On-Star: what's your opinion?

[petrified.rabbit]

the only thing that bothers me about onstar is HOW much it is integrated into the car.. i mean, you can't put an aftermarket radio in without additional cost or your airbags might not go off. They can shut your car off, they can lock you inside the car, and they can change your radio station, etc.

GPS gives an approximate location and thats fine. Onstar can sell information about you like what radio programs you listen to, how fast you drive, what times of day, if you wear your seat belt. How often you change your oil, what routes you drive, ETC.
It seems like a marketing scam.

It also seems like (if you like the big brother thing) that they could call a police officer sitting on the side of the road, and say "_______ is traveling at 9 miles over the legal limit, is not wearing a seat belt, and is listening to death metal, when he passes you we will shut his car off and lock his doors for you."

[Thymeclock]

the only thing that bothers me about onstar is HOW much it is integrated into the car.. i mean, you can't put an aftermarket radio in without additional cost or your airbags might not go off.

If you've owned GM cars in the past, you might notice a trend that is not new.

I have a 1988 Chevy Caprice. It has a Delco radio that works, but it's nothing to brag about. I wanted to replace the radio with a better one, but when I found out how much work it would be to remove it, I decided against it. In short, they built the entire dashboard around that radio. Following that trend, they now have built the entire car around... their radio.

I must admit that on the Aveo the upgraded radio (the one with satellite capability) does sound very good, however. As the Brits called the truck monitoring devices imposed upon them decades ago, it's "the spy in the cab".