Tin Foil Hat time - General Motors

**camper** · September 30th, 2009, 08:19 PM

This is all tongue in cheek, but I'd be lying if I said it was nothing to worry/wonder about.

So I'm flying to VA, and pickup the plane magazine. You know, that stupid one with all the gadgets and junk which is essentially a mail-order sharper image type store for the pseudo-wealthy who think they're too good for Spencer Gifts, or the As Seen on TV store--without the sense to know its the same cheap stupid crap but with a more expensive price tag.

Anyway, there was an ad for On Star (which is a GM company, which is by default a government subsidized company) stating how On Star now has the ability to send a signal to a car to prevent the vehicle from starting, or...to slow the car down to aid police in a chase. In addition to the already present ability to locate the vehicle and listen to you via the built-in microphones.

That sounds really cool and all...but--and here is the tinfoil hat stuff--with the way the .gov is in the process of information collecting between states and all that, we're opening ourselves up to big brother so casually it's alarming. The slow-down feature is on all '09 GM vehicles...can you see this becoming a mandatory feature on all other models, just like shoulder harneses or the latch system for carseats? And, since GM is government owned (and OnStar by default) it would be a great way for the .gov to have GM turn a profit...by requiring On Star as a 'safety' feature on all cars sold in the US and give the .gov and police a method to control the vehicles of its people.

There...I've removed the tinfoil. nothing to see here

camper

**God's Country** · September 30th, 2009, 08:27 PM

I think OnStar is scary. Always did.

Tivo and DVR is freaky too.

So is the net, but I've adapted

**PennsyPlinker** · September 30th, 2009, 09:18 PM

Well I can tell you now, if my truck starts slowing down through no fault of my own, those wires are coming right out!

**cigarmanpa** · September 30th, 2009, 09:26 PM

This has been one reason I didn't want a newer gm car, the good thing is the onstar antenna is easy to take out

**pandemic** · September 30th, 2009, 09:33 PM

Originally Posted by cigarmanpa

This has been one reason I didn't want a newer gm car, the good thing is the onstar antenna is easy to take out

It's a fake so that you think you're in control

Normally I jump all over the tinfoil hat type threads but I think this one is plausible. Luckily, the population of the US is quite smart and will be able to find ways to deactivate onstar. It is something to think about though.

Seriously, what good is onstar? We have cell phones which are essentially the same as onstar, I think. I'm not sure if Onstar is satellite operated but I don't think so.

An even more scary idea is cell phones. They are really easy to hijack, track, and bug. Unfortunately I need mine... unlike onstar :P