GM's OnStar Will Now Track. BMW next?

[998M]

GM's OnStar Will Now Track Even Non-Customers - Technology & science - Security - msnbc.com

OK, this upsets me a great deal. GM's OnStar is going to be tracking even non-OnStar customers. They say you can opt out but I am not a very trusting soul. Are other car companies next to do this? I will drop my BMW immediatly if this ever becomes the case.

M

[JCL]

I'm guessing you don't own a cell phone either then.

[998M]

Good comment. GM is stating they are keeping record and sharing your information. Is your cell phone compnay sharing your information/ If so, bummer.
M

[Rez]

I find this outrageous as well. I am sure someone will sue and get them to stop, I would personally rip the on star off the car. It is pretty sad to see privacy slowly becoming a thing of the past. And the cell phone comment was

[cfmistry]

GM today retracted the notion that they will track non-OnStar cars.

[donho]

I was stupid enough to buy an Escalade a few years back.

I NEVER activated the Onstar. They would send me a letter a week about activating it. I picked up the truck at night, so the dealer never activated it and I am so happy for that. onstar sucks. Like I need the dealer to tell me when to come in for an oil change???!!!

[998M]

Guess I was not the only one really pissed about this.
GM's OnStar reverses policy that raised privacy alarms

[998M]

It would be great if they would just sneak into my garage, change the oil and leave a bill on the seat. Maybe they can even relaod the pistol I have in the glove box.

[JCL]

Guess I just don't see it as a big deal. I never activated my BMW Assist when I picked up my last vehicle, even though it was free, as I didn't need it for anything; I had a cell phone already. As a result, I never worried about whether BMW tracked me or not. I am pretty sure that a cell phone could be used to locate an individual if the carrier wanted to, and accept that as part of the cost of carrying one.

Your vehicle is storing all sorts of information about your driving apart from location. A BMW dealer technician said to me, when I took my three week old vehicle in for a 1200 km service, that he saw I had been over a certain local mountain pass, and how was the drive? I asked him how he knew, and he responded that the vehicle stored maximum and minimums, and he recognized the altitude as the only local road at that elevation. He didn't know when I had driven that road, but he knew that I had driven it recently. That was in 1993, 18 years ago. I am pretty sure they have more data than that now.