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OnStar: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
By now I am sure that everyone is familiar with OnStar, the GPS system made by GM that can unlock doors, track your
stolen vehicle, or contact emergency personnel for you. You have probably seen or heard the commercials of 'actual'
OnStar customers being magically helped by the mystical OnStar system and its benevolent operatives. There are a few
things you might want to consider before you run out and get wired up with OnStar.
When was the last time you locked your car keys in your car? It seems that every other OnStar commercial I see or
hear involves someone getting their doors unlocked by OnStar at which point the now ecstatic individual praises OnStar
and even throws down a few really nice one-liners with the brand name slyly mentioned. There are two things that bother
me about these commercials. First, if your vehicle has OnStar chances are it is pretty new, new enough that it came
with a remote on the key chain. I have only been driving for ten years and have only locked my keys in my car once and
that was because I didn't have the remote lock feature. How can you lock your keys in your car with the remote on your
key chain? Secondly, if someone realized they were prone to locking their keys in their vehicle they could find far
cheaper alternatives to OnStar which costs nearly $20 per month along with fees for each 'non-emergency' use.
How likely is it for a newer model vehicle to be stolen? Again, if a vehicle has OnStar capabilities it is most likely
very new and if it is new then it most likely has other intelligent systems within it as well. Specifically, ignition
systems that require a specific key to crank the vehicle come on pretty much all vehicles now that would be equipped
with OnStar. Not necessarily all vehicles that come with OnStar have these smart ignitions but the likelihood is high.
These smart keys have a code required by the ignition system of the car that must be received or the car will not crank.
Meaning these cars can't be hot wired or have duplicate keys created. Trying to tow the vehicle away would be futile
as well because without proof of ownership a new key will not be provided by the manufacturer. And of course there are
other ways to retrieve a vehicle that has been stolen without OnStar.
You have to ask yourself if the benefits out weigh the risks or negative attributes of the system. The benefits in my
opinion seem highly inflated and dramatized by OnStar and in actuality are very limited. Whereas the risks are high,
at least to me they would be. I don't want an event recorder in my vehicle; I don't want someone having access to
where my vehicle is whenever they want. I also don't like the idea of paying a monthly fee so that someone can be so
aware of my actions and location. Call me paranoid if you like, but OnStar is just another attempt at removing civil
liberties and replacing the foundations for the eventual 'Big Brother' As a Computer Engineer, I could design my own
GPS tracking system for my car if I am that worried about it being stolen. As an average human I could remember to
keep the plastic valet key in my wallet. As an intelligent consumer I can say no to gimmick products paraded about
under false pretenses!
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