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Cellular Phone Forum / Providers / Verizon / May 2007What's with those "actual" OnStar commercials?
Like her the hysterical caller says: There has been a accident here on 80. Onstar then places a call to a cop who answers highway patrol asks if someone is hurt and then says he will send someone right away etc. No discussion of who she is exactly where she is? Town, city, state etc. Do people really believe this crap? >Like her the hysterical caller says: There has been a accident here on 80. >Onstar then places a call to a cop who answers highway patrol asks if >someone is hurt and then says he will send someone right away etc. No >discussion of who she is exactly where she is? Town, city, state etc. Do >people really believe this crap? People generally believe what they *want* to believe. GM did a good job of advertising their OS service, but from what I hear, they've had a difficult time keeping churn rates down. Something about when that reality needle pops the expectation bubble. >Like her the hysterical caller says: There has been a accident here on 80. >Onstar then places a call to a cop who answers highway patrol asks if >someone is hurt and then says he will send someone right away etc. No >discussion of who she is exactly where she is? Town, city, state etc. Do >people really believe this crap? What's wrong with calling 911? >>Like her the hysterical caller says: There has been a accident here on >>80. Onstar then places a call to a cop who answers highway patrol asks [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > What's wrong with calling 911? well the lady tells the onstar guy no one here seems to have a cell phone. Totally lame fraudulent advertising in my opinion. >>>Like her the hysterical caller says: There has been a accident here on >>>80. Onstar then places a call to a cop who answers highway patrol asks [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >phone. >Totally lame fraudulent advertising in my opinion. Obviously, they can't play an entire multi-minute call in a 30-second commercial, so they are just giving you the highlights of the calls. Among the things they are editing out are the person's full name (or are they? I haven't heard one for a while) and the exact location of the incident, for the sake of the person's privacy, probably. You actually hear the audio of the call fade out as they get to the specifics. Given all that, you can decide if you think the calls are, as claimed, real. However, I think that if they weren't real, some watchdog group (government or otherwise) would have exposed them by now.  SignatureDavid Streeter, "an internet god" -- Dave Barry http://home.att.net/~dwstreeter Remove the naughty bit from my address to reply Expect a train on ANY track at ANY time. "...I'm gonna start having sex with ducks now. " - Dave Barry, Politically Incorrect, 9/16/99 >Given all that, you can decide if you think the calls are, as claimed, >real. However, I think that if they weren't real, some watchdog group >(government or otherwise) would have exposed them by now. If the "calls" you hear in the commercials are re-creations of actual calls (which I'd say is probably the case), it's unlikely any group would raise an eyebrow. They wouldn't be lying, just telling the story using someone else's voice. Plus, it saves having to get a release from the customer. On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 05:16:07 -0400, The Ghost of General Lee <ghost@general.lee> chose to add this to the great equation of life, the universe, and everything: >>Given all that, you can decide if you think the calls are, as claimed, >>real. However, I think that if they weren't real, some watchdog group [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >story using someone else's voice. Plus, it saves having to get a >release from the customer. And I could accept that. But many posters in this thread seem to think they're totally made up. SignatureDavid Streeter, "an internet god" -- Dave Barry http://home.att.net/~dwstreeter Remove the naughty bit from my address to reply Expect a train on ANY track at ANY time. "It's unbelievable to me, but I might really be a great actress!" - Cher > What's wrong with calling 911? One nice feature of OnStar is this: if you are in an accident and the airbag deploys, and you can not use the phone because you are unconscious or injured, or you can not find your cell phone midst the crunched metal... if you do not answer when they call you, they dispatch help automatically. They are notified when the airbag deploys. Personally, I would get it if I had money to burn. I would like my loved ones to have it, even if the extra cost was insignificant. Yes, I have heard that a lot of people sign up for it when they buy their new car and are still hypnotized by the showroom lights glistening off the new paint, then cancel it when reality sets in and they realize it is like paying for a second cell phone that they never use. ------------------------------------------------------------ reply address bot resistant and human safe ------------------------------------------------------------ >One nice feature of OnStar is this: if you are in an accident and the airbag >deploys, and you can not use the phone because you are unconscious or >injured, or you can not find your cell phone midst the crunched metal... if >you do not answer when they call you, they dispatch help automatically. >They are notified when the airbag deploys. You hope. I've seen too many head-on collisions where there was nothing left of the car's