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GM's OnStar system could soon halt stolen cars
By Tom Krisher
Associated Press
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DETROIT -- Say some clown steals your car from the parking deck at work. If it's equipped with General Motors' OnStar service, he could be in for a big surprise and you could get a little revenge — and even see your car again.

Starting with about 20 models for 2009, the service will be able to slowly halt a car that is reported stolen, and the radio may even speak up and tell the thief to pull over because police are watching.

OnStar already finds 700 to 800 cars per month using the global positioning system. With the new technology, which OnStar President Chet Huber said GM will apply to the rest of its lineup in future years, OnStar would call police and tell them a stolen car's whereabouts.

Then, if officers see the car in motion and judge it can be stopped safely, they can tell OnStar operators, who will send the car a signal via cell phone to slow it to a halt.

``This technology will basically remove the control of the horsepower from the thief,'' Huber said. ``Everything else in the vehicle works. The steering works. The brakes work.''

GM is still exploring the possibility of having the car give a recorded verbal warning before it stops moving. A voice would tell the driver through the radio speakers that police will stop the car, Huber said, and the car's emergency flashers would go on.

``If the thief does nothing else it will coast to a stop. But they can drive off to the side of the road,'' Huber said.

With the current version of OnStar, drivers can call operators for emergency help, and OnStar operators will contact a car if its sensors detect a crash. The service has about 5 million subscribers.

Those who want OnStar but don't like police having the ability to slow down their car can opt out of the service, Huber said. But he said their research shows that 95 percent of subscribers would like that feature.

OnStar, including the first year's subscription fee, is standard on most of GM's 2008 vehicles. After the first year, the subscription price is $16.95 a month or $199 annually for basic service, which is to include the stolen-vehicle slowdown feature when it's available.

GM would be willing to sell the technology to other automakers in an effort to cut police chases, Huber said.

The new technology likely gives OnStar and GM a leg-up on competitors that market vehicle tracking devices aimed at retrieving stolen vehicles, said Jack Nerad, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book in Irvine, Calif. He predicted being able to stop a stolen car would appeal to consumers.

``Once they hear it can be done, I think it will get considerable play,'' he said.

LoJack Corp., of Westwood, Mass., produces vehicle tracking devices that help authorities locate stolen vehicles but not communicate with them. And SPAL USA in Ankeny, Iowa, sells an anti-car-jacking system with a personal identification transmitter that prevents thieves from using the vehicle.

If it spreads, the technology could make dangerous police chases a thing of the past. Last year, 404 people were killed nationwide in crashes involving police pursuits, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In California, for example, there were 7,633 police pursuits in 2006, leading to 27 deaths and 771 injuries, according to data from the California Highway Patrol. Those figures represented a decline from 2005, when California authorities were involved in 7,950 pursuits, which were linked to 32 deaths and 1,201 injuries.

Joe Farrow, deputy commissioner of the California Highway Patrol, said about 15 percent of the pursuits are at speeds of 90 miles per hour and greater. The OnStar system could help chases end safely, he said.

Farrow said his agency has sought public-private partnerships that could improve technologies used in police pursuits. The OnStar system was intriguing, he said.

``There are some high-speed chases that we have out here that we'd like to bring to a halt,'' he said.

Farrow said CHP officers are trained on pursuits every three months and the agency has worked to improve its chase policies.

OnStar's technology could evolve and perhaps make a stolen car impossible to start, Huber said.

``This isn't the last announcement you'll hear from us in this category,'' he said.

Associated Press Writer Ken Thomas in Washington contributed to this report.

