Recently On Star has been picking up in co-operating with police. On Star is able to track the exact street a vehicle is on once reported stolen, last week we had a vehicle stolen which was recovered within minutes because we were provided real time positions of the vehicle. On Star will also be able to slow down or shut the vehicle off. While we do have lo jack units in some cruisersnot all cruisers are equipped. *again department specific*Please DO NOT let this stray you away from Lo Jack systems because they DO work. Figured I would post this because I had debated about Lo Jack or On Star for quite some time and as my career progresses I must say I am impressed with both. So for those who can I would say purchase both if that is possible. There are a few other tricks to these systems that provide us with even more information, but they are not public knowledge and can not be shared.

Consider this as a follow up to my thread in the best ways to avoid having your vehicle tampered with. On star seems to be reserved for GM vehicles but I am sure if you have the coin it can be done to any car, I would be interested in any replies that could provide information on whether or not this is possible and or the cost.

On star video

http://www.onstar.com/us_english/jsp/plans/svs.jsp

Lo Jack general info

http://www.lojack.com/why/index.cfm


The major advantage to lo jack is that the signal can be picked up regardless of weather or location of car, concrete parking garages etc. Many if not all police helicopters are equipped with Lo Jack tracking systems.


This may not be new to all but it was certainly new to me when I heard a look out being given for a stolen vehicle which was being constantly updated when we had no one following the car.

 

Thanks, there's definitely some really good info there.

I've always heard nothing but good things about Lo Jack, so if I ever find myself residing in a highly-populated area, that'll probably be what I go for.

I just saw the wholething aboutOn Star on Good Morning America. I don't know if they made as big of a deal when Lo Jack first came out, but it certainly seemed like they were pretty excited about On Star.

 

It'd be nice if an independant company would make something like onstar. I hate when companies monopolize such a great product.

 

Next time I am looking to steal a car, I will remember that.

 

OnStar definitely has its benefits... when it works correctly. My last vehicle was equipped with OnStar and the one time it was needed, it could not establish a connection. What if I had been rolled over in a ditch pinned in my car and I was trying to hit the emergency button? Then there's the fact that, up to 2005, GM was still using analog cellular equipment! Analog was out of date long before 2005 and now that the FCC has given the go-ahead to shut off analog cell networks, a whole lot of people have OnStar units that are worthless.

I may just be paranoid, but I am not comfortable with having my every movement tracked either. And the part you mentioned about other tricks the public is not privy to, that really makes me uncomfortable. How is it legal to sell someone a car and not fully disclose this information? I realize that it is intended for beneficial use, but our rights have been rapidly eroding over the past 6 years and I don't necessarily want to be driving around in a car that can be tracked by GPS at any time and most likely can eavesdrop on me without my knowledge (is that one of your tricks?)

In theory it is a good idea (when it works), but I don't think the benefits are worth the potential abuse.

 

Unless you are a secret agent I don't see why anyone would care to track where your car goes.....oh no someone out there knows I'm at work. Abuse is not an issue with On Star it's a pain in the *** even for police to get On Star to co-operate unless the owner agrees.

 

Probably for the same reason that the NSA wants to tap US citizens' phones without warrants...

 

My A4 came equipped with OnStar. I think 03' was the last year in which OnStar was an option on Audis.

 

That is the dumbest **** ever. Who ******* cares if someone knows where you are unless you are doing something wrong and that is assuming that they actually are tracking you, which is AGAINST their policies. They arent allowed to just randomly track you, too many people are paranoid to the point that it just gets rediculous. Hey I'm not going to use this service which could save me from losing my car because I believe in the very rare possibility that there is a rogue employee tracking my every move throughout my life. You aren't the president, they dont care where you are.

And to the NSA comment who cares if they wanted to listen in, I would gladly let the NSA listen to my ******* dinner plans over the phone in exchange for the opportunity that they will nail some a hole trying to screw our country over.


just nonsense, its infuriating

 

its not so much that they are tracking you its what it leads too. It's the domino efect once you allow one thing they will slowly move in to another. Tapping phones for no reason would ne a first step, who knows what it could lead to.