Well regardless of where you stand on the OnStar issue standard, I'd at least write your congressman and make them aware of the situation. I have OnStar on my TrailBlazer, but I dont subscribe. Im not worried about being tracked or bugged, if they really want to hear me sing along to Static-X it's their loss, but I dont like the fact that they possibly could.

 

Now you are talking about the mark of the Beast. The mark of the Beast is a mark that you MUST have to buy or sell ANYTHING. If that scenario ever happens, beware.

 

Yes, I have a cell phone with me right now. And it is turned OFF! I turn it on when I expect a call or need to make one. It is for MY safety and convenience, NOT Big Brothers, or anyone else's.

I have ONE credit card. I use it less than once per month on average. The last time I used it was last November when I took the family to Disney in Orlando - no sh1+. I secured the room on it, and left the charge there instead of writing a check or paying cash.
I do not use debit or credit cards - I pay CASH. I pay my bill once - when I buy something, and it's done. I pay cash for gasoline, food, and everything else. I pay cash for all my cars/trucks and I have titles for them all.
Cash is good - when you run out, you need to stop spending. Credit cards don't work that way.

Let me say this, and I'm bowing out of this rhetorical play on words...
I do whatever I can to maintain my sovereignty, privacy, and security. I am not a radical theorist, and I do live life at large. I have tons of fun, travel, and enjoy amenities and conveniences, but I do so respnsibly, and conservatively. In all fairness, there are people just watching and waiting to take advantage of anyone - be it on the web or in person - and I have made a lifestyle for myself that works (and works well too BTW) for me but keeps me more removed from the mainstream.

Think about all the folks who saw the Vioxx commercials on TV, ran to their doctor claiming "That's what I need! I have those symptoms!", only to get a prescription and suffer a heart attack from it. They jumped right on the commercialized bandwagon and asked for it just like Merck wanted them to - sales went ballistic. And then what happened?

Just because some big company (or government) wants me to think that this new "thing" is my salvation, will make me safer, healthier, or whatever - I remain the sceptic until I am proved otherwise. There are too many greedy, money-mongers in the world today that don't CARE about you, they just want your money, and they will lie, cheat, and steal from you to get it. They will sell your soul to get it, because they think it won't affect them. Sometimes they are right, sometimes they are not.

Funny thing about all this OnStar business though...
My folks are 70-ish, and they have been driving for 55-60 years without it. They still drive without it. Never needed it. It never saved their lives. They never get locked out of their car(s) - EVER. They never need to call and get navigation directions to where they are heading for dinner or on a trip - they usually know where it is they are trying to go to. They have never needed to call someone and have remote diagnostics run on the car because a "check engine" light came on, and have the OnStar rep find the nearest dealer for "immediate servicing" (ching-ching). In short, they have made it for 60 years without big brother looking over their shoulder and "helping them" make it through life in a car, and in far less advanced and reliable cars to boot - they don't expect they are going to have a sudden need for it now. I concur with my folks' POV. They are smart, and I am still learning.

Again, you guys go ahead and sign up for anything and everything that comes along. GREAT! I'm happy for you! I hope it all works out for you and you can teach me (the old fart) how it works and benefits you so much... someday... in a few years. And if it looks like there is genuine benefit without risk or loss of what I hold dear, then I'll buy one too.
You be the guinea pigs - I'm not.
And if GM/Uncle Sam use this technology against you in any way someday, well, as I said - you can be the guinea pig.
I'll be driving my "old car", paying cash, and enjoying myself while you fight the legal issues. Good Luck!
PS - don't call me on my cell phone with your one call from the pokey... it won't be on unless I'm using it!

 

Nice to see you back in print!
Nice post too!

 

Jason is correct.
There have already been cases where warranty work was turned down due to data collectors being used. We linked to them in last year's thread.

