Miss a payment, disable the car.
 

NHTSA praises new OnStar vehicle slowdown service
Tuesday, October 09, 2007

David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- "The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration praised new OnStar technology that les, eliminating the need for high-speed police pursuit.

NHTSA says about 30,000 police chases occur yearly and approximately 300 deaths occur as a result of those chases.

General Motors Corp. on Monday debuted the Stolen Vehicle Slowdown of its OnStar service. It allows advisers working with law enforcement to send a signal to a subscriber's stolen vehicle which reduces engine power, slowing the vehicle down gradually.

GM today held a press conference at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., to demonstrate the new technology.

"From its inception, the motivation behind OnStar has been the safety and security of our subscribers and others on the road," said Chet Huber, OnStar president. "Every service we add builds on this original promise. 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."

NHTSA was on hand for the demonstration.

"Technology should not just entertain us or make us more comfortable, it should make us safer," said NHTSA Administrator Nicole Nason. "We applaud innovations such as the kind GM is embracing that will make our roads better, our passengers more protected and our drivers safer."

Powered by OnStar's newest generation of hardware, GM will make Stolen Vehicle Slowdown available on nearly 1.7 million Model Year 2009 vehicles --or about 20 models. GM's largest division, Chevrolet, will account for more than 60 percent of the total vehicles equipped with this new technology.

"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, the Fraternal Order of Police's national vice president. "Since 1996, OnStar has assisted the law enforcement community by helping to locate stolen vehicles."

Stolen Vehicle Location Assistance uses Global Positioning Satellite technology to pinpoint the location of a vehicle that has been reported stolen. OnStar provides the location to law enforcement to assist with the vehicle's recovery. OnStar receives approximately 700 Stolen Vehicle Location Assistance requests from subscribers a month -- and OnStar has helped in 28,000 requests over the past decade, the company said.

Company research shows 95 percent of OnStar subscribers want the Stolen Vehicle Slowdown service available on their cars and trucks"
______________________________________________

Hello, Big Brother.

Now if they could just shut down all the vehicles that don't have insurance as well, oh and suspended licenses, and DUI's, wait that is big brother.....

**** that $hit. I wouldn't let ANY company have the ability to disable my car for any reason.

Yeah, this is another look into the future that I don't like at all.
Does anyone really know if OnStar is on or off?
Jim S.

"Technology should not just entertain us or make us more comfortable, it should make us safer," said NHTSA Administrator Nicole Nason. "We applaud innovations such as the kind GM is embracing that will make our roads better, our passengers more protected and our drivers safer."

read between the lines.. everything is done for YOUR protection and safety.

WOooooo

Another reason why I'll never buy another GM vehicle. (i.e. my POS van)

F**k General Motors

Sorry, nope. Not havin it.

Scary, wonder if they'll make you "update" older cars?

A) Reason number 4,520,293 to not buy a GM product

B) Time it will take some hacker kids to build their own disabling device = 4.2 minutes.

I like my GM truck. Full-size 3/4 ton that tows the Porsche to the track.





But it doesn't have On-Star. No thanks.

Yet another example of the man keepin' us down.
Jim

As long as you have electrical power in the vehicle, the on-star is always running in the background.

Nah,

Cancelled my service cause they were going to cut me off in Sept. They went from the original analog system to an all digital and had no interest in developing a back date,

Geeze guys, how many times here have I warned about the "black box" that lurks in EVERY GM car made since the early 90's?

At first you thought I was a nutzo about this topic. NOW do you believe?

Hey, it's all for the greater good. Big brother knows best. Worry not, Hillary! will save us all from ourselves.

Then you'd better think pre 1990 if you're thinking GM...

Do what Tony Suprano did, rip the $hit out of there. Personally I will do my best to avoid this type of technology when controlled by others. I don't even have EZ Pass....but sometimes wish I did.

BTW, the Black Box called out the trooper who was taxiing our glorious governor around and wiped out @ 90+ MPH.

The State of Oregon DMV has been working on that...I kid you not. They want a GPS system to track every mile that every car drives within the state's boundaries....this hooked to the ability to buy fuel within the state. Older cars MUST be retrofitted. This, of course, is exlained away as a means to collect a road use tax, which would be"more fair" than a simple gas tax...The pilot program was a dismal failure due to technical glitches. If you think it will end there, you are kidding yourself. The real motive is to control freedom of movement...