battery, ergo, unless the system has an internal reserve battery, an automatic call may or may not go out. > ..... I would like my loved ones to have it, even if the extra > cost was insignificant. Yes, I have heard that a lot of people sign up for > it when they buy their new car and are still hypnotized by the showroom > lights glistening off the new paint, then cancel it when reality sets in and > they realize it is like paying for a second cell phone that they never use. I bought OnStar because of its GPS/DVD Navigation Package, not because of any telephone service which came along with it. (It must be heretical to say so a telephone newsgroup.) ---JRC--- >(It must be heretical to say so a telephone newsgroup.) I don't see why not. There seems to be plenty of people around who want a phone to do everything but make and receive phone calls. I bought OnStar because of its GPS/DVD Navigation Package, not because of any telephone service which came along with it. I bought a Lincoln Aviator with a Navigation package which requires NO SUBSCRIPTION, unlike the GM stuff. Simply replace the DVD whenever you think you need a map update. Or never! Cell phones are gonna kill On-Star. On Star was dreamed up before cell phones were so common. Kinda like 1-minute coffee water warmer. Who needs 'em, now that everyone has a microwave oven? -Frank > Cell phones are gonna kill On-Star. On Star was dreamed up before cell > phones were so common. Kinda like 1-minute coffee water warmer. Who needs > 'em, now that everyone has a microwave oven? If the advertising is to be believed, On-Star works in situations where you normally couldn't make a call, e.g. in an accident when you are physically unable to place the call. The big question is whether you believe the advertising. SignatureJustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, http://JustThe.net/ Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / sjsobol@JustThe.net PGP Key available from your friendly local key server (0xE3AE35ED) Apple Valley, California Nothing scares me anymore. I have three kids. >I bought a Lincoln Aviator with a Navigation package which requires NO >SUBSCRIPTION, unlike the GM stuff. Simply replace the DVD whenever you >think you need a map update. Or never! And how much does that DVD cost? I hope you're sitting down when they tell you. >Cell phones are gonna kill On-Star. On Star was dreamed up before cell >phones were so common. Kinda like 1-minute coffee water warmer. Who needs >'em, now that everyone has a microwave oven? OnStar does a lot more. They can remotely unlock your doors if you lock your key inside. They can track a stolen vehicle and report its location in real time to the police. They can read your engine diagnostic codes to tell you why the "check engine" light came on so you know if it's safe to continue driving or if it's a major problem. And if you lose your car in the shopping mall parking lot, they can remotely flash the lights and blow the horn. Can your cell phone do any of those things? >OnStar does a lot more. They can remotely unlock your doors if you lock >your key inside. They can track a stolen vehicle and report its location [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > >Can your cell phone do any of those things? No, but please, shhhhhh!!!!! We don't want VZW Product Marketing and Development getting any new "ideas".:) >>I bought a Lincoln Aviator with a Navigation package which requires NO >>SUBSCRIPTION, unlike the GM stuff. Simply replace the DVD whenever you >>think you need a map update. Or never! > >And how much does that DVD cost? I hope you're sitting down when they >tell you. About $300. For the Toyota, anyway. About the same price as the all-region (national) detailed map for Garmin hand-held GPS units. One of my friends had his new Caddy Escalade stolen from a shopping center parking lot. It had Onstar. He called Onstar from his cellphone, whos number is registered with Onstar's computer. "My car was just stolen.", he told the Onstar operator. She shut down the Escalade, immediately, by remote control. The cops found it, with the finger prints of both theives in it, alongside the road where it died with the doors open, the lights flashing and the horn just ascreaming away.....all from the Onstar operator.... Too bad Onstar-equipped GM cars don't have poisonous gas canisters where the stupid air bags are installed. Sure would have saved the cops time and the taxpayers money going after them. Two weeks later, both of them were chained to the seats in a bus headed for the slammer....(c; "Thank you, Onstar" is no joke. >Too bad Onstar-equipped GM cars don't have poisonous gas canisters where >the stupid air bags are installed. Sure would have saved the cops time and >the taxpayers money going after them. Two weeks later, both of them were >chained to the seats in a bus headed for the slammer....(c; This is the 21st century, Larry. Make the doors lock, the controls disengage, and have the car deliver the thieves to the nearest police station on command.:) > This is the 21st century, Larry. Make the doors lock, the controls > disengage, and have the car deliver the thieves to the nearest police > station on command.:) Actually the doors should lock, the windows roll up, the horns and lights should be going and the hear (summer) or AC (winter) go full blast! >Actually the doors should lock, the windows roll up, the horns and >lights should be going I think I saw an episode of Cops where they had the target car rigged to do just that whenever car thieves tried to steal the car. They were trapped in there until the cops let them out. Pretty funny stuff. > > This is the 21st century, Larry. Make the doors lock, the controls > > disengage, and have the car deliver the thieves to the nearest police > > station on command.:) > > Actually the doors should lock, the windows roll up, the horns and > lights should be going and the hear (summer) or AC (winter) go full blast! Just hope they make the interior very rugged, scince the theives will be trying to smash their way out of the car. If they are small build, they will literaly be trying to save their lives. (prison rape and HIV is no joke) In alt.cellular.verizon, Proprclr said: > Just hope they make the interior very rugged, scince the theives >will be trying to smash their way out of the car. If they are small >build, they will literaly be trying to save their lives. (prison >rape and HIV is no joke) Something to think about BEFORE you steal a car, not when the bait car has you trapped... SignatureSloth is the first deadly sin. http://www.geocities.com/slothkills/ For theives I prefer a turnk monkey... http://www.trunkmonkey.com/ Scroll down to the video section and watch them, they are hillarious... > In alt.cellular.verizon, Proprclr said: > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Something to think about BEFORE you steal a car, not when the bait car has you > trapped... Hello We order all our personal trucks with onstar and our fleet units now. Onstar is with the the money, VER 6 onstar is better now From steve >One of my friends had his new Caddy Escalade stolen from a shopping center >parking lot. It had Onstar. He called Onstar from his cellphone, whos [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > >"Thank you, Onstar" is no joke. Note: This post may contain misspellings, grammatical errors, disorganized sentence structure, or may entirely lack a coherent theme. These elements are natural to the process of writing, and will only add to the overall beauty of the post. >Too bad Onstar-equipped GM cars don't have poisonous gas canisters where >the stupid air bags are installed. Sure would have saved the cops time and >the taxpayers money going after them. Two weeks later, both of them were >chained to the seats in a bus headed for the slammer....(c; I had a friend whose house was burgled. He wanted to install a security system that would lock future thieves in the vestibule and drop a gas pellet into a bucket of water. He also wanted to put a device in his wife's purse that would explode violently 30 seconds after it was snatched from her. SignatureDavid Streeter, "an internet god" -- Dave Barry http://home.att.net/~dwstreeter Remove the naughty bit from my address to reply Expect a train on ANY track at ANY time. "Oh, you... you..." - Frank Burns "Who you calling a you-you?" - Hawkeye Pierce > I had a friend whose house was burgled. He wanted to install a > security system that would lock future thieves in the vestibule and > drop a gas pellet into a bucket of water. He also wanted to put a > device in his wife's purse that would explode violently 30 seconds > after it was snatched from her. Tell your friend ADT, the alarm company, has a hand-held GPS/cellphone device for the wife's purse he may want to look into. A friend of mine is in the mobile check cashing business and was looking at Onstar when I found the ADT system that will work in any vehicle (or purse!). It doesn't "install" in the car, so he cannot control the car (or purse), but it DOES do a very nice job of TRACKING the ADT operator can dispatch to the cops while the purse is on its way to the snatcher's house. There's two ways YOU can activate it. One is to call up a WEBPAGE of it from any internet browser. You have a username/PIN that opens the webpage. The webpage will pinpoint the exact location of the device within 3 meters, any old time you'd like to call it up remotely. My friend uses this on each of his armored cars to see where they are located as they travel and where they are setup for business. The other activation is the PANIC button on the device which will immediately call up ADT's operators, directly. Go take a look. Thing works amazingly well.... http://www.adt.com/mobilesafety/ Larry >It doesn't "install" in the car, so he cannot control the car (or purse), >but it DOES do a very nice job of TRACKING the ADT operator can dispatch to >the cops while the purse is on its way to the snatcher's house. Maybe I watch too many movies, but I just don't see a purse snatcher hanging onto a purse for very long. As soon as he has a moment of safe refuge, he'll go through it, take what he's looking for (cash, etc.), and ditch the rest. It'll almost certainly be sitting in a garbage can before the police dispatcher even gets the call to the officers. >Maybe I watch too many movies, but I just don't see a purse snatcher >hanging onto a purse for very long. As soon as he has a moment of >safe refuge, he'll go through it, take what he's looking for (cash, >etc.), and ditch the rest. It'll almost certainly be sitting in a >garbage can before the police dispatcher even gets the call to the >officers. I'll agree with that. This device seems more useful to catch cheating spouses than purse snatchers. In alt.cellular.verizon, The Ghost of General Lee said: >>It doesn't "install" in the car, so he cannot control the car (or purse), >>but it DOES do a very nice job of TRACKING the ADT operator can dispatch to [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >safe refuge, he'll go through it, take what he's looking for (cash, >etc.), and ditch the rest. Fairly often, it seems, part of what the thieves are after is the victim's