[L8 Braker]

I mean, conspiracy theorists should be going bonkers about this stuff..

--It has a "black box" that records and tracks everything you do..Speed, location, if your seatbelt is on, etc
--If they were so inclined, they could listen to your conversation at any given time
--Who's to say that one day they won't use your driving habit data and sell it to insurance companies for rating purposes?
--On-Star has the ability to disable your vehicle :2eek

Would it be unreasonable to think that one day the gov't could use this data to make sure you aren't out of your approved "area"...Maybe one day you'll be driving and hear this:

ATTENTION DRIVER, OUR SENSORS INDICATE YOU ARE GOING 6 MILES AN HOUR OVER THE SPEED LIMIT AND YOU HAVE BEEN OUT OF SECTOR A FOR OVER HALF AN HOUR...PLEASE SLOW DOWN AND RETURN TO YOUR SECTOR OR ACTION WILL BE TAKEN AGAINST YOU...

Anybody else creeped out by these thoughts?

 

[boner]

no way. i hate the idea of 'black boxes', i feel they are one of the biggest down falls of modern automotive electronics.

 

[bdrushto]

Yeah my dad and grandma have both bought GM's with this in the last year. Seems to me like a perfect target for a major scam or invasion of privacy at worst, an extra way to jack up the price of the vehicle and way to confuse the hell out of my grandmother at best. Anyone actually use OnStar and like it?

I personally have little to no interest in buying a vehicle with an OnStar system, but invasion of privacy is certainly not the only reason.

 

[MeanMike]

I mean, conspiracy theorists should be going bonkers about this stuff..

--It has a "black box" that records and tracks everything you do..Speed, location, if your seatbelt is on, etc
--If they were so inclined, they could listen to your conversation at any given time
--Who's to say that one day they won't use your driving habit data and sell it to insurance companies for rating purposes?
--On-Star has the ability to disable your vehicle :2eek

Would it be unreasonable to think that one day the gov't could use this data to make sure you aren't out of your approved "area"...Maybe one day you'll be driving and hear this:

ATTENTION DRIVER, OUR SENSORS INDICATE YOU ARE GOING 6 MILES AN HOUR OVER THE SPEED LIMIT AND YOU HAVE BEEN OUT OF SECTOR A FOR OVER HALF AN HOUR...PLEASE SLOW DOWN AND RETURN TO YOUR SECTOR OR ACTION WILL BE TAKEN AGAINST YOU...

Anybody else creeped out by these thoughts?

I was in installer of onstar back in the late 90s before they were factory installed equipment. Onstar was previously a dealer installed option.

You have to remember something, onstar is merely a transmitter, using a cell phone, and containing a GPS. Its a module which simply plugs into the wiring harness between existing modules already in the vehicle.

Onstar doesnt record your speed, seatbelt status, brake throttle percentage, etc.... the control modules of your GM vehicle already do that, and have been doing it for at least a decade already.. Onstar is simply the ability to control the vehicles functions remotely, and see its status remotely... almost like a wireless scan tool.

 

[OldSchlPunk]

I agree with you Mike, the ECU's in any car can be used for that and have for quite some time. I can't say for sure that they have done it, but an old friend told me that the dealership he worked at denied warranty coverage to people based on what they found in memory in the boxes. Knowing the dealership, it could just be bullshit they pulled knowing the customer wouldn't fight it or it could actually be true.

Your bike could do the same thing fairly easily.

 

[PhilB]

... Your bike could do the same thing fairly easily.

Not MY bike.

I will never own a car with that crap in it.

PhilB

 

[f2benny]

One of the first things a competent investigator will do if you are a suspect in a serious case is get your black box from your car. All you need to know.

 

[benroe]

The govt will soon be aquiring this technology an Obamasan will force us to integrate it in all cars so it can give us tickets to get tax money for all of this crazy shit he has been doing.

 

[Rhetorik]

The govt will soon be aquiring this technology an Obamasan will force us to integrate it in all cars so it can give us tickets to get tax money for all of this crazy shit he has been doing.

proof?

 

[fzr1rider1]

In this order...
:banana

 

[big_slacker]

Speaking of onstar, don't make your CTS-V too fast, onstar might think you're in danger!

YouTube - 700+ HP Hennessey Cadillac CTS-V: 11.07 @ 128 MPH - OnStar Emergency?

