Comments on: Leftlane samples GM’s OnStar Stolen Vehicle Slowdown

By: global_lightning

global_lightning — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:45:00 +0000

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…

By: fan

fan — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 08:07:04 +0000

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…

By: johnnycanuck

johnnycanuck — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 01:05:28 +0000

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.

By: VWgrouP

VWgrouP — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 23:06:58 +0000

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

By: jonmiles

jonmiles — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:25:48 +0000

Now all GM has to do is build a vehicle worth stealing…

By: Get Real

Get Real — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:20:35 +0000

There are hundreds of GM vehicles stolen each year…….Then they dissappear and insurance pays up.
.

By: beatusmongous

beatusmongous — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:58:49 +0000

^ Now THAT’s a good idea. ^

By: AnonymousCoward

AnonymousCoward — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:38:46 +0000

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..

By: tzu13

tzu13 — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:35:15 +0000

That, or they should change it to say, “Look in your mirror, d-bag. Haha! You’re f*cked now!”

By: HoosierHero

HoosierHero — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:34:03 +0000

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…

By: beatusmongous

beatusmongous — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:27:50 +0000

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.

By: nickkop

nickkop — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:25:36 +0000

yaaahh…. how many GM products are stolen every month?? or year??

By: A4

A4 — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:18:00 +0000

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