cell phone. It seems like the ability to track the phone's whereabouts might be a useful capability... http://www.pioneerlocal.com/cgi-bin/ppo-story/localnews/current/ev/07-01-04-3291 97.html [...] two male students, ages 20 and 22, were walking near Foster Street and Maple Avenue at about 10:30 p.m. when they were approached by five juvenile offenders. One of the youths punched the 20-year-old student in the face and pushed him to the ground. The others joined in and kicked and punched the victim. When the 22-year-old tried to aid the victim, he also was pushed, kicked and hit. Both students relinquished their wallets and one also turned over a cell phone. [...] In another incident at 11 p.m., two males grabbed an 18-year-old as he was walking on the 600 block of University Place. The victim was struck with fists and knocked to the ground. The victim dropped his cell phone, which was picked up by one of the offenders. When a female witness began to call 911, one of the offenders knocked the 20-year-old woman to the ground and took the phone. [...] About 10 minutes after the University Place attack, a 23-year-old Chicago man was talking on his cell phone on the 1100 block of Garnett Place when three males broke away from a larger group and asked to use his phone. One struck the victim from behind. When the victim dropped his phone, one of the juveniles picked it up and all fled. SignatureSloth is the first deadly sin. http://www.geocities.com/slothkills/ On Wed, 07 Jul 2004 09:27:58 -0700, Scott en Aztlán <slothkills@THEyahooOBVIOUS.com> wrote: >In alt.cellular.verizon, The Ghost of General Lee said: > [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] >victim from behind. When the victim dropped his phone, one of the juveniles >picked it up and all fled. Just from what you've quoted here, it's possible all three cases were ones of the offenders taking all the cell phones so that the victims couldn't call for help right away, thus giving them more time to flee. I know providers keep and share lists of ESNs of stolen phones. It certainly must be common knowledge in the thievery underworld, too. Why steal a phone that no one will activate, and runs you the additional risk of getting caught? I don't know, maybe I'm trying to infuse too much common sense into the question, something the people who perpetrated the above acts obviously lacked. >> I had a friend whose house was burgled. He wanted to install a >> security system that would lock future thieves in the vestibule and [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >in the mobile check cashing business and was looking at Onstar when I found >the ADT system that will work in any vehicle (or purse!). <snip> >Go take a look. Thing works amazingly well.... >http://www.adt.com/mobilesafety/ Sounds interesting. I would tell my friend, but he's dead. (I could tell his wife, but I don't think she'd really be interested, and she moved out of the city (suburbs are bad enough, though). SignatureDavid Streeter, "an internet god" -- Dave Barry http://home.att.net/~dwstreeter Remove the naughty bit from my address to reply Expect a train on ANY track at ANY time. "When I reached junior high school, ... I was the last member of my peer group to develop bodily hair. I used to deliberately hang out under the moon, hoping for something to sprout." - Dave Barry >Yes, I have heard that a lot of people sign up for >it when they buy their new car and are still hypnotized by the showroom >lights glistening off the new paint, then cancel it when reality sets in and >they realize it is like paying for a second cell phone that they never use. The first year was free with my LeSabre. In alt.cellular.verizon, nospam@atall.xatt.net said: >>Yes, I have heard that a lot of people sign up for >>it when they buy their new car and are still hypnotized by the showroom >>lights glistening off the new paint, then cancel it when reality sets in and >>they realize it is like paying for a second cell phone that they never use. > >The first year was free with my LeSabre. Correction: the first year's service costs were buried inside the cost of your LeSabre, as was the cost of the OnStar hardware itself. TANSSAAFFO. SignatureSloth is the first deadly sin. http://www.geocities.com/slothkills/ In alt.cellular.verizon, "SmartyPants" <schmartypantz@(remove_this)yahoo.com> said: >One nice feature of OnStar is this: if you are in an accident and the airbag >deploys, and you can not use the phone because you are unconscious or >injured, or you can not find your cell phone midst the crunched metal... if >you do not answer when they call you, they dispatch help automatically. >They are notified when the airbag deploys. Personally, I would get it if I >had money to burn. And therein lies the flaw in the OnStar business model: they want customers to pay $16.95 per month, year after year, for something they will only need IF they have an accident and IF the airbag deploys and IF they are subsequently knocked out or otherwise unable to use their cell phone. It doesn't seem like something most people can justify paying for. OTOH, suppose OnStar offered a prepaid pricing plan, where, instead of a monthly fee, you paid, say, a $99 one-time fee, and then if you get into an accident where you're knocked unconscious, OnStar will summon help. That's a fair price for peace of mind, and would probably get a lot more people to actually sign up with OnStar. SignatureSloth is the first deadly sin. http://www.geocities.com/slothkills/ OnStar knows WHO you are because your equipment transmits its unique ID to the service center, which