What's up with Onstar?

What\'s up with Onstar?

Are they finding it hard to get repeat customers beyond the free first year?
I've been hearing a lot of commercials about the service, and the real life scenarios they use to demonstrate how useful it is seem to be pushing it.
Subscribe to the service so you can get them to open the door when your kids lock themselves in the car, or use them to call 911 when you see an emergency.
How do you call Onstar if you don't have a cellphone if you do lock yourself out somewhere in the boonies? Or if you do have a cell phone, is there an advantage to using them as an intermediary to call 911 to report a problem? Actually from some of the conversations they used, it could be helpful to use the Onstar operator as a translator-
I'm sure it could be useful in some situations like if the car crashes, knocking the occupants out, with airbag deployment, so the operator can send emergency services to the GPS located site automatically, but they don't seem to advertise that. Instead, they pick situations that a cell phone would handle better, or making a spare key for use when the kids lock you out, leaving me to /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif when I hear them.
Is there some other feature to it that actually makes it worthwhile?

Re: What\'s up with Onstar?

If you are a frequent cell phone user their reception and clarity is hard to beat.
If you need directions in an unfamiliar area, they guide you flawlessly.
If you need to book reservations in the next nearest city they will doo all of that for you, if those reservations are need due to a sleepy driver they will talk you through it.
If you suddenly find yourself with a case of the munchies they will tell you where to find the nearest McDonalds. If you are looking for a liquor store when there are other things you would rather be doing they can get you there in a hurry.
If someone is ill in the vehicle they are trained to teach you the steps needed to prevent the moment from becoming more serious.
If your car is stolen they can locate it for you so you can go kick some butt.
If you and the wife are arguing about the spelling of a word or the capitol of a city they can fix you up quick.
If your gonna be late for a meeting they can call ahead for you and explain the problem so you don't have to listen to the other part whine.
If your truck/car makes a funny sound they can run a full diagnostic and report to you without taking your foot off the gas.
I could do this all day... OnStar rocks.. You pay them to cater to your needs, they are trained aqnd equipped to do anything you need that is in their capabilities.
Humor yourself, push the button and say your in the mood for a good joke, see what happens.

Re: What\'s up with Onstar?

^^ Nice ! ^^

Re: What\'s up with Onstar?

I've heard that all GM vehicles in the future will have OnStar.

Re: What\'s up with Onstar?

I think all cars will come with OnStar eventually, now with GM and Toyota shaking hands and Toyota implimenting OnStar into their cars now too.. We'll see I suppose.

Re: What\'s up with Onstar?

easier to tax you by the mile too then..

Re: What\'s up with Onstar?

[ QUOTE ]
Pydpiper said:
If you are a frequent cell phone user their reception and clarity is hard to beat.
If you need directions in an unfamiliar area, they guide you flawlessly.
If you need to book reservations in the next nearest city they will doo all of that for you, if those reservations are need due to a sleepy driver they will talk you through it.
If you suddenly find yourself with a case of the munchies they will tell you where to find the nearest McDonalds. If you are looking for a liquor store when there are other things you would rather be doing they can get you there in a hurry.
If someone is ill in the vehicle they are trained to teach you the steps needed to prevent the moment from becoming more serious.
If your car is stolen they can locate it for you so you can go kick some butt.
If you and the wife are arguing about the spelling of a word or the capitol of a city they can fix you up quick.
If your gonna be late for a meeting they can call ahead for you and explain the problem so you don't have to listen to the other part whine.
If your truck/car makes a funny sound they can run a full diagnostic and report to you without taking your foot off the gas.
I could do this all day... OnStar rocks.. You pay them to cater to your needs, they are trained aqnd equipped to do anything you need that is in their capabilities.
Humor yourself, push the button and say your in the mood for a good joke, see what happens.

[/ QUOTE ]

See, now if they used some of these examples, it would be a lot more interesting- the lojack feature would be good, as well as the GPS substitute. Might be hard for them to give turn by turn instructions as you drive, though.

But, all I ever hear on their commercials is the same things over and over, where they have Onstar just patch them through to 911. They'd do well to demonstrate some of these other uses, but I guess they're trying to focus on the safety angle to people who don't own cell phones.

Does Onstar allow you to make calls to other people or is it only for talking to them? If it can serve as a unlimited cell speakerphone, that'd be a nice feature. Otherwise, you can have them relay Honey-I'm-coming-home-now messages. I assume it's a fixed monthly charge, and not per-use.

