Ford has announced that it will begin offering a new vehicle tracking service to rival General Motors’ OnStar service. Dubbed SmartAlert, the system will be a dealer-installed option and will compliment Ford’s Sync infotainment system.
SmartAlert will be available on Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles and will use a GPS system to help locate stole vehicles. SmartAlert will use cellular networks to send the stolen vehicle’s location to the proper authorities.
Also like OnStar, SmartAlert will be able to unlock the vehicle’s doors through a call center or online interface. In the future, the technology will allow the car’s owners to unlock the vehicle’s doors via a cell phone.
SmartAlert will also offer parents a tracking option for teen-aged drivers. The system can alert parents by email or text message if the vehicle is being driven at an excessive speed.
According to Automotive News, installation and hardware for the SmartAlert system will cost between $700 and $1,200, with customers paying a subscription fee after that to keep the service.
02/21, 5:05 PM
posted by:
pezones
GAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
02/21, 5:11 PM
posted by:
doublearon21
Making people pay to install it is why it will take Ford years to catch up to OnStar. Thats why it took years to catch on with GM.
02/21, 5:27 PM
posted by:
RicardoHead
a grand for this crap? yeah, ok, surrrre
02/21, 5:32 PM
posted by:
SS4LIFE
so it can alert parents if their teen-aged drivers are driving at excessive speeds? That sucks for the young generations to come haha as soon as I got my license back in the day I was already attempting to top out my car on the nearest freeway (just don’t ask me what a 2.2 Cavalier tops out at)… Man these kids aren’t going to have the kind of fun that we all had… I feel sorry for them.
Well it offers some cool features, and with SYNC it should be able rival Onstar. Funny now though that the other domestics are just offerring services to rival Onstar when it’s been out for well over a decade.
02/21, 5:37 PM
posted by:
CA36GTP
Welcome to the late 90s, Ford.
Ford is continuing with their fine tradition of taking someone else’s advancements, slapping a goofy name on them, and reselling them.
02/21, 6:51 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
SS4LIFE: it was OK when we were out driving like maniacs the day we got our learners permit because we knew what we were doing! It was in our genes. So what if mom smoked and drank while we were in the womb, that just made us better prepared for the real world. Kids today don’t know **** from shinola. Everything was better back then: tits were real and a hybrid was something you smoked. I’d go on, but I started the day with only 8 beer in the fridge and 6 of those have since gone on to a better place, so I’m off to the liquor store for more ammo…
02/21, 6:59 PM
posted by:
SS4LIFE
LMAO johnnycanuck! You said it! Yeah well society as a general can’t drive anymore. I can’t believe my own eyes with some of the **** I see drivers pull these days, and I’m talking about everyone. I swear my blood pressure increases by the day from trying to put up with these idiots on the road. I guess maybe we do need more systems like SmartAlert with the drivers on the roads these days… And it’s only getting worse.
02/21, 7:23 PM
posted by:
droppedgmc02
Hahahaha i totally agree johnnycanuck on this one. It’s crazy but I get so mad to see people driving so slow when they could go so much faster. I hate The way it is now days. Maybe im getting older but geez.
02/21, 7:30 PM
posted by:
corvette
i don’t have any faith in ford.
02/21, 10:33 PM
posted by:
Scott Kempton
I hope the dealer-installed part of this is only temporary, to be followed next year by factory-installed systems. It sounds a bit like a desparate move by Ford to cash in on what has turned out to be a valuable feature by GM.
And before any you accuse me of Ford-hating, my recently-purchased ‘06 Ford Fusion SEL is doing just fine. It’s a great car that is a worthy replacement for my ‘03 VW Passat.
02/22, 12:15 AM
posted by:
gizmo2
So you guys think GM gives away OnStar for free. It’s in the price!!!! Nothing is free. Teenagers going 90 mph is fun until they crash and kill them self and take out a soccer Mom and a minivan full of kids who will not have the chance to have fun. How selfish? Compitition is good I like it.
02/22, 8:52 AM
posted by:
mujician
Ford has got to do this for competitions sake. I feel Ford never needed this options as it is almost the only compny out their with keyless entry door access, and almost everyone has a cell phone. When you call onstar you have to wait for a stupid operator anyway. Dumb…
02/22, 10:41 AM
posted by:
Blakkarr
Why am I thinking “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” when I read this article.
FORD needs to spends a few more minutes thinking about names. Otherwise, FINALLY! I have been waiting for this for years. But these OnStar and SmartAlert sounds like yet another way to yank money from customers. It all matters what you can do with the service. If FORD’s is just for emergencies, then it’s not going to go over well. OnStar practically turns your car into a Cellphone, you can do so much with it that you never really think of the emergency uses under you really need it.
We’ll see…
02/22, 10:50 AM
posted by:
cookie4me
I don’t see myself paying a grand for that. Yes, GM has built in the cost but if you look at the cost to delete On-Star it only saves you like $200. So Ford’s system is going to cost 5x what On-Star costs. I’m sure a lot of the difference goes to labor at the dealership.
02/25, 4:22 PM
posted by:
Heart64
Yeah GM is telling you On_Star is $200 to Delete from the package Cookie, but that may be creative accounting to keep you or I knowing what the base cost of ON-STAR is that is already built into each vehicle is!? In other words they could be hiding some of the cost in the base model whether you get the vehicle equipped with it or not. They can tell you whatever they want is the base vehicle price.