Even though your onstar is deactivated I will bet you dollars to doughnuts that the gps is still active and they (the gov) could track you if they wanted. You need to make a "straw purchase" or have one made for you then they would be tracking an insane 85 year old tree hugger and not you Eddo.
rocco0607
Great Falls, MT
Tribune
Yes...I bet
Obama is using the GPS capabilities of OnStar to
track where you are going and how fast you are
getting there. Do you have a cell phone, Ed?
It's pretty darn easy these days to be tracked
anywhere if you simply have your cell phone on
your person, even if you're not making a call.
Everyone is out to get you though, keep your
tinfoil hat on.
Anonymous
Foley, MN
Paranoia strikes deep.
Anonymous
Montgomery, AL
That's hilarious.
TriarchicTheory
Jackson, MS
Clarion-Ledger
It probably is not an
issue for you, judging by your blog, but should
you fail to pay your child support the
government would be quite happy with bringing
your vehicle to a halt and preventing it from
starting until you bring your accounts current.
It's not Lalaland, unfortunately, and should you
be doubly cursed by having a professional
license issued by government, you not only can't
drive your car, you can't work either... Not an
issue for me either, but it just blows my mind
that this kind of garbage happens now in the
'land of the free, home of the brave'.
Maureen001
Townhall Blogs
Heck of a tale Ed. I
never thought of OnStar as a spy for Uncle Sugar
but you may be right. Just think, they could
track me down to the Local Union Hall and spy on
my vote! Well, maybe not spy, but surely know
how I voted by my boasting how I stuck it to the
man that night. Conspiracy theories are a dime a
dozen Ed. Surely you can do better.
gas hog
Austin, TX
American-Statesman
[I know the
conspiracy theory may be a stretch, hawg, but
most people never stop to think of the downside
to having all that GPS crap in their cars
-- many of the same
folks who scream for their right to privacy at
every turn. -ED]
Striking a blow for
freedom. I wonder if the OnStar operators
are as lonely as the Maytag repairman?
GreyCaravel
Montgomery, AL
Advertise
Has our government ever
had a device capable of illegally spying on its
citizens that it DIDN'T use to illegally spy on
its citizens? You don't need to take off your
tinfoil hat, the others need to get their heads
out of the sand. Cellphone tracking and internet
usage are now standard law enforcement tools.
All of our personal electronic gizmos have
become the equivalent of court-ordered ankle
monitoring devices, only more sophisticated.
Another giant step toward total surveillance of
law abiding citizens.
colecounty
Springfield, MO
News-Leader
Hogwash! last time I
checked Onstar was a subscriber service. If you
don't want the service simply don't subscribe.
If you have any evidence that the service is
being used in any
invasion of privacy way you should report
it immediately. Otherwise you are simply blowing
in the wind.
Anonymous
[It is a subscriber
service -- after the one-year free trial.
But In order to retain a GM franchise, the
dealer must give auditable assurance of
activation for each buyer prior to delivery of
each vehicle. Furthermore, although the
GPS element of OnStar can be deactivated after
the subscription or trial expires, it is both an
inconvenience and a cosmetic nuisance because
the interior controls permanently display a red
warning light. Furthermore, there's a big
difference between having concerns and writing
an expose based on "evidence". If you
trust our current government more than I do,
feel free to allow them the opportunity to
breach your privacy. Obviously, retaining
your anonymity has some importance to you or
we'd all know who you are. -ED]
Was there a government
anybody ever really trusted? The gov tracking a
person, for whatever reason, has been going on
since long before the advent of GPS. The only
way to prevent it is to completely cut yourself
off from civilization... and there are very few
people willing to go without the precious modern
conveniences they have. OnStar can be tracked.
Cellphones can be tracked. Landlines can be
tracked. Your Internet usage can be tracked.
Credit cards. Bank account. Hell, Google Maps
can take a picture of you picking your nose
while you fetch the Sunday paper from your
porch. Anybody really THAT naive to think Obama
is the only president to allow this? Anybody
really think Bush DIDN'T do this? Or any other
president going back to who knows when? Please.
Anyone ever hear of J. Edgar Hoover? How did
Hoover get those huge files on you little
naughty little subversive hippies back in the
day? No GPS, no cellphones, no Internet? I just
can't wrap my head around the "we're being
watched!" crowd. Governments have been doing
this in one form or another since the beginning
of time. And what about the good parts of things
like GPS and OnStar? Its always the same... you
protest the tracking part, but when a baby is
trapped in a car after an accident and something
(God forbid) horrible happens, you are the first
ones yelling that "if the had something like
OnStar in the vehicle, this would never have
happened!!". Talk about double standards.