Re: What\'s up with Onstar?

I don't think Onstar is a cell phone. It uses a satelite connection, which can be a lifesaver if you travel in fringe areas. The other safety feature that I really like is the notfication of airbag deployment. Even if you're not able to make the call, they will notify someone of your location.
I don't know what the future holds for them. Their financials used to be buried in GM's corporate numbers and I don't think they were a profit center. The Toyota (and other) deals probably make this a little more certain.

Re: What\'s up with Onstar?

onstar is not satelite based - you would have a satelite uplink in your average car - ya right

Re: What\'s up with Onstar?

Onstar uses Cellular technology (analog and digital) in combonation with GPS.

I've responded to several Onstar emergencies, ranging from someopne pressing the emergency button, to stolen Onstar cars, to accidents. Using the info relayed from the Onstar Call center thru. the PD's dispatch to me, I've never found an Onstar equipped car. I'd say the GPS location system in urban areas isn't very accurate. Many times, ONstar will lose the signal, and there's no way to locate the Onstar emergency.

-dan

Re: What\'s up with Onstar?

Onstar is not satelite based - my bad. I wonder if there was a system that used the LEO sat phone technology (iridium) that I was thinking of. I clearly remember something that was non-cellular and thought it was Onstar. Thank you for setting me straight!

Re: What\'s up with Onstar?

OnStar uses Verizon's network and you can now use your OnStar through your Verizon plan, which is excellent since it's a *VERY* nice hands free phones. Our Saab has OnStar and although we don't subscribe, that doesn't mean you can't hit the button and play with it (Just can't make calls). The voice recognition is surprisingly accurate!

Re: What\'s up with Onstar?

does that mean you can use Sprint too? I know PCS operates in 1900mhz but they can also roam at 800mhz (or whatever freq. it is that VZW CDMA uses).

Re: What\'s up with Onstar?

OnStar can be used a cell phone, you can make and recieve calls at your leisure.
I use GPS in my truck for different reasons, but I find it the city it can be harder to triangulate due to the large buildings, but I don't spend much time in the city.
I think OnStar is trying to target an older more safety orintated group with those commercials. Just slip into a gm dealership and grab a manual, it has most of the stuff in there.

Re: What\'s up with Onstar?

[ QUOTE ]
Saaby said:
OnStar uses Verizon's network and you can now use your OnStar through your Verizon plan, which is excellent since it's a *VERY* nice hands free phones. Our Saab has OnStar and although we don't subscribe, that doesn't mean you can't hit the button and play with it (Just can't make calls). The voice recognition is surprisingly accurate!

[/ QUOTE ]

Does that mean you need the Onstar subscription and also a concurrent Verizon cell phone plan? How would that work; is it then considered another line on your cell plan? If you have to pay for a second line, I don't know if I'd necessarily want it tied to the car, I think I'd prefer to keep it portable.

Just heard yet another commercial; a family had a child that was having a seizure, and the power in the house was out. So, they went out to the car to make the call for emergency services, and was patched through by Onstar. I suppose they only had cordless phones, so they couldn't call from the house. In all the commercials I've heard, the operator never makes any suggestions for first aid medical treatment, but just relays the call; I don't know if they're able or authorized to do that. I'd guess liability issues alone would prohibit that.

If you let your subscription lapse, what can you still do with it? Does hitting the button still link up to Onstar regardless, but they just ignore you?

I guess the stolen car locator feature would only be helpful if it wasn't taken inside a building, since the GPS signal would be lost. Oh well- maybe it's not a viable Lo Jak substitute after all.

Re: What\'s up with Onstar?

Is it GPS, or triangulation via cell phone towers? If the latter then taking the stolen vehicle inside a building would be much less likely to defeat the systen, I imagine.

Personally I'm one of the black-helicopter-paranoid types. All this mandatory tracking technology, whether I subscribe or not, or want to pay for it in the vehicle cost for that matter, just rubs me the wrong way. For those that want it tho' it does appear to be a very useful system.

Re: What\'s up with Onstar?

If you subscription runs out OnStar will still respond to airbag deployment, but thats it.
It is tracked by GPS, those signals are sent via cell frequencies.
It is not an effective method for a pro thief, it is easily disabled in just a few seconds. Theft is not it's purpose, but if a kid takes your car for a joy ride, it will be effective.
There were rumors that OnStar can monitor inside conversations and track your position against your will. OnStar does not employ the tens of thousands of people nessasary to do that, thats called Big Brother syndrome. Besides, the illegalities of that probally isn't something the company would want to risk, they are trying to grow like any other company.

