GM's "OnStar" ..... good thing to have or Big Brother evil?

[Stinky The Clown]

Yeah ... this seems pretty random. But GM has been running ads showing a cop chasing a "stolen" Escalade or Suburban or something. The gist of the ad is that, with OnStar, the police can request that the car be slowed down to a stop, thus avoiding dangerous chases.

Man ...... that possibility has two sides! How great to be able to bring real bad guys to a stop in a controlled way.

What's to stop a cop from doing this to anyone who pisses him off.

Then there's the whole matter of the OnStar having the ability - whether used or not - to track you as you move about. How soon until that gets into some criminal trial someplace placing a person at the scene of a heinous 1 ounce weed purchase?

A similar ad shows this guy in a single car accident, at night, on a lonely road. The voiceover tells the man that OnStar reported an airbag deployment and that help is on the way. The feeble voice of the man says "please hurry."

As I said, a two sided issue.

What do you think about OnStar?

[Stinky The Clown]

1. Is DU stuttering today?

Seems to be lots of viewing and posting issues.

[mtnester]

4. Bug errors

plus my original post to you is not logging to My DU either...buggy day

[mtnester]

2. Mr Stinky, I think the worrying about tracking ship sailed long ago

your cell phone is the ultimate tracker, and there are more cameras around than you can shake a stick at.

Oh and watch the red boxes on the drunk Mass. subway video..you will figure out what they are pretty quick.

I have OnStar, I do not have it activated...first, because I am lazy and not well organized right now, and second, because I see the only benefit being the air bag deploying thing, and do I want to pay a monthly service for that? So far, my answer has been no.

:)

[Stinky The Clown]

5. Having no GM cars new enough for OnStar .....

.... I never paid attention. I thought it was activated for at least a year.

[gkhouston]

3. Well, it's in a GM car, so it's probably going to break two days after the warranty's up anyway.

No worries. :+

And before someone jumps in to defend GM's virtue, :rofl: I had a Chevette that I drove for 16 years and it was still going strong when I sold it to somebody for a dollar.

[Oregone]

6. You don't have to use it.

Ours box sits in the back of the car with its cables unplugged. No biggie

[fishwax]

7. OnStar can not only track your car, but control it remotely

They've developed systems, for instance, to kill the gas pedal (in case the car is reported stolen).

Anyway, I understand why some people like OnStar, I suppose, but personally I'd rather not have it.

[WeDidIt]

8. I have On Star and love it

I won't buy a new car without it now.

[SpartanDem]

9. I had my Malibu stolen over the summer

and was able to track it and get it back with only the wheels missing. I shudder think what else would've been stripped out if I didn't get back so quickly, you can bet my next car will have Onstar.

[sammytko]

10. i loved my OnStar

the phone feature came in very handy when we drove through remote areas of Texas.

[cherokeeprogressive]

11. Have it, use it often, love it, recommend it. n/t

The OnStar folks probably roll their eyes when they see it's me calling, AGAIN. I've used it to find restaurants, ATM's, movie theaters, you name it. I'm probably on the phone with them at least 15 times a month.

I use it for driving directions.

The hands-free phone thing is the bomb.

As far as your question about the cop doing something to anyone who pisses him off, I can only see it being useful if he lights up a car and they don't stop.

Lastly, LET them track me to where I purchase my weed. I have a prescription, and only go to authorized pharmacies.

[Dreamer Tatum]

12. I'd be more worried about having enough headroom to fit the tinfoil hat

I think most people who fret over "Big Brother" are pretty much some of the last people who are going to show up in a GM dealership, anyway.

[Z_I_Peevey]

13. Thanks, but no thanks.

I'll let Big Brother track my every move the good, old-fashioned way--through my cell phone, just like everyone else. Don't need the newfangled OnStar.

[Stinky The Clown]

14. Damn. I could have SWORN I posted this in GD, but it shows having been moved from GDP

DU seems a little hinky today.

[Mopar151]

15. One of my favorite goofs

I used to work with a guy obsessed with guns and revenge - in order to get him off the topic, we came up with a goof to divert him - and it's too good not to share. goes like this:

Ya know, I heard the other day that you can get a celebrity voice for your nav. system. Mr T will tell you "Ah pity da fool who don't take the next left!"
It's only another step to CELEBRITY ON-STAR! - Celebrities will answer random On-Star calls. The question is: Who would you like LEAST to answer your call?

Ozzy Osborne? "Wait - where am I?"
David Lee Roth? "Zip a dee bop!"
Fran Drescher?

Play along at home!

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

16. Glenn Beck says Obama is using it to listen in to us......

Just sayin'.....

[CRF450]

21. people here said Bush used it to listen in on us. n/t

[cynatnite]

17. Mr. Beck, is that you?

Yeah, this is one of Beck's pet conspiracy theories. He did a rant about OnStar not long ago.

I think it's a valuable service to those who need it. As with a lof of services, there is potential for abuse and in all the time OnStar has existed, I have never heard of such an instance. That's not to say it's never happened either

[Lars39]

20. Not a conspiracy:

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/21/automobiles/court-leaves-the-door-open-for-safety-system-wiretaps.html

[cynatnite]

23. It is in Beck's world...which I had hoped DUer's would not want to be a part of...

From that article you posted...

Geri Lama, a spokeswoman for OnStar, said that her company was not involved in the case and that OnStar's setup was not capable of what she called ''stealth listening.''

''Any time we call into the vehicle, it rings,'' she said, adding that if a car is stolen, OnStar can retrieve data about its location but cannot eavesdrop on the people inside.

[Lars39]

24. Further along in the article it shows that the company cooperated with the FBI:

In the Nevada investigation, the company had to disable two of the three buttons -- for general information and for roadside help -- to allow the eavesdropping.

[cynatnite]

25. Here's another good article about it...the FBI got their asses handed to them...

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-132934.html

[Lars39]

27. For the ninth district...not sure any other lawsuits have been filed in any other district.

on edit: "The decision is binding only in California, Oregon, Nevada, Washington, Hawaii, and other states that fall within the 9th Circuit's jurisdiction. No other appeals court appears to have ruled on the matter. "

[cynatnite]

30. Yep, I read that...

I wonder if this will get the nationwide treatment.

[Brickbat]

18. Other: Neither. I don't see the use of it at all, and I don't fear it. Also, it's so inaccurate

up here it's worthless. I was on a four-way call with a dispatcher, a sheriff and an OnStar operator trying to convince the OnStar operator where a distress call was coming from. I saw the car, I knew where the car was at, but the GPS computer was telling her otherwise and she kept trying to give different directions to the LE peeps. Terribly frustrating.

[LeftHander]

19. mine was upgraded to PornStar...

nt

[flvegan]

22. Definitely a good side and a potential very bad side.

I think a system that reacts instantly to airbags deploying that has you on GPS and can call EMS, etc is a great idea. Also the tracking for a stolen car (like LoJack) is excellent, complete with the ability to take control of a fleeing suspect.

Potential really awful downsides? Because I think everything is about money, it really wouldn't be that hard for car insurance companies to pay for certain information about your driving habits (speed, miles, etc) and "adjust" rates for drivers that may, on paper, appear to be higher risk.

Also, much like anything else these days, I'm sure that somebody, somewhere is working on a hack to get into OnStar either for fun or profit. That thought would worry me.

[ddeclue]

26. Big brother evil. I'd rather they could steal my car.

[DainBramaged]

28. A whole lot of people have been helped due to accidents or illness

thanks to OnStar. I don't think this is any reason to get worried (unless of course your behavior is (ahem) suspicious to begin with.

[laughingliberal]

29. I'm not comfortable with a system that knows where I am all the time

or knows how fast I was driving, etc...

Just me. I'm sure it's a valuable service for a lot of people.

[X_Digger]

31. I don't trust my insurance company..

"Yes, Mister Smith, we received a report of your accident."

...

"No, Mister Smith, we're not covering your accident claim. According to our records, you go above the posted speed limit quite frequently. This demonstrates a general disregard for traffic laws. Even though you were not speeding at the time of your accident, based on the terms of our contract, your persistent violation of safe driving practices invalidates our responsibility to pay on your claim."

[boppers]

32. Who cares?

Even better: Instant alibi.

Since I'm a techie, I don't mind having constant surveillance, I even lived on a webcam for a year.

I also tend to follow laws, which many others seem to ignore, so there's that.

[MadHound]

33. I don't want OnStar in my car

Doesn't matter whether you've paid the service fee or not, these capabilities that you talk about are still there. OnStar can still stop the car, listen in to your conversations, and track your movements if they want to.

Trouble is, this sort of Big Brother tech is spreading to all makes and models, chips that record where you go and how you get there are becoming commonplace. I wouldn't be surprised to see more OnStar clones pop up on vehicles.

Think I'll keep my twenty two year old Toyota, and stay off the radar.