There are also cases in Tx and Ok where people renting cars were charged extra at the turn-in because they sped (anythng over 75 triggers an alarm now), they went out-of-state in a rented car (accidentally or not. One lady was lost and crossed a state line accidentally, turned around and went back, and was still charged $$$ for the infringement due to a contract clause), or "Abused" the car in some way (according to the data collector, but was it really just a missed shift, sliding on ice, etc?)

Car rental companies are going to make money hand-over-fist with this new technology, and you will need 3 days and 2 attorneys to cipher all the clauses in the contract that they will use to snare you.

Just the opinion of a "conspiracy theorist".

 

And when you use it, you risk being tracked or bugged, if you buy into all this stuff...

If you have one, people have your personal information. You don't need to even use it to have your info tracked. Also, it appears you have a checking account. Same thing. Personal info can be tracked with checking accounts.



Ford advertised Pinto's. People died in Pintos. I'm sure Ford did not intend this to happen. Should they be held in the same light?

Of course. Just like any other product or service you choose to purchase or partake in, you have to decide if you want it.

Guess what. People drove cars before seat belts, air bags, ABS, etc etc etc... and the vast majority of them survived it. Are you telling me that seat belts, air bags, and ABS are useless as well, since a lot of people made it without? That's craziness. Obviously these items saved a LOT of lives. OnSTar can do the same exact thing.

You are really coming off as a bit extreme and paranoid. Again, the goverment (even though the government doesn't own OnStar... ) ... has better things to do that try to "screw me" with my OnStar system.

For reference, at least one car of mine or my wife's has had OnStar since her 2001 Monte Carlo SS... we have yet to have OnStar, the govt, or anyone else take control of our car, shut it down, open it for anyone else, listen in on us, or anything else.

They did however help us once when we got lost on a trip to Cleveland where we were in a not-so-good looking neighborhood... for free mind you. We didn't even have the "Direction & Connections" plan, just the base paln, but the guided us back to the interstae anyway.

I also had ABS code thrown on my 2002 MC SS, and had the diagnostics run, and was told it would be safe to drive the car to the dealship for service. I thought that offered a bit of peace-of-mind usefulness.. (The ABS sensor line got cut somehow)...

I like the fact of knowing if we are in a wreck, that emergency services WILL be there... NO MATTER WHAT... and faster to boot.

And, really... I hope I get absolutely "nothing" out on my OnStar... that means I havent wrecked, or been locked out, or anything else.

 

Amen brutha! People are becomming more and more reliant on gadgets (and other folk which is scarier part, since it's people, not machines that cannot always be trusted) to do *all* their "thinking" for them. I'm in my 30s and grew up during the birth of computer and videogames, own DVD players, modern appliances and what have you but I can still read a damn roadmap / consult map quest etc. and plan my route ahead of time without my mummy or some person @ Onstar holding my hand. I've never locked myself out of my car, but I'd rather break a window than allow someone 100 miles away to have remote control over locking / unlocking my doors thankyouverymuch.

 

Damn!!! America needs more people like YOU!!!
The new Mustang is starting to look damn good right now!

 

Yes, but seat belts, airbags and ABS don't allow unscrupulous people to fulfil their big-brother ambitions. So I have no problem with that.
I would have no problem with the current explosion of potential information gathering devices if there were much, much stronger, consumer/public oriented laws and measures in place to address the problems of privacy and freedom of information. But it's a joke currently. F*** we can't even get congress to shut telemarketers down, stop junk mail and the selling of our personal info everywhere to anyone who wants it. Try finding someone sympathetic in govt. and law enforcement to help you fix all the crap that results from identitfy theft. It's an slow, time-consuming, uphill battle involving lawyers and expense. Why? Why should we have to suffer this? So if the govt. won't lift a finger to stop commercial exploitation of our personal info., what in hell makes you think they have any respect for our privacy either and won't seek to exploit whatever technology they can in the future? Before you say it, yes, they can tap your phones, track credit card usage and read email, even if you've comitted no crimes and done nothing wrong. But the point is they can do this already because no one kicked up enough fuss. But saying, okay Mr Man now you can control and track my car too is adding insult to injury. Just adding more and more ways for govt. to profile us all. Which is distinctly Orwellian.

