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ONSTAR stops stolen vehicles


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Summary: Once OnStar is signalled by law enforcement that a vehicle has been stolen they can now send a signal that slows the vehicle down gradually.

New capability to assist OnStar subscribers and public safety officials in stolen vehicle cases

WASHINGTON D.C. (October 9, 2007) General Motors (GM) and OnStar demonstrated today a prototype technology that can help OnStar further assist in the safe recovery of subscribers' stolen vehicles and reduce fatalities and injuries resulting from police chases. This new technology, known as Stolen Vehicle Slowdown, is the latest enhancement to OnStar's stolen vehicle service and can allow OnStar advisors working with law enforcement to send a signal to a subscribers stolen vehicle to reduce engine power slowing the vehicle down gradually.

From its inception, the motivation behind OnStar has been the safety and security of our subscribers and others on the road, said Chet Huber, OnStar president. "Every service we add builds on this original promise. The Stolen Vehicle Slowdown service will allow our subscribers added peace of mind by possibly preventing their vehicle from being used as an instrument of harm if it happens to be stolen."

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics, about 30,000 police chases occur yearly and approximately 300 deaths occur as a result of those chases.

"Technology should not just entertain us or make us more comfortable, it should make us safer," said Nicole R. Nason, Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "We applaud innovations such as the kind GM is embracing that will make our roads better, our passengers more protected and our drivers safer."

"We look forward to having technologies like Stolen Vehicle Slowdown available to aid our officers in apprehending suspected car thieves and keeping our officers, highways and citizens safe," said David Hiller, national vice president, Fraternal Order of Police. "Since 1996, OnStar has assisted the law enforcement community by helping to locate stolen vehicles."

Powered by OnStar's newest generation of hardware (Generation 8), GM will make Stolen Vehicle Slowdown available on nearly 1.7 million Model Year (MY) 2009 vehicles. GM's largest division, Chevrolet, will be leading the way, making up for more than 60 percent of the total vehicles equipped with this new technology.

"Chevrolet aims to provide customers with more than they expect, and services like Stolen Vehicle Slowdown continue to add even more value to Chevy cars and trucks," said Ed Peper, general manager, Chevrolet. 'Stolen Vehicle Slowdown will not only benefit GM and Chevy customers, but virtually everyone on the road.'

Stolen Vehicle Slowdown is an enhancement to OnStar's Stolen Vehicle Location Assistance, which the company has offered to its subscribers since 1996. Stolen Vehicle Location Assistance uses Global Positioning Satellite technology to pinpoint the location of a vehicle that has been reported stolen. OnStar provides the location to law enforcement to assist with the vehicle's recovery. OnStar receives approximately 700 Stolen Vehicle Location Assistance requests from subscribers a month. The company has helped in 28,000 requests over the past decade.

"The IAFC sees this technology as an opportunity to improve the likelihood of a positive outcome for all involved in such dangerous road situations," said Chief Steven P. Westermann, President, International Association of Fire Chiefs. "On behalf of all firefighters, we appreciate the research and commitment of General Motors to tackle these issues and come up with a safe solution.'

* The process for Stolen Vehicle Slowdown is:

* Once the vehicle has been reported stolen to law enforcement, the subscriber can call OnStar and request Stolen Vehicle Location Assistance. OnStar will confirm the subscriber has not opted out of the Stolen Vehicle Slowdown service.

* OnStar will use real-time GPS technology to attempt to pinpoint the exact location of the stolen vehicle and provide this information to law enforcement to help them recover the vehicle.

* When law enforcement has established a clear line of sight of the stolen vehicle, law enforcement may request OnStar to slow it down remotely.

* Safeguards will be in place to ensure that the correct vehicle is slowed down.

* OnStar then sends a remote signal to the vehicle that interacts with the Powertrain system to reduce engine power which will slow the vehicle down gradually.

Research has shown that 95 percent of OnStar subscribers want the Stolen Vehicle Slowdown service available on their cars and trucks. OnStar subscribers have the choice to opt-out of the Stolen Vehicle Slowdown service at any time by contacting OnStar if they prefer not to have this capability on their vehicle. This will not affect the rest of their OnStar services.

OnStar's Stolen Vehicle Slowdown is a GM-exclusive feature in the U.S. and Canada and will be included in the one year OnStar subscription that customers receive when purchasing an eligible MY 2009 OnStar-equipped vehicle. OnStar's suite of services also includes Advanced Automatic Crash Notification, Emergency Services, Remote Door Unlock, Roadside Assistance, Crisis Assist, OnStar Turn-by-Turn Navigation, Hands Free Calling and OnStar Vehicle Diagnostics. For more information regarding OnStar's services, please visit www.onstar.com.

Bruce

2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

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Wow I wish my 2000 had OnStar. When did OnStar become standard on Cadillacs? I was hoping to have this function on my car when I brought it but I didnt. This is great news and a very good idea. This should encourage future GM buyers to keep their OnStar service activated.

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Dear all,

Up Side:

This application has been available in commercial trucks with satellites for quite some time. The technology has spread to celluar as well. Of course, there are a lot of other doors to lock, etc. I have used this technology or offshoots for about 20-years.

