Yeah that sounds about right. I don't think what you have OR onstar is really going to help when it comes to a vehicle being stolen and stripped instantly, as you've just pointed out.

But notifying authorities of airbag deployment is still a nice thing.

 

In Canada...
Air bags - front to rear, side head curtain; requires anti-lock braking system (ABS) on base model; requires OnStar° Service on LS and LT models

http://www.gmcanada.com/english/vehi...ti.html#Safety

 

Well, that's what makes the system I have different. It calls my cel phone the instant my alarm goes off. I tested it once. Took about 16 seconds for my phone to ring once my alarm went off. I was stoked!

 

How are you going to follow the person with no car?
Yeah that's fast, but you better hope the thief doesn't know what they're doing! heh. I can see how that would give you peace of mind, though.

 

Uhm, it's called a phone and/or an internet connection. You can update the location as quickly as you can refresh the screen. So you = sitting on your **** talking to the police, telling them PRECISELY where to obtain not only your car but the theif as well. You get your car back, the po po get to nab a bad guy, all is happy and well. What? Would you prefer lojack with a "maybe you'll get it back with lojack in less than 48 hours"? Whatever tickles your fancy.

 

Yeah, but the police are damn slow, and chop shops are damn fast. Hopefully, neither of our cars will ever be stolen anyway.

Well, I think we've strayed far enough away from the original topic.

My father works for a GM dealer and he was surprised that onstar is a $700 option on the Cobalt. I guess it has become standard on most of their cars, although it's up to you to keep paying for the service.

 

You're right, however if you call the police and say "Hey my car has been stolen and it's rignt now traveling southbound on I-15 at 90mph and has just passed exit 21, I can stay with you on the phone to keep you posted of it's location, send an officer out" Since they don't have to go LOOKING for it, they can just go DIRECTLY to where it's at with no guess work, it's an easy nab for them. But back to the original topic, Onstar is nice if you freak out because a CEL comes on, and you need to spend $18 or more a month to have a call center phone jockey tell you to go to a dealer. Then get it.

 

Apparently you haven't worked with the police before. They'll probably ask you to come down to the station and fill out a stolen car report! Unless someone's life is threatened, they just ain't gonna move that fast. Now, if you are in a small town, you might get some action. I live right by Houston, so I would just go on the waiting list.

How did you miss the whole point of onstar being linked to airbag deployment? <confused> I think that's about the only thing that couldn't be duplicated by a call on your cell phone. Since you may be seriously hurt/unconscious.

 

Ah yes, drive yourself down to the Police station to file a report. I guess you missed the part where the CAR WAS STOLEN. I didn't miss the part about airbag deployment. The airbag doesn't deploy every time there is some sort of an impact. But the reporting aspect is still functional. But back to your beratement.

Usually if you call the police and your car is stolen, they have you fill out the report and when they come across it, MAYBE you'll get your car back. This can be a problem because you have NO clue as to where it was taken. However if you can provide the police with the precise location, they're more apt to go get it because you can lead them RIGHT TO THE CAR. A friend of mine living in Miami Florida (kind of a large town I hink) had a classic car stolen from their shop. They offered a reward and passed out flyers to all the officers at the station, there were several police that during their off duty hours conducted their own little investigation and in 2 weeks found the car in a parking lot under a car cover in one piece. Now add in a similar scenario but with "The car is located at this intersection" blah blah blah, and wow. You give the police department, not only the recovery of a stolen vehicle, but also a suspect that with the aid of YOUR device will pretty much gurantee a conviction, or a guilty plea. Furthermore, there is the possibility of leading the police to a much larger car theft ring.