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I've never had a gadget stolen not to mention a car. However, smart people, like OnStar are releasing solutions to make those thieves a hard life when they try to ditch your vehicle.

OnStar has a new service along with those already offered, which is called "Stolen Vehicle Slowdown" that will use GPS to pinpoint a vehicle once it has been reported as stolen and will remotely press the brakes, which in fact means that will reduce the engine's power, when the Police is on it's tail and gives visual confirmation. Here is in details how it's going to happen:

- Once the vehicle has been reported stolen to law enforcement, the subscriber can call OnStar and request Stolen Vehicle Location Assistance. OnStar will confirm the subscriber has not opted out of the Stolen Vehicle Slowdown service.
- OnStar will use real-time GPS technology to attempt to pinpoint the exact location of the stolen vehicle and provide this information to law enforcement to help them recover the vehicle.
- When law enforcement has established a clear line of sight of the stolen vehicle, law enforcement may request OnStar to slow it down remotely.
- Safeguards will be in place to ensure that the correct vehicle is slowed down.
- OnStar then sends a remote signal to the vehicle that interacts with the Powertrain system to reduce engine power which will slow the vehicle down gradually.

Cars in 2009 will have built-in OnStar services, and I am not sure if everyone is happy to give others the opportunity to slow down their car. However if you don't like it, don't subscribe to it, but wouldn't it be better to play safe? After all a car means money and it's not like losing a $20 bill.

Not many people know what OnStar is so I guess I need to make it a little bit clear that they are a division of General Motors, committed to make driving easier and safer. They have a customers service that offers assistance like unlocking or road assistance, all of these by pushing a button or making a phone call. They can also make remote diagnostics, give you guidance to choose a hotel and turn-by-turn navigation. That sounds like something I wish I had in Europe.

via OhGizmo