 

[R1100S-Rider]

Speaking of onstar, don't make your CTS-V too fast, onstar might think you're in danger!

YouTube - 700+ HP Hennessey Cadillac CTS-V: 11.07 @ 128 MPH - OnStar Emergency?

Fuck that! I wonder if he was paying to have it or it just "came on"...?

 

[boner]

I agree with you Mike, the ECU's in any car can be used for that and have for quite some time. I can't say for sure that they have done it, but an old friend told me that the dealership he worked at denied warranty coverage to people based on what they found in memory in the boxes. Knowing the dealership, it could just be bullshit they pulled knowing the customer wouldn't fight it or it could actually be true.

Your bike could do the same thing fairly easily.

my Mother in law drives an '07 BMW 328i, she took it to the dealer because it was starting hard and running rough. the service writer plugged the car in and then scolded here for taking 56 trips under 5 miles in the last 30 days, without any long runs in between. the exact numbers may be a little off (i heard this two years ago) but the car actually recorded her driving habits.

 

[R1100S-Rider]

Yea, my dads 2006 Ford Ranger has something like that too. I don't think it records that far back. Like it loops after awhile.

 

[ZxHunteR]

As long as they stay in the bankrupt GM vehicles

 

[serpentracer]

all cars (I'm told) have a way to see what you were doing moment before you crashed.
and now (I'm also told) cops are starting to take your cell phone and check to see if you were using it when you crashed. to give you even more tickets. LOL
great idea if you ask me.

my buddy works for ups and was telling me about the crash report of the truck.
it recorded everything the driver did up to impact.

and cell phones all have satellite tracking. so you are being watched whether you like it or not.

plus onstar actually saved a guy I know's life once. he crashed into a telephone pole really late at night avoiding a car that pulled out in his lane but kept going.
he said the docs told him if the laid there another 1/2 hour he would have bleed to death.

 

[serpentracer]

proof?

don't need proof. he probably heard it on hannity or glenn beck nfloor

 

[Stunt_101]

I mean, conspiracy theorists should be going bonkers about this stuff..

--It has a "black box" that records and tracks everything you do..Speed, location, if your seatbelt is on, etc
--If they were so inclined, they could listen to your conversation at any given time
--Who's to say that one day they won't use your driving habit data and sell it to insurance companies for rating purposes?
--On-Star has the ability to disable your vehicle :2eek

Would it be unreasonable to think that one day the gov't could use this data to make sure you aren't out of your approved "area"...Maybe one day you'll be driving and hear this:

ATTENTION DRIVER, OUR SENSORS INDICATE YOU ARE GOING 6 MILES AN HOUR OVER THE SPEED LIMIT AND YOU HAVE BEEN OUT OF SECTOR A FOR OVER HALF AN HOUR...PLEASE SLOW DOWN AND RETURN TO YOUR SECTOR OR ACTION WILL BE TAKEN AGAINST YOU...

Anybody else creeped out by these thoughts?

Since you put it that way I want to change my vote lol that is something that could indeed happen but don't you have to pay for onstar? If they make it to where ou don't have to pay then all of the above will happen shortly thereafter imo

 

[ctandc]

Old news. "black boxes" in cars have been around for over 20 years. The vast majority of them record different inputs (speed, RPMs, etc) for input regarding driving / engine controls. Most have a very limited amount of onboard memory. Once an event, such as an airbag deployment, occurs that data can then be accessed by specialized scan tools.

There have been more than a few instances where insurance companies and law enforcement agencies have accessed this information for coverage / court cases in accidents etc.

Last I remember, a few years ago, more than a few states were considering legislation to tighten up access to this info..

As for Onstar, it can be easily removed / disable if that floats your boat.

 

[TTsixxer]

As a diesel tech I get to play with various diagnostic equipments. Cummins Insite software lets me see just about everything from average driving RPM's, average brake apply pressure (how hard and how often the driver hits the brake). Average TPS percentage, average speed etc. There has been a few instances already were drivers get into accidents and they bring up the classic excuse "the air brakes failed". When I pull the log, sometimes they weren't even on the brakes when the accident happened. But I can see things like the speed they were going right before they crashed LOL! This is important for us fleet techs.

BTW this thread should be moved to P&R like right now.