 

Well, ProudPony was questioning the safety value of OnStar in that comment... not the "Please don't spy on me" aspect. Seat Belts, Air Bags, and ABS are all valid examples to show how new technology can most certainly be effective in haeping save your life... even if they don't save every single person who has it's life. OnStar is no different in this aspect than the examples given.


Other issues you mentioned:

Since the Do Not Call list, I have yet to receive a SINGLE telemarketing call.

I get junk mail, but I throw it away, not a real big deal to me, to be honest. Maybe we could start a "do not mail" list... but at least all the junk mail is not as intrusive as telemarketing is (was)....

Also, I don't understand why so many people keep saying "the government"... OnStar is not the government.

Again, cell phones, credit cards, cheking accounts, Internet use, grocery store discount cards, any bank account, a social security number, a driver's license, a passport, and a billion other things are just as "evil" if you want to buy into all this stuff.

 

The really scary thing about this is that I can see it being a great thing for GM.

Here's why.

Around here, nearly every driving-age child is given a new car by their parents. Typically a Civic or Corolla. If Cobalt comes with the standard electro-nanny features for the same price (or lower), that might make them think to buy domestic, just this once.

If the car is reliable, good transportation, this might open Mom and Dad to the possibility of looking at GM for themselves in the future. Which could help increase GM's market share. Of course, if the car is a POS, GM has a lot more to worry about.

Paradoxically, while this will help GM in the "vanilla" space, it may scare away higher-end buyers. I want no part of a Z06 with big brother looking over my shoulder.

 

I am on that list too but it does not prevent all telemarketers. There are loopholes. God knows how many calls I get from charities that I know zero about so have no idea if they're dubious or plain bogus; asking for credit card donations. Uh right. Sure. I'm gonna give you that over the phone, no questions asked. And we have members of congress who are pressing to undo the no-call lists! Plus it varies from state to state what the rules are. Did you forrget that? Plus why should I have to be the one to sign up for that? Again this is what happens when our govt. is not there to serve the public's interests but is there to serve big money interests.

Junk mail is annoying. It is wasteful. And again, why should I have sort through it everyday to find my real mail? Esp. when it's email... spam filters and whanot are great. But again - why DO I HAVE to bother in the 1st place?

OnStar is not the govt but it could be yet another tool for the govt to use to profile us.

Sigh... I guess most of you are just too fat and complacent to take off the blinkers .

 

Did not know it varried from state to state... since it's a National do not call list, that doesnt make a ton of sense. Either way, I have gotten no calls. If you have gotten calls, have you reported them? Have you done your part to stop the calls? Also, you have to sign up, because some people want the calls... believe it or not. If they didn't there wouldn't be any telemarketer to begin with, because no one would buy what they are selling.

So what's it take, all of 3 seconds to throw away junk mail? It may be wasteful to you, but in anotherlight, it generate business for the post office, for people working for the junk mailers, for the paper companies that make the envolpes and everything else... to the people who write the content, and it trcikles down to a ton of other stuff.

So could McDonald's.. I suppose the goverment could secrety lace their Ranch dressing with tracking chips that we injest and implant themsleves in our stomach linings...

What blinders? It's more the other way around like people seeing a bunch of stuff that isn't there... there are a lot of ghosts. lol.

 

You wait...auto manufacuters will find a way to consider excessive speed in a vehicle in breach of a warranty, claiming vehicles are meant to "be operated at the posted speed limit." With instances such as Mitsubishi cancelling EVO owner's warranties due to internet postings, it would be even easier for GM to call up a list of On Star customers who routinely drive over the speed limit and void warranties.

WILL THEY? At least in the short term, probably not. COULD THEY? Absolutely. That road test of the Malibu was all the proof I needed that GM pays more attention than you think. Black boxes don't snitch on speeding. But with all the safety ***** out there these days, you just watch...

 

See.. you're exactly what I mean .