Re: What\'s up with Onstar?

Hey Pydpiper, where you getting your info?

If your subscription runs out, OnStar will do NOTHING. You won't have an active subscription with them, so if your Airbag deploys it might alert OnStar, but they'll be helpless to do anything since they won't have your information.

*GPS* or Global Positioning Satellite implies (and in this case, it's true) that the signal comes from the same GPS satellites that everything else that is GPS uses. The OnStar box is literally a Motorola GPS and a 3W Motorola analog phone that works on the Verizon network with a 1200 baud modem. When you hit the OnStar button it connects, uses the modem to upload your current GPS cordinates, any car computer diagnostics codes, and then connects you to a operator. They can't track you in realtime and talk to you at the same time because the modem -- they can track a theft in realtime because they don't need to talk to the theif. There are even hacks out there do hook a serial cable into your OnStar unit and hijack the GPS data for use with a laptop.

If you don't have a subscription and you hit the button, I think it links you up to create a subscription. I've never tried it. If you hit the "dot" button that you can play with the OnStar interface because you're not yet making a call.

Don't over-estimate thiefs. Read an account of a car theif that kept detering Cops. Stole lots of cars (Don't remember how many) and a few times when cops would get close to catching him he'd just jump, tuck, roll, and run. Stole a Hummer H2 and thought if he busted the OnStar buttons out of the dash OnStar wouldn't work. Not saying it's an impermiable system, just saying it deserves a little more credit than you give it.

I think OnStar is a really great system, but overpriced. The cheapest "Safety and Security" plan is basically a $17/month passive safety feature for your car -- that is, you pay $17 and don't get anything out of it unless you crash, your car is stolen, or you use the OnStar emergency button. Seems pretty expensive seeing as traditional cell phone plans start at $20/month and many new cell phones are GPS enabled. XM radio is only $13 a month and you can use it all month! If I locked my keys in my car every month or crashed each month it would be a bargain, but it's hard to justify $17/month for "Just in case I crash." The extra features described above (Show tickets, directions, etc.) will cost you $35/month.

I think, especially as OnStar rushes to revamp the technology behind their product (Starting soon here analog cell service will be phased out -- federal law) they should also look at their subscription system. I wouldn't mind an a'la carte subscription where you agree ahead of time to pay like $15 for each remote unlock and $100 for an airbag deployment or something like that.

Re: What\'s up with Onstar?

[ QUOTE ]
Pydpiper said:
There were rumors that OnStar can monitor inside conversations and track your position against your will. OnStar does not employ the tens of thousands of people nessasary to do that, thats called Big Brother syndrome. Besides, the illegalities of that probally isn't something the company would want to risk, they are trying to grow like any other company.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not a rumor...

[ QUOTE ]
But the same technology permits eavesdropping, the judge noted, and has thus caught the interest of the FBI, leading to yesterday's review of a series of orders by U.S. District Judge Lloyd D. George of the District of Nevada. George approved a series of four 30-day "roving" wiretap orders requiring the system operator to assist in the investigation by permitting the FBI to monitor conversations within the vehicle.
...
The Ninth Circuit declined to identify the system operator, referring cryptically to "The Company" throughout the opinion. But its explanation of the system describes the technology placed in about two dozen models of luxury cars by General Motors, and operated by GM's OnStar Corp. subsidiary.

[/ QUOTE ]

Personally, I would not have a cell phone next to me if I was planning anything illegal... It would not be difficult for the "government" to require the ability for the cell phone provider to program a remote off-hook command for them to listen in silently (especially since OnStar basically is a cell phone service that already has this functionality).

-Bill

Re: What\'s up with Onstar?

[ QUOTE ]
Saaby said:
I wouldn't mind an a'la carte subscription where you agree ahead of time to pay like $15 for each remote unlock and $100 for an airbag deployment or something like that.

[/ QUOTE ]

That'd be a good idea, I could go for that- no cost for no use. But then, what if I want to call 911 on my own rather than spend $100 for them to do it for me? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Though if they were to implement something like that, they probably would still need to charge some baseline monthly fee, since they'd have to allocate some resources to maintaining the capability.
If they charge that much more for the extra capabilities from the operators, I'd be sure to get my joke of the day on a regular basis! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif