An OnStar employee works at the company's control center in Detroit. The new OnStar FMV rear-view mirror (shown below) will work with many non-GM vehicles. (General Motors)
Based on the advertisements, it would seem that technology has made it impossible to steal a car. Tracking systems with GPS can pinpoint any vehicle and direct the authorities straight to the crooks.
The car-theft rate has steadily declined for the past few years, and while law enforcement officials and car-security experts can't directly attribute the drop in thefts to the use of tracking technology, most agree that it has had an effect. And they say that if you want to improve the chances of recovering your wheels, these systems are a necessity.
OnStar
Not all systems work the same way. Only one -- General Motors' OnStar -- is integrated with the car's computer, which allows it to slow down or stop a stolen vehicle.
OnStar has made headlines with some well-publicized recoveries, including the return of a 2009 Chevrolet Impala that had been stolen from state Sen. Terry Burton of Mississippi. Equipped with GPS and a cellular connection, the OnStar stolen-vehicle slowdown service was used to locate and then stop the Impala. That service costs $199 a year and is available in more than 30 GM models and selected Saabs.
The system isn't instantaneous, however. An owner is required to file a police report that the car has been stolen. Once authorities have contacted OnStar, the service will then work with them to find the car.
The Escort Entourage CIS can alert car owners via text if their car is moved. (Escort)
This summer, OnStar will introduce OnStar FMV (For My Vehicle) in stores including Best Buy. The special rear-view mirror, which will cost $299 plus installation and monthly service fees, is certified to work with 75 of the 100 best-selling vehicles sold in the past 10 years.
LoJack has several tracking and recovery products, including an Early Warning package for $995. While that price may seem steep, there is no installation charge or monthly fee.
LoJack is distinctly different from the growing array of GPS- and cellular-based tracking systems. For one, it uses radio transceivers installed in customers' cars.
LoJack
OnStar competitor LoJack makes concealing its tracking devices a priority. "If the thief doesn't know which car has LoJack," says Paul McMahon, a company spokesman, "he [or she] doesn't know to disable it."
Auto thefts drop
- Law-enforcement officials say car thefts are on the decline. There were 28,745 car thefts in Washington in 2008 and 23,680 in 2009, a drop of 17.6 percent, according to the FBI.
The Early Warning model includes an accelerometer and other motion detectors, McMahon says, so that if a car is moved, the LoJack network can send a phone, email or text message to alert the owner. While the owner must still file a stolen-vehicle report to the police, the head start can reduce the time it takes to recover a car.
Escort
Escort, the radar-detector maker, offers a system based on technology from Blackline GPS. The Escort Entourage CIS is $400, plus $60 for installation and a $179-a-year subscription. The system can be concealed in a car; it uses sensors and can alert a car owner via email or text messages if a car is moved.
Escort uses GPS and cellular signals to cover all of the U.S. and Canada. If your car is stolen and you don't respond to alerts, a 24-hour monitoring station will contact local law enforcement and send them after the thieves -- no police report required.
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