Tuesday, 9 October 2007
GM’s OnStar program acts like big brother – but only when a thief is driving
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Last summer ForbesAutos.com released a summary of the top ten most stolen luxury vehicles, and right at the top were two ultra-conspicuous General Motors products: the Cadillac Escalade (1) and HUMMER H2 (2). Joined by the Chevy Avalanche (6) and Chevy Corvette (8), the leading U.S. automaker claimed the largest chunk of the list also occupied by Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lincoln and Honda products. Forbes collected data from the Highway Loss Data Institute for 2002-2004 model year vehicles with an MSRP over $30,000.
Today, General Motors announced a new system called “Stolen Vehicle Slowdown” built into the well-known OnStar system. Just as the name indicates, Stolen Vehicle Slowdown will gradually cut engine power to a vehicle reported stolen, assisting in vehicle recovery and potentially avoiding dangerous high-speed police pursuits. Additionally, an auditory warning via the radio may direct thieves to pull over. Beginning with model year 2009, approximately 20 models are scheduled to include the technology.
General Motors will also allow customers to refuse the slowdown service, but GM research indicates that 95 percent of customers favor the feature. Chevrolet products will comprise approximately 60 percent of the total vehicles equipped with SVS initially.
Source: GM Media Online, ForbesAutos.com and MSNBC.com
Image: GM Media Online
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