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Reader comments on this story - 15 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

Support USA... wrote on Oct 11, 2007 10:47 PM:

" This country is losing the battle for survival. With the loss of freedoms we are suffering, the apathy among the people here, the lack of national identity, the hemmoraging of jobs away from our shores, the influx of foreign workers taking the jobs US citizens used to have, the decline in buying power of workers here....see an ugly pattern developing here? We are on very much borrowed time as a nation, unless we can figure out how to operate without importing every single product we buy. I know my personal buying power gets less every year, and yes, I do work for State Farm; barely above minimum wage so don't go off on so-called "rich" SFers....The attitude about US-made vehicles is only the surface of a much larger problem. But don't mention it being only a "surface" problem to the poor folks in Michigan. They're suffering the worst economy they've ever had there and there is nearly no hope left there for the future. Very sad. "

Mabel Dishwater wrote on Oct 10, 2007 9:03 AM:

" This Onstar service is wonderful- one time it was raining and my windows were down, but I couldn't raise them because I had locked my keys in the car. Onstar took car of it for me just like that! I am now a loyal Onstar customer, although for some reason the state took away my license.... "

Well, then ... wrote on Oct 10, 2007 8:17 AM:

" ... they could also enforce speed limits with these same devices, too. Sounds far-fetched, but entirely possible. With the computing power of an average laptop, nearly every car with OnStar could be controlled. "

to sweet wrote on Oct 9, 2007 1:38 PM:

" that is an awesome idea "

ONSTAR OWNER wrote on Oct 9, 2007 1:13 PM:

" If this new service will work, it will be great!! I have locked my keys in my vehicle twice in the last year, Onstar could not get a signal connected to my vehicle either time. One of those times being in my own driveway with NOTHING in the way or obstructing it. Tried this system later and it worked fine. We don't hear about the failed attempt ratios. "

Sweet! wrote on Oct 9, 2007 11:47 AM:

" Quarreling couples can really get revenge now when their significant other is cheating or out at the bars... Just report your car stolen! "

BE CAREFULL wrote on Oct 9, 2007 11:37 AM:

" Of what you wish for because you just might get it. Tis technology has the ability to lock you ot of your car at any time BIG BROTHER WANTS. NOT FOR YOUR BENIFIT , BUT FOR THERES. For many reasons that I don't have time to list. And with some thought you can come up with your own list. "

Tin Foil Hat wrote on Oct 9, 2007 11:30 AM:

" I don't know that I am particularly comforatable in a vehicle with the ability to be tracked/listened into/manipulated without the owner's knowledge and/or consent. I think this has a real potential for abuse. I'm not a criminal, but the definition of criminal can change at anytime. Welcome, 1984. "

Hah wrote on Oct 9, 2007 10:43 AM:

" If I were stupid enough to buy a GM product, I would hope it got stolen! I'd use the insurance money to buy something that doesn't lose 50% of its value in 6 months. "

To: "Sounds Like" wrote on Oct 9, 2007 10:09 AM:

" Sounds to me that the GM products that are "junk" are really "junk". Good technology comes from good companies. "

a thought wrote on Oct 9, 2007 9:19 AM:

" can they lock the car doors and not release them til the police show up, thus "locking" in the thief?? "

Bluegrass American wrote on Oct 9, 2007 9:02 AM:

" Put a loud obnoxious alarm along with the flashing lights? Not the same alarm that one would normally hear, make it something different so people will notice. "

Sounds Like wrote on Oct 9, 2007 7:49 AM:

" good technology. . . something I would like to have in my vehicle. There is only one problem though. The problem is that it's in GM products and GM products are junk. "

System has a potential for abuse wrote on Oct 9, 2007 7:19 AM:

" You know that they technically have the capability to connect to your car, and listen in on what's going on in that vehicle?!?!?! Now of course, On-Star themselves would never condone that, however an employee breaking the company rules himself.... And I believe that also applies to when you don't continue the service after the first year of ownership. I swear my unit turned on once, and I thought I heard some "mubling" before it shut off. Probably an accident by On-Star, but it points out the possibility and potential for abuse with criminal intentions. You have to realize that those folks that "answer" that thing are all probably minimum-wage employees, like in a call center. The attraction of gaining potentially valuable information through eavsdropping would be very attractive. "

On Star^^ wrote on Oct 9, 2007 7:12 AM:

" needs to be put in ALL vechiles, and not just the expensives. Thugs will steal all makes and models theses days. "
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