OnStar Adds Theft Prevention in 2009

Reality TV at its scariest: A high-speed chase with cops in hot pursuit of a car thief. The thief loses control, the car is destroyed and another fatality is tallied, whether it’s driver, passenger or innocent bystander.

One million cars are stolen each year, and 30,000 of them are involved in high-speed chases that result in an average of 256 injuries and 350 deaths.

But now — thieves beware.

Starting with its 2009 models, half of all General Motors vehicles — 1.7 million, mostly Chevrolets — will be equipped with an OnStar emergency satellite communication system with Stolen Vehicle Slowdown, a system that can "depower" the stolen car being chased by police.

The same OnStar system that currently tracks stolen vehicles using GPS to pinpoint their location will now eliminate high-speed chases by cutting fuel to the engine while continuing to offer steering and braking, says OnStar president Chet Huber.

OnStar owners aren't going to suffer fuel shutoff if they buzz through a toll booth without paying or are a week late making their car payment. To avoid invasion of privacy issues, the only time it will be used, Huber says, is after an owner notifies police that his vehicle was stolen.

"When police have the vehicle in sight and feel they have safe access to getting it, they will then notify us at OnStar,” Huber said. “We'll take the power out of the car and turn on its flashers to alert others nearby to beware of a stolen car."

The novel service is being added because GM owners with OnStar said they don't want their vehicles to be damaged or to harm others in a high-speed chase. The service is free during the first year of ownership; after that it’s part of a $190 package.

The Chevy Silverado, Tahoe, Suburban, Equinox, Avalanche and Impala, Cadillac SRX, DTS, CTS, Escalade, Escalade EXT and Escalade ESV, Buick Lucerne, Pontiac Torrent, Hummer H2 and H2 SUT, Saturn Vue, and GMC Sierra, Yukon and Yukon XL will get the system first, and then it will spread to other vehicles.

The system can't be retrofitted to 2008 or older GM vehicles. A dealer can deprogram the service if consumers want and reactivate it later if they change their mind.

Does this new service tread the line between safety and privacy too closely? Let us know what you think.

Comments

[Dan]

Borderline, but okay.

[Adrock]

I think its perfect. Gives consumers the feature if they would like it and can remove it if they don't. As long as there is an agreement which the consumer signs that states OnStar will only use it in the strict situation they indicate above, they'll be legally obligated to follow it. I like it.

[Dave T.]

I wonder what happens though if it's the owner of the car who has committed the crime and is fleeing the police? Can the cops get OnStar to turn off the car without it being a reported theft?
hmmmm...

[duh]

"the only time it will be used, Huber says, is after an owner notifies police that his vehicle was stolen."

"owner notifies police"

[J]

Another Big brother device. If I want to live in a communist country, why the hell am I in the States?

[none]

This is a dumb idea.

While the AP article does a great job of describing the benefits of the new OnStar system, it completely omits some of the worst downsides to it. The primary problem with this system is that it will allow hackers, script kiddies, and anyone with a computer and too much free time on their hands to easily (for them, at least) wreak havoc in the streets.

Law enforcement should be developing crime prevention techniques that work against criminals, rather than relying on such a broken "spray and pray" system that works against millions of innocent people. Rather than waste so much time and energy on bloated "technology for the sake of technology", they could be advancing technologies targeted at the specific cars violating the law.

[Ken L.]

I agree with None, GM should focus on developing technologies that will improve their vehicles even further, not some gimmicky crap like this. However I'm wondering why most of GM's SUVs are getting this first when OnStar is available on many of their other vehicles as well.

[hitman1970]

Wow.

I am surprised no one has come up with the comment "Doesn't GM need to make vehicles that people want to steal first before preventing their theft."

I believe I that there is too much liability that GM will take on its hands for "misuse" of this vehicle. Imagine a husband and wife who get into a fight. One drives off to cool down and the other one calls Onstar to screw with their loved one. I smell lawsuits aplenty from a mile away.

GM, are you sure you vetted this through legal?

[Infosaur]

*sigh* Remember when "them Duke boys" would run from the law, jump the creek, and get away? When car chases were cool?

Alright, so it's never cool when some crackhead jacks your sister's car and plows though the city untill he hits a bus load of nuns.

Still I really don't think this is the country I was born in.

(and don't get me started on what passes for Saturday morning cartoons, this is a CAR board)

Besides, as far as lawsuits, the Naderites will be suing Ford and Chrysler for NOT offering this tech retroactively.

[Skinner]

"A dealer can deprogram the service if consumers want"
So, how many seconds would it take a thief to deprogram the system?

[myx]

Apparently nobody on this blog as had a car stolen or been carjacked before. I lost two nice cars like this and it would of been nice to have this feature to find my stolen car before it was stripped down to the frame and torched. I don't see why so many people are negative towards a good idea. Good job Onstar/GM.

[J]

myx,
Because this is America, and we don't want the authority to watch over us.

[myx]

J,

As a member of the U.S. Air Force, I can tell you you're already being watched by big brother all the time. They don't need some fancy add-on to Onstar to keep tabs on you or anybody else. We got nicer toys :)

[J]

But why do we want an extra one?
Plus, like those before me said, if GM can program it, so does the thieves.

[Me]

Consumers are going to eat this with a spoon. Nobody's concerned with privacy issues any more or we wouldn't have mandatory seatbelt laws, engine management computers that track speed (and can be subpoenaed for trial), toll booth transponders (e.g. I-Pass), traffic light camera ticketing, roadside photographic speed traps, grocery store loyalty cards, WalMart RFID tags that can't be removed from clothing and on and on and on.

Americans no longer care about privacy. If you want privacy the way to get it is to build a tar paper shack in the Aleutians and never go outside.

[DPWally]

I believe OnStar is capable of unlocking a car. That's strong incentive for someone to hack OnStar, and apparently no one's succeeded yet. The slowdown feature is a much weaker incentive.

For the other fear, fake theft reports, I'll extend hitman1970's example. A couple has a fight, wife drives off, husband reports the car stolen, police pull up behind her with flashing lights and demand she pull over. Does the slowdown feature have much affect on the likeliness or severity of this? I don't think so.

As long as the OnStar contract requires a theft report from the owner and a trigger from legitimate law enforcement, I don't see a problem. If the contract is weak enough to allow other possibilities, there's a problem.

[OnStar]

It makes the car slow down, not blow up. If the system is hacked, or with fake reports, or anything that mis-uses the system, the car just slows to a stop. The point is to reduce damage to the car or casualties to others and reduce the chance of this happening in a high speed chase.

[tmoney]

if a thief is smart enough to steal your ride theyll be smart enough to deactivate it.......also...how long before the owner knows the vehicle has been stolen?!?!? the thief could have it half way across the country already in a chop shop....

doesnt seem like a very good protection system, sound more like a money making scam to me...i like onstar, but we all know they need other ventures to make money...

just my thoughts....

[tmoney]

if a thief is smart enough to steal your ride theyll be smart enough to deactivate it.......also...how long before the owner knows the vehicle has been stolen?!?!? the thief could have it half way across the country already in a chop shop....

doesnt seem like a very good protection system, sound more like a money making scam to me...i like onstar, but we all know they need other ventures to make money...

just my thoughts....

[Questions]

Everyone keeps acting like this is an add on accesory to On-Star. It is just something built in and gives the consumer another choice in keeping their property theirs. It is no different than car companies offering bird's eye view navigation screens. I think its a great idea. How many times do you see a high speed chase on TV end up in someone getting hurt or killed? I had a cousin that was killed when he was hit by a car during a high speed chase as he was crossing a street. I am all for anything to lessen the chances of that happening to anyone else.