Anyways, you do have a choice... if only for
your peace of mind. Unsubscribe. Or don't buy a
car with OnStar if possible. I'm sure there are
some out there still. And, before you even say,
yes, I agree they should give you the choice in
every vehicle to have OnStar or not, or make
OnStar equipped and non-OnStar versions of all
vehicles. -
Cheers,
ThaRev
Kingsley, MI
[Only partial agreement, but
a great rant nonetheless. -ED]
It's not only Government
Motors, the Japanese are getting into the act
with the EnForm on their Lexus.
Anonymous
Montgomery, AL
Conspiracy theory at its
best, I bet back in the late 70’s you thought
everyone was a commie. I would wager that people
working for the government have better things to
do than worry about where you are going. But
there is a way to stop it, don’t buy a GM
vehicle, don’t buy a Tom-Tom, Magellan or Garmin
GPS unit, get rid of your cell phone and make
sure you wrap you head with tin foil before you
leave the house and you’ll be just fine.
Reddman
Montgomery, AL
Advertiser
[Since I do not own
any GPS devices and do not have a cell phone,
the only GPS monkey on my back for the last year
has been OnStar. I would wager that people who
work for the government would do a lot more FOR
the government than the rest of us. I also
suspect that there are way more kommies plotting
against us in the 20-Teens than there were in
the 19-Seventies. Funny how kommies will
rave and rant about the Bush administration
monitoring international calls to terrorist
states but talk about tinfoil do-rags when GPS
has the potential to be used against hundreds of
millions of Americans. -ED]
You can rave and rant,
but you are selling vehicles with OnStar as a
standard feature and you get paid. That is you
thanks and therefore you are not a slave. OnStar,
cell phones, security cameras, satellites, we
are being monitored, but don't tape my phone and
monitor my emails, without a warrant. I don't
like the idea of anyone monitoring me without
cause, but then that is the world we live in
today!
I do like the visual image of Osama on a
mountain bike, too bad it doesn't have OnStar!
honestly_john
Wausau, WI
Daily Herald
[Rant yes.
Rave no. I think I explained my
relationship with OnStar very objectively.
Thanks for the read. -ED]
So, Ed. You're saying
that when you sell an On-Star equipped vehicle,
that costs more, you're not getting a higher
commission
on the higher selling price of that vehicle?
Once upon a time, when On-Star was an option to
be ordered, you'd get either a
commission or bonus for having sold it. Now that
it's available as a pre-packaged option, you're
getting a higher commission
on the higher price. Please. I don't feel bad
for you. You're not selling it for free. And how
annoying it must be to give good customer
service after the sale of a vehicle. GM still do
CSIs? Woe for the days when one could take the
dough, wave goodbye and never hear from the
suckers again, no?
Anonymous
South Lyon, MI
[Your imaginary knowledge of
the car business is pathetic. Suffice it
to say, OnStar is standard equipment -- a
no-cost option -- for which there is no
mark-up/profit. I'll match my CSI
(Customer Satisfaction Index) with anyone over a
23-year period. BTW,
they've been keeping score since before my entry
into the business in 1987 so I can only guess
that you are fossil. -ED]
Makes me appreciate my
old cars. And my incentive to buy a new one is?
Don't you just love those telemarketing calls? I
finally figured our how to avoid Sears calling
me for an extended warranty on appliances. I pay
cash, and my number is 555-1212. ;-) I've
noticed they have MANY customers with that
number, they usually have to do a second search
for my name.
rainbowed
Great Falls, MT
Tribune
Great blog.
MikeSears
Lansing, MI
State Journal
I have OnStar and am sooo
glad to have it. I am an elderly woman who
drives in some remote places by myself and the
security this gives me over-rides any concerns
about the feature.
FROM A THANKFUL ONSTAR USER
Dear Mr. Donath,
Sir, if you are using a fairly new cellular
phone that you leave turned on all the time, we
know exactly where you are and where you go even
without OnStar.
Respectfully submitted by Sgt. Skids at Ft.
Huachuca
theglimmerman
Great Falls, MT
Tribune
Dear Sergeant-
Please be advised that I have never owned a cell
phone or any other GPS-based device and have no
intention of caving in at this late date. Unless
you boys are monitoring my keystrokes when I
visit Mapquest, you will not know my whereabouts
without burning fuel and/or shoe leather.
Best regards,
-eddobloggo