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Conservative Commentary
by Ed
Donath
September 23,
2011 |
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Defending
the right to rant! |
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An OnStar call replay you'll never hear on the radio.
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When this rant
was
originally launched nearly two years ago it
received an
average number of views and comments from
eddobloggo®
readers. Some offered glowing
endorsements of OnStar. Some took the
opportunity to label me as "paranoid" or to
accuse me of fomenting a political
conspiracy theory.
Unlike most of the
current events-topical pieces presented
here, my story grew "legs", as
mainstream media types would say. Via
search engines, the slice-of-life commentary
continues to garner hits nearly every day from people
seeking more
information about the ramifications of owning a GM vehicle equipped
with OnStar.
At
a consumer electronics show in Las Vegas
earlier this year GM announced the release
of a product that makes OnStar
available as a retro-fit to non-GM vehicles.
Since then, the story's legs have
grown even longer. |
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In
the last 24 hours the following known search
phrases have landed users on this page:
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"Can
OnStar be tracked?"
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"OnStar surveillance capabilities"
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"OnStar arguments on tape"
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"Consumer complaints about OnStar"
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"Big Brother's eye in the sky."
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"Can
police use deactivated OnStar?"
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Now,
a breaking news story about the GM
subsidiary (some call it Government
Motors as the US/Canadian governments still
own nearly 30% of GM) having the ability
to track OnStar-equipped vehicles
even after they are no longer "subscribed"
by their owners has generated widespread
privacy-related concern. An OnStar
spokesman recently told techno-trends website
Wired.com . .
.
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"...We
may use the information we collect about you
and your Vehicle to improve the quality of
our Service and offerings and may share the
information we collect with law enforcement
or other public safety officials, credit
card processors and/or third parties we
contract with who conduct joint marketing
initiatives with OnStar...”
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In light of
the latest news about OnStar's capabilities
and its potential for privacy abuse,
please read (or re-read, as the case may
be) my original rant . . . |
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General Motors began installing
OnStar in select models in 1996 and eventually made its
GPS-based safety/security system standard equipment on most
models. I know this firsthand because I was there with OnStar, albeit reluctantly, in Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac, GMC
and Cadillac dealerships from the day GM introduced it.
By now you surely know, as a
result of hearing dramatic OnStar-call replay radio ads for many
years, that the system can do such things as report subscribers'
accidents and other emergencies to first-responders and it can unlock doors
remotely if owners leave keys inside their vehicles.
Recently, in addition to some updated navigational and
diagnostic services, OnStar has been bragging about a new
feature -- the ability to slow an equipped vehicle to a stop if it is stolen and/or involved in a potentially dangerous
police chase.
The
downside of having access to these and other equally remarkable
services is that every OnStar subscriber's precise location is
known from moment-to-moment as GM's Big Brother Satellite scans
the globe from on high. It reminds me of those
unmanned drones that finally pinpointed Osama bin Laden. I
don't know about you, but I'd rather not leave myself
open to an unmanned drone attack or even a speeding ticket from
an invisible Bear in the Air.
As
GM continues to be partially government-owned, it wouldn't
surprise me if OnStar's GPS satellites have been co-opted by the
Obama czars to give them the ability to prove that my early
arrival at Point B from Point A represents yet another act of
defiant extremism. What's next? Will they slow me to
a stop and have a union police officer detain me until I pony up
some wealth they can redistribute to a unionized shovel-ready
project?
While
I was forced, in effect, to shill for OnStar as a seller of GM vehicles [For the record, my
16-year affiliation with GM ended in June 2010 as a result of an
economy-related dealership closure. -ED],
it was quite easy for me to resist becoming an OnStar
subscriber myself. I simply bought cars and trucks that could
be ordered without OnStar. But in recent years OnStar became standard equipment
on most of the GM fleet, making it impossible to find unequipped
vehicles. The GMC truck I sold myself in 2009, therefore, came with OnStar and the one-year free trial
that they also tout
in those radio spots.
My wife
and I never contacted OnStar
and we were quite happy that we never heard from them
(other than by mail)
either. Just the same, it always peeved me having
that electronic back-talking GPS monkey on our backs.
On the job,
it was very annoying having to spend extra behind-the-scenes
time activating OnStar for new vehicle
customers. Explaining and re-explaining how it works and
how to use it was even more annoying. OnStar never reciprocated with as much as
an attaboy for uncountable hours of slave labor on their
behalf.
Furthermore, although their representatives claim
otherwise, I have never witnessed the consummation of a deal
that was the direct result of OnStar being part of the vehicle.
I was quite happy, therefore, to receive a letter from OnStar
last week informing me that our free trial is about to expire.
Subsequently, on my day off, I received a phone call at home.
It was from an OnStar
telemarketer who certainly would have attempted to convince us to become paid OnStar
subscribers had I not intervened...
"Hello,
Mr. Dontack?"
"Close enough. Who's this?"
"It's Betsy from OnStar."
"Is this call being recorded,
Betsy?"
"It probably is, Mr. Dontath. Almost everything we do is
monitored for quality control."
"Great. I'd like to make a statement. Are you OK with that?"
"Yes, Mr. Dontatack."
"I'm
a GM car and truck salesman who has been forced to work for OnStar unpaid and un-thanked for many years. For the last year
I've been forced to have an undesired OnStar unit in my own personal
vehicle. Nonetheless, today I am your most satisfied customer."
"And why are you so satisfied, sir?"
"Mainly because OnStar is finally being deactivated in my
truck."
"Are there any other reasons?
"Yes.
The phone number you called is listed in the Do Not Call Registry so if I ever
hear from anyone at OnStar again I'll sue. I have just one more
thing to say, Betsy."
"What's that, Mr. Dothan?"
"OnStar
call ended!"
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