About 5-6 years, one of our tractors had a special satellite system component in it that reduced power - if the satellite system lost contact, (fuse pulles, wires cut etc). The tractor was out of our active service due to high miles and to be used for a shuttle back at the corporate yard. After the main satellite was removed and sent back to us, the driver reported that the truck lost power every 2-minutes, but only if he drove over 20-mph. I had to talk them through removing the deeply-embedded device.

I have also worked with the TSA using our small fleet in a few pilot programs, the last being a national Hazmat notification and coordination center. Its various responses were auto-triggered by any truck that wandered off course, or almost any other combination of no-go zones, on-truck alarms, etc.

It was kinds like a "Amber Alert" for Hazmat and other high-danger cargo. Very powerfull stuff to re-route all Hazmat if a bad accident with in-compatible chemicals, or if a high-power politician is in town, or the Olympic organizers get nervous - or if you just don't like Hazmat.

Down side:

Of course there are any number of really-great, life and property-saving applications for this kind of technology. My concerns for the public over time are the following:

Why not auto-stop vehicles that are driving recklessly, why not auto-stop speeders, or red-light runners, or kids out too late with the car?

Why not have GM enter into a private contract with vehicle owners, so they can set the auto-stop conditions, - as in who owns the technology anyway?

If GM can stop your car, what happens when the OnStar cellphone signal is cracked (and it will be if there is sufficient reward/motivation)? What would stop hackers from stopping traffic at random for fun? For an evil twist, what would stop a hijacker from stopping a wealthy family's car to kidnap, or to rape a cute gal they drive past out alone on the highway. You already know how the techno-movie script; Get the license, download the OnStar codes, do your keyboard-wizard stuff in just mere seconds.

After simply stopping cars gets old, then why not take care of all the speeding - by simply setting an electronic limit into the car, as the car travels on a given stretch of road?

If your car is polluting, shouldn't it shutdown and report you? This option will be very popular in California.

If you don't live in a certain high-power gated community, then your car won't work there.

The very-valid applications are only limited by imaginations.

Hey, I am the Technical-Services Manager at our Company, so I live by this stuff. B)

That does not mean I don't fear the Orwellian possibilities as well. :unsure:

Add power to leave problems behind. Most braking is just - poor planning.
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Robbing cars is no longer sporting, its not fair, especially when they go to PHASE 2 of the development, locking doors and and shatter proof glass. The first couple of times the police show up and arrest them. Repeat offenders, as detected from the embedded chip in thief's neck (a requirement after the second car theft), the air is sucked out of the vehicle and the motician is dispatched.

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why not just give me a button to push in my police unit that sends 50,000.00 volts through the steering wheel and let my fry the jerk I will still be able to sleep nights

I think that comes with Gen9 :lol:

OH well! There goes MY hopes of using my new caddy as a getaway car!!!

Texas Jim, you're on the list too....................

Never underestimate the amount of a persons greed.

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why not just give me a button to push in my police unit that sends 50,000.00 volts through the steering wheel and let my fry the jerk I will still be able to sleep nights

I think that comes with Gen9 :lol:

OH well! There goes MY hopes of using my new caddy as a getaway car!!!

Texas Jim, you're on the list too....................

Huh...what... I didn't do it, I tell you.

I'm Innocent.

I am being framed.

I want my lawyer. :D:D

I never speed .... I never break laws... I like cops. :D:D

Besides... I have Gen 7... he can't fry me. :D:D

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why not just give me a button to push in my police unit that sends 50,000.00 volts through the steering wheel and let my fry the jerk I will still be able to sleep nights

I think that comes with Gen9 :lol:

OH well! There goes MY hopes of using my new caddy as a getaway car!!!

Texas Jim, you're on the list too....................

Huh...what... I didn't do it, I tell you.

I'm Innocent.

I am being framed.

I want my lawyer. :D:D

I never speed .... I never break laws... I like cops. :D:D

Besides... I have Gen 7... he can't fry me. :D:D

Texas Jim did they not tell you they have a retrofit just for your car

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I have Gen 1, and they had a retrofit for my car but discontinued it. I think it was for cars that did not have OnStar when new (it was a dealer option in 1997) and it wasn't digital. I still miss it. My next car will have OnStar digital, whatever Gen. Problem is, I have no plans for changing cars; I just got a set of tires for the next four years.

OnStar can be cracked easily enough but there are layers of encryption that must also be cracked. For example, if the VIN is crossed over to private keys, then you have links from the OnStar module to the modem, from the module to the RFA, from the module to the IPM and PCM, etc. In fact, with the data rates that OnStar needs to read the codes and actuate the RFA -- including extra functions like actuating the alarm (honking the horn and flashing the lights), slowdown, etc., just a 2048-bit RSA encrypted link over the OnStar modem is probably all that is needed.

A slow rolling refresh of OnStar encryption keys would mitigate any problems due to any compromise of the OnStar key database. If compromise was suspected, the strategy and speed of the refresh could be temporarily changed to protect OnStar customers and the stolen database would go from nearly useless to completely useless in a short time.

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