OnStar will Catch Car Thieves
 

http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/08/auto...ex.htm?cnn=yes

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Motors' OnStar division announced Tuesday that it is introducing a service that will put the brakes on car thieves.

The feature, to be offered in 2009 model cars, will allow call-center operators in Detroit to remotely cut off engine power in OnStar-equipped vehicles that are reported stolen - helping police in hot pursuit of thieves to collar perps.



"The Stolen Vehicle Slowdown service will allow our subscribers added peace of mind by possibly preventing their vehicle from being used as an instrument of harm if it happens to be stolen," said Chet Huber, OnStar president.

OnStar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Motors (Charts, Fortune 500), provides a service that is included as standard equipment on most new GM vehicles.

Among other things, OnStar allows drivers, by pressing a button inside the car, to contact OnStar call center operators for help with things like driving directions or emergency services.

Cadillac CTS: simply superb

OnStar operators can also control some vehicle functions remotely - such as unlocking cars for drivers who lock their keys inside.
Because OnStar uses global positioning technology, operators can direct police to the location of a stolen car.

Stolen Vehicle Slowdown will take that function a step further by allowing OnStar operators to gradually slow down the car so that police can apprehend the driver without a risky high-speed chase.

Currently, OnStar receives about 8,400 requests each year to track stolen vehicles, according to the company.

To use the new feature, car owners must first report a car theft to police and then contact OnStar to request tracking. If the owner has not previously opted out of the service, OnStar will then report the location of the vehicle to police.

Once police have the vehicle in sight, officers will communicate with OnStar to make sure they are following the correct vehicle. To help make that determination, an OnStar operator would, for instance, make the vehicle's lights flash.

Police could then request that OnStar slow - and eventually stop - the car by remotely curtailing the flow of fuel to the engine.
"We look forward to having technologies like Stolen Vehicle Slowdown available to aid our officers in apprehending suspected car thieves and keeping our officers, highways and citizens safe," said David Hiller, national vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police, in an OnStar announcement.

Stolen Vehicle Slowdown will be included as part of OnStar's Safe & Sound plan, the least expensive level of service offered. After the first year, during which the service is free in most new GM vehicles, Safe & Sound costs $18.95 a month or $199 a year. http://i.cnn.net/money/images/bug.gif

maybe they will stop making GTA games then

This won't work this means you have to report a stolen car from when it was taken within minutes which usually doesnt happen.

My grandparents got their 2004 1/2 GMC Sierra 2500HD Duramax Crew cab stolen in Montreal and onstar lost service to the car after 10 mins it had left the mall parking lot. My grandparents didnt report the car stolen for about an hour because they were in the mall. They never found the truck again but insurance gave them more than what the truck was worth in a check.

OnStar also runs off the car's battery and doesn't have a back up power source. All a thief has to do is drive it to a location and disconnect the cables.

I know when theres an accident the car calls 911 and we get a location right away.

Yea, that's prolly it's biggest downfall.

If they were able to "hide" the system in the car better (and in different locations on each car) and give it a short term (24 hour?) backup power source, it would be a bit better. At least then thieves would have to do some more research before stealing the car and deactivating the OnStar.

- Justin

i got OnCar (.45 at side):rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I saw this today on the news, good idea.

oh, you mean like the new GPS Snitch? yeah, i'd much prefer the Snitch to Onstar, paying the monthly service fees and what not... not only that, but the Snitch will work on non-GM cars, as well.

company that makes the Snitch is Blackline GPS, in case you wanted to look them up.

There were running a nice deal on GPS Snitch at GPSuperstore.com

sweet. :cool: