does nothing else it will coast to a stop. But they can drive off to the side of the road," Huber said.
With the current version of OnStar, drivers can call operators for emergency help, and OnStar operators will contact a car if its sensors detect a crash. The service has about 5 million subscribers.
Those who want OnStar but don't like police having the ability to slow down their car can opt out of the service, Huber said. But he said their research shows that 95 percent of subscribers would like that feature.
OnStar, including the first year's subscription fee, is standard on most of GM's 2008 vehicles. After the first year, the subscription price is $16.95 a month or $199 annually for basic service, which is to include the stolen-vehicle slowdown feature when it's available.
GM would be willing to sell the technology to other automakers in an effort to cut police chases, Huber said.
The new technology likely gives OnStar and GM a leg-up on competitors that market vehicle tracking devices aimed at retrieving stolen vehicles, said Jack Nerad, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book in Irvine, Calif. He predicted being able to stop a stolen car would appeal to consumers.
"Once they hear it can be done, I think it will get considerable play," he said.
LoJack Corp., of Westwood, Mass., produces vehicle tracking devices that help authorities locate stolen vehicles but not communicate with them. And SPAL USA in Ankeny, Iowa, sells an anti-car-jacking system with a personal identification transmitter that prevents thieves from using the vehicle.
If it spreads, the technology could make dangerous police chases a thing of the past. Last year, 404 people were killed nationwide in crashes involving police pursuits, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
In California, for example, there were 7,633 police pursuits in 2006, leading to 27 deaths and 771 injuries, according to data from the California Highway Patrol. Those figures represented a decline from 2005, when California authorities were involved in 7,950 pursuits, which were linked to 32 deaths and 1,201 injuries.
Joe Farrow, deputy commissioner of the California Highway Patrol, said about 15 percent of the pursuits are at speeds of 90 miles per hour and greater. The OnStar system could help chases end safely, he said.
Farrow said his agency has sought public-private partnerships that could improve technologies used in police pursuits. The OnStar system was intriguing, he said.
"There are some high-speed chases that we have out here that we'd like to bring to a halt," he said.
Farrow said CHP officers are trained on pursuits every three months and the agency has worked to improve its chase policies.
OnStar's technology could evolve and perhaps make a stolen car impossible to start, Huber said.
"This isn't the last announcement you'll hear from us in this category," he said.
It will not stop the thieves from trying .
All of the new GM vehicles have built in anti-theft systems already , so the thieves cannot start the vehicle unless they have the proper transponder keys .
If thieves are driving the vehicle , chances are that the owner left the keys in the ignition or stole them from the owner .
They usually give discounts for anti-theft features .
I know it would need work. At least it’s a car that you can actually work on!
Mrs Bear and I have managed on one car. If I assume First Sergeant duty (which is a possiblity) we will have to have two. It would strictly be for local runs.
For those who still bother to steal GM vehicles, this will be a signal to avoid them, except as chop-shop bait. When the entire vehicle quickly disappears into the parts bins, kind of difficult to track it down with GPS or this latest whiz-bang.
But, why bother to steal a GM car when you can grab a Honda, BMW, or Toyota? Inefficient use of time.
Great idea! Since everything on a modern car is programmed through the computer, it shouldn’t be too hard to tell the computer to speed-limt the vehicle to 15 MPH. I like the McGruff-like voice telling the thief to pull over too.
We have Onstar in our Saturn Ion, and have never used it, but we do like the security of knowing it’s there as we travel quite a bit in the car.
Can OnStar not be disabled?
mark for later
My understanding is that you can choose not to pay for it and no longer “have” the service; but if GM or whomever is influencing GM wants to turn it back on without telling you they can. You’d have to physically remove it from the vehicle to prevent this from happening, or at least sever the wires connecting the antenna to the on-board computer.
GM taking a page from Bill Gates: who needs to sell the computers, just sell the OS for all of them.
That is the way to riches and away from the UAW!
(Oh sorry. All of the computers except for the 4 or 5% running an Apple OS. Let's just hope GM doesn't “brick” their cars if owners decide to change their oil at a jiffy lube.)
No silly, no cop would need to come along. GM could just send a screen shot of your speedometer and picture of your face (cmos chip behind the speedometer, and you would get the summons in the mail.
Guilty as charged, the judge would say.
Oh, and if an officer wants they can (and have done) read the CCM in the car for your speed, steering, and braking if you are in an accident.
Again, guilty as charged.
Big brother is not coming, he is with you every time you turn on your car
Worse, if you have a security system in your house and are late with your real estate tax.... well you need to pay to get in.
From what I know and the article says user features can be turned off. However, the computer module in your car that OnStar is integrated with never goes off.
So actually, no.
We’re talking about criminals, moron - what if they just leave it in the middle of the highway and run off? Is GM going to pay the bills of the first poor schlub to ram into one?
Onstar can be disabled very quickly ,, this catches the stupid thiefs only.
That might be the reason they turn the car’s flashers on. OnStar tells the LEO, “Do you see the subject car’s flashers activated?” That tends to confirm if they have the correct vehicle.
Great publicity for GM and the On Star product, but most chop shops have the cars stripped within a couple of hours, well before the owner knows it’s stolen.
I just figured that since most cops belong to a union that they would demand to write the tickets.Besides,it’s a wonderful opportunity to violate your forth amendment rights.
Before long Onstar could go interact with GPS info,then the last location of the stolen car would be logged in their main computer.It would be great info for divorce lawyers too.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.