I rant at every onstar post I come across. So, here I go. I feel it's my insignificant power as a consumer, so I'll use it.
I am currently taking a look at new cars again. If GM can't offer me a car without Onstar, I'll have to make a different choice for a personal vehicle. When I was looking for my 07 Solstice, I scratched all the available GXPs that had Onstar off the list. I am frustrated that all my prefered vehicles come with standard Onstar. At least they do here in Canada. I have put up with packaged features all this time, accepting options that I don't want so that I can have the ones I do. I draw the line at onstar.
Does anyone realize the business of databases is extremely lucrative. My free XM trial, I never used or even asked to have registered has apparently opened the flood gates to my phone. I have been called at least ten times. At least the last fellow spoke clearly and was polite. I am growing tired of saying NO!!!!
It doesn't take any manpower to keep data. Memory is cheap and a pretty simple computer can handle the load of a few numbers. Coming from an area where they used cameras to ticket your car for anything over the limit, I don't see it as much of a stretch to think that they would want access to my car's data. It was challenged in court, so it's no longer used, but it took some pissed off rich guy to make it happen. But laws change right. Especially in the name of safety. When you think about it, our really high fuel taxes might give relevance to the argument that I already pay extra taxes to speed.
I wonder why the American governement was planning a required wireless connection for OBD3?
I love the conspiracy nut coments thrown out on topics like this. Maybe I did watch the movie 1984. Maybe some should watch it. If the Demoition Man cenario come to be, I'm &#^%ed. hehe. In any case, we are paying for a service that we don't need. Just like the British with billions spent on cameras with no increase in "safety", we all seem to buy into something if it's labeled safer.
Onstar must be making money hand over fist as it comes standard in so many cars. While GM loses money and begs for help, other divisions/companies are doing reasonably well. A great scheme for sure. Onstar seems to cost 400+ depending on the car. You can get a pretty decent GPS for that, albiet not from GM.
I have heard of a dealer responding to a customers request to remove Onstar. I have not spoken to the tech so far, but will be discussing what was done in the future. I am concerned because of Onstar's BS safety label. Would removing a "safety feature" be a liability if a wreck did hapen?
It's likely that they could tell if a pcm was changed with a little investigation. I would look for the maximum RPM. It's a dead giveaway. I have searched the Onstar site to find specifics as to what it's real capabilities are. Other than a typical sales pitch and privacy policy, there is little more than fluff info available to the public. I am impatiently waiting for the GM tune. If I had any exposure to the tunes available, I might reconsider as my car is feeling slow to me. I would likely forget about warranty if something went bad with a tune and look forward to some of the power options available.
What might shut me up about Onstar would be the ability for me to access the data. I would love a wireless engine info/alarm/GPS/integrated electrical control system.... I'd pay another 4 bills to have a little Palm computer configured with my car and the ability to switch the antenae off with a hardware switch. Throw in a remote car camera and I'd probably be sharing videos of my latest Sunday drive on Youtube.
A tiny bit of research will tell you that wireless products are a joke concerning security. A couple minutes on the net will show examples of some fun. Ease dropping on unsuspecting Bluetooth headset users. Command of public address systems with wireless smartphone cameras. The sky is the limit when it comes to software and creativity and wireless tech.
Regretably, I have had to sell some crap in my days. I'm thankful I don't have to look in to a customers eyes and build value on this product. Even though I know their eyes will gloss over if I mention that it's for safety. It's really too bad, because it has the parts to make it a really cool toy. They just took all the fun out of it and MADE IT SAFE.