matches it up with your subscription record. OnStar knows WHERE you are because GPS positioning is built-in and sends your position to the service center. That's how you can say, "Where's the closest pizza place?" and they can tell you, and even give you directions. - ESJ > Like her the hysterical caller says: There has been a accident here on 80. > Onstar then places a call to a cop who answers highway patrol asks if > someone is hurt and then says he will send someone right away etc. No > discussion of who she is exactly where she is? Town, city, state etc. Do > people really believe this crap? Hello Group I know lots of you think onstar is a joke. I have to back onstar up 100%. Last year a car hit my wifes SUV head on air bags where blown. She must of be out cold for about 3 mins.When she open her eyes. There where EMS and help of all kinds. because of onstar. Our Son Was under the seat. Everyone was ok. We use there cell unit everyday works great and no dropped calls. Puts out a full 3 watts. It does work. From steve >OnStar knows WHO you are because your equipment transmits its unique ID to >the service center, which matches it up with your subscription record. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >> discussion of who she is exactly where she is? Town, city, state etc. Do >> people really believe this crap? Note: This post may contain misspellings, grammatical errors, disorganized sentence structure, or may entirely lack a coherent theme. These elements are natural to the process of writing, and will only add to the overall beauty of the post. 3 mins after the accident and help was there. That is really impressive. I live 2 blocks from the fire station and it took longer than that for the rescue squad to get here after calling 911. > Hello Group > [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > theme. These elements are natural to the process of writing, and will > only add to the overall beauty of the post. fwiw: my father in law was driving on the interstate w/my mother in law in their on-star vehicle. my fatherinlaw had a medical emergency. . . my motherinlaw pushed the onstar button and it worked just like in the commercial > Like her the hysterical caller says: There has been a accident here on 80. > Onstar then places a call to a cop who answers highway patrol asks if > someone is hurt and then says he will send someone right away etc. No > discussion of who she is exactly where she is? Town, city, state etc. Do > people really believe this crap? > Like her the hysterical caller says: There has been a accident here on > 80. Onstar then places a call to a cop who answers highway patrol asks > if someone is hurt and then says he will send someone right away etc. > No discussion of who she is exactly where she is? Town, city, state > etc. Do people really believe this crap? Works great! Onstar is on AMPS with 3 watt phones and a REAL antenna....still. Larry >> Like her the hysterical caller says: There has been a accident here on >> 80. Onstar then places a call to a cop who answers highway patrol asks >> if someone is hurt and then says he will send someone right away etc. >> No discussion of who she is exactly where she is? Town, city, state >> etc. Do people really believe this crap? Hello Larry YES a real cell phone <got to love it> From steve >Works great! Onstar is on AMPS with 3 watt phones and a REAL >antenna....still. > >Larry Note: This post may contain misspellings, grammatical errors, disorganized sentence structure, or may entirely lack a coherent theme. These elements are natural to the process of writing, and will only add to the overall beauty of the post. >> Like her the hysterical caller says: There has been a accident here on >> 80. Onstar then places a call to a cop who answers highway patrol asks >> if someone is hurt and then says he will send someone right away etc. >> No discussion of who she is exactly where she is? Town, city, state >> etc. Do people really believe this crap? Hello Larry YES a real cell phone <got to love it> From steve >Works great! Onstar is on AMPS with 3 watt phones and a REAL >antenna....still. > >Larry Note: This post may contain misspellings, grammatical errors, disorganized sentence structure, or may entirely lack a coherent theme. These elements are natural to the process of writing, and will only add to the overall beauty of the post. >Like her the hysterical caller says: There has been a accident here on 80. >Onstar then places a call to a cop who answers highway patrol asks if >someone is hurt and then says he will send someone right away etc. No >discussion of who she is exactly where she is? Town, city, state etc. Do >people really believe this crap? Yes, you can even call the cops and not identify yourself when reporting a crime in progress, so why would they question an Onstar caller? I have called in drivers I thought were driving drunk and the cops pulled them over for a soberity test, no questions asked. Terrific service that 911!!! Dave In alt.cellular.verizon, Gordy said: >Like her the hysterical caller says: There has been a accident here on 80. >Onstar then places a call to a cop who answers highway patrol asks if >someone is hurt and then says he will send someone right away etc. No >discussion of who she is exactly where she is? Town, city, state etc. Do >people really believe this crap? My favorite is the one where the bimbo calling for help says to the obviously female OnStar operator "Thank you Mr. OnStar!" SignatureSloth is the first deadly sin. http://www.geocities.com/slothkills/ |
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