Hello there drrichie. (should I say doctor?) I don't have OnStar in my 05Corvette either - (but my wife has the Telematics system in her car so I am familiar with those services.) I was experimenting with the OnStar on a '06 Yukon that's here at work. I had been in the vehicle previously when directions were requested. I remember the audio system wasn't in use at the time and the owner just hit the steering wheel button and "voila". So I went out and tried the unit several times turning off the radio volume. I didn't think about previous years and systems. I should have been more precise in my reply. Sorry. :o At least we now know that on more recent units, the system takes over and adjusts the volume. I did read in the OnStar literature that the system changed from Analog Only (Gen. 3 & 4) in 2003 to Generation 5 - Analog/Digital ready - and then to Dual Mode Analog/Digital (Gen. 6) beginning in 2004. This particular Yukon has the Generation 6 system.

 

I agree with what your saying. I also would like to get all the druggies and drunks off the road but listening in on your private conversations is not the way to do it. It could be one more Big Brother is watching or in this case listening problem. The President is in hot water over the issue right now. I do not drink or do drugs but I stand behind my statement, that's one more reason not to have On-Star.

 

I will never get Onstar......big brother is watching me enough

 

And the Corvette Forum doesn't?

Your boss owns a Vette maybe?

 

I'm glad you stand behind your comments. So do I. But keep in mind they (OnStar) can't listen in unless you "invite them" by pushing the button, and then they announce their presence so it's no surprise, at least on the Generation 6 (some point in 2004 and later) models. This thread seems to have gotten as "polarizing" as the recent one regarding C6 Annoyances.

 

ASSOCIATED PRESS
May 20th, 2005

ONSTAR LEADS NEW MEXICO POLICE TO TODDLER, MARIJUANA

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) -- Bernalillo County sheriff's deputies rescued a 2-year-old boy from a sport utility vehicle and made one of the department's largest drug busts in one evening.

It all started with a call made to OnStar by a toddler who was locked inside a Cadillac Escalade. When deputies went to rescue the boy Wednesday night, they found 1,700 pounds of marijuana inside a trailer near the SUV.

''When they advertise the security features of the system, I imagine OnStar can add catching drug traffickers to its list,'' Sheriff Darren White told the Albuquerque Journal in a copyright story. ''As the commercials say, 'Thanks, OnStar.'''

Authorities said the boy's father, Alfredo Ibarra, 25; Eric Aniles, 25; Jimmy Hogan, 52; and Sean Daly, 23, were in federal custody on drug trafficking charges.

Court records say deputies got the call from the vehicle security service around 9:20 p.m. Wednesday. When deputies arrived, they found the boy inside the vehicle and Ibarra outside trying to coach his son to open a door.

The security service eventually unlocked the doors, freeing the boy.

During their investigation, deputies spotted a trailer with an Oklahoma license plate inside the automotive shop where the Escalade was parked. Daly, who worked at the shop, told deputies it belonged to a customer but Hogan admitted it was his.

The men gave deputies permission to look inside the trailer, where they found several packages of bundled marijuana, court records show. They also found more marijuana in a truck that belonged to Hogan.

 

I don't see how one equates stupidity in leaving the system on and getting caught with an invasion of privacy ....

 

 

I believe Arizona has a felony speeding law based entirely on traveling x miles over the speed limit. Pre-arranging a race on a public street is also a felony in several states.

 

Don't trust a system that can do remote "state-of-health diagnostics " on the car while in the garage

 

I LOVE my OnStar just for the amazing hands-free speaker phone! I was able to add a phone line to my existing Verizon family share plan for $9.95/month and now have all 2100 of my Verizon minues to share from plus free in-network calling. The sound quality is superb. Only drawback is initiating a new, unstored number: the computer sometimes makes a mistake and you have to try again, but once you input a number and a name to be saved, you just push the button and say "Call" and when prompted say the name and it's as simple as that. Love it! I can forward my hand-held cell number to the car so I can receive incoming calls. Even if I don't forward my calls and I've tried reachingmy wife, for example, and she didn't answer, in a fw seconds she sees the missed call and calls back the car since it showed on her caller ID. I rarely use the regular phone in the car any more so even if I never have an OnStar emergency, I'll be very happy with the phone convenience.