General Motors’ OnStar division is not new to the anti-theft business, but they recently introduced their Stolen Vehicle Slowdown program as a further assist in recovering stolen vehicles and minimizing incidents that may occur during high-speed chases with police officials. Leftlane experienced the capability of the updated OnStar first-hand during a simulated police chase at a the GM Collection media event held last month at Texas Motor Speedway.
For demonstration purposes, GM equipped two Chevrolet Impala sedans (probably not the first GM product we’d steal, but we digress…) with the OnStar Stolen Vehicle Slowdown function.
It’s a way to catch a criminal in the act of boosting your hooptie from the parking lot of the local shopping mall. Once you call 9-1-1 to alert the police of your stolen vehicle, they contact OnStar for satellite coordinates of the vehicle’s location (unless it’s already in a container destined for adventure in a foreign land). Once visual confirmation has been made, the OnStar advisor will cause the car to flash its hazard lights outside without causing the lights to blink on the dashboard to alert the thief as they would if you pushed the triangle shaped button inside the car.
Finally, the officer would confirm that the car was not in a position to put others at risk, and the OnStar operator, using digital cellular technology, would cause the engine to slow down to a low speed so that police could move in for an apprehension.
Although not mentioned by the OnStar officials on hand at TMS, it’s also an effective way of getting an over-eager/under-aged driver out of the driver’s seat without causing major damage to lives and property. We were impressed by the system, which slows down the car but allows the alleged thief to still control the car so as to minimize any potential hazard to other motorists. The idea is that thieves will realize the game is up and pull over before any (additional) damage is done to the vehicle. Unless, that is, the suspect attempts to flee the vehicle. GM has no control over that scenario that could also damage the vehicle.
GM has just introduced the system, which will be available in a variety of 2009 model vehicles. GM says it expects availablity to spread across the range for 2010 and beyond.
Words and photos by Mark Elias.
10/20, 4:18 PM
posted by:
A4
all recent GM vehicles have a reduced power mode already… i encountered it on mine after the battery was dead and i had it serviced… brilliant i know
10/20, 4:25 PM
posted by:
nickkop
yaaahh…. how many GM products are stolen every month?? or year??
10/20, 4:27 PM
posted by:
beatusmongous
Cool, scary and funny all at the same time. I like how they don’t let the driver know the hazards are on, but they still have the “Engine Power is Reduced” indicator on. What’s to stop the guy from seeing that and just smashing into stuff? They shouldn’t have that indicator either, so that he’d be more likely to stop the car. They should just make it slow down, roll to a stop, and refuse to start again. That way, when the guy is trying to figure out what the heck happened to the car, the police come and arrest him.
10/20, 4:34 PM
posted by:
HoosierHero
Okay, what’s up with all of this nanny technology? First you have Ford locking our features and I read about them having a speed limiter coming up. Now GM with their stolen car tech. This is America. If I want to steal a car, I’m going to want and need to drive fast. Sheesh…
10/20, 4:35 PM
posted by:
tzu13
That, or they should change it to say, “Look in your mirror, d-bag. Haha! You’re f*cked now!”
10/20, 4:38 PM
posted by:
AnonymousCoward
they should fake a low petrol indicator reading and a “out of petrol” message instead.. or a engine oil indicator while the cars slows down..
10/20, 4:58 PM
posted by:
beatusmongous
^ Now THAT’s a good idea. ^
10/20, 6:20 PM
posted by:
Get Real
There are hundreds of GM vehicles stolen each year…….Then they dissappear and insurance pays up.
.
10/20, 6:25 PM
posted by:
jonmiles
Now all GM has to do is build a vehicle worth stealing…
10/20, 7:06 PM
posted by:
VWgrouP
One thing they should add to this product..
After the engine has shut down and stoped the car, the doors should lock intill the police arive and take the crooks away. that would be worth the money..haha
jonmiles…I totaly agree..nice one
10/20, 9:05 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
The flashing hazards bit is a great theory as long as it’s daylight. At night the suspect is probably going to notice, especially if he sees the reflection off another vehicle or if the road is wet.
10/21, 4:07 AM
posted by:
fan
frankly, i must say the idea is nice. i dont bother for the question of whetherthe thief knows the car is being traced or not, being slowed down or not, having the hazards on or not… if hes not TOTALLY demented, he will notice theres something wrong with the car…
i just wonder whos gonna benefit out of this… the police, for sure… dumb thieves will be caught way faster if they can only drive 10 mph instead of 100 mph… (do they someplace state how fast the car can go at max?)
who else is gonna profit out of this? car insurance for sure… they will only have to refund the damage done to the car, not the complete car…
but who else? the owner/driver? not really… i’ve had two cars stolen so far, one was returned after the police got the guy… i got the car back, and it was a huge mess, but, alas, the insurance didnt pay a penny, as the car had been returned without a scratch (but looking like it went through a sh|tstorm, both inside and outside)
dont get me wrong, having your car stolen sucks, but having it returned, run down, ransacked by both the thug and the police; and the insurance company sucks even more…
10/21, 12:45 PM
posted by:
global_lightning
I’d lock all the doors, blast the stereo, horn, and heater; redline the engine in top gear, and disable the seatbelt unlock. Throw in full steering lock and let the gas tank run dry.
Alternatively, I’d engineer a combo airbag/taser…