kapil
The Kapil
join:2000-04-26
Chicago, IL
| Bull F'ing Crap
I bought a Saab in 2005 which came with Onstar...but it never worked because the hardware was Analog and Verizon's analog network in Chicago is not the best.
First the dealer and Saab, which is owned by GM, denied the problem. Then they tried to claim that service was working fine when it would only connect one out of every 10 tries or so.
Finally, they confessed and said there is no digital hardware available yet, and to placate me and prevent me from suing their pants off and making a big stink about it, they wrote me a check for 5k. I was pretty happy about that. But prepared for the Analog shut-off, they were not!
Onstar also provides white label telematic services for some other snooty brands which think they're too cool to have OnStar in them....and those brands are SOL too!
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Kearnstd
Elf Wizard
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ | id imagine BMW and MB services also backbone with OnStar. and just call it something else.
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports |
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cdru
Go Colts
Premium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
 ·Verizon FIOS
| reply to kapil
said by kapil  :but it never worked because the hardware was Analog and Verizon's analog network in Chicago is not the best. ... and to placate me and prevent me from suing their pants off Why would Verizon's lack of decent analog service be OnStar's fault, let alone legally liable? At best it would be they sold you a product that didn't work well in a given area. If it worked fine in a better serviced analog area, it's hardly a defective product. |
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kapil
The Kapil
join:2000-04-26
Chicago, IL
| Because I don't buy the hardware from GM/Onstar and the connectivity from Verizon separately...I buy Onstar and it's Onstar's job to make sure it works. Especially since one of the biggest selling points of their service is the safety/security aspect of it.
They sold it to me knowing full well that Analog is going away...and I suspect I wasn't the only one they sold it to. So, instead of inflaming the situation and possibly ending up with a class action lawsuit on their hands, they did the smart thing and bought off the complaining owners.
I should add that I was rather pleased with how they handled it at the corporate level after the initial BS I had to put up with while the dealer and the service rep were trying to make it my problem.
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
| said by kapil :They sold it to me knowing full well that Analog is going away...and I suspect I wasn't the only one they sold it to. What did you expect? It is a car dealership.
When airbags were mandated in cars back in the 1990s (or whenever it was, I don't remember), they still had to sell the cars which lacked airbags. They made up all sorts of silly claims about cars with airbags somehow being more "dangerous" than cars without them.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. |
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kapil
The Kapil
join:2000-04-26
Chicago, IL
| LOL. Funny you bring that up...I recently had a similar conversation about a hybrid car with a salesman who didn't have any in stock to sell.
He tried every trick in the book to steer me away from a hybrid...and towards regular car he just happened to have in stock.
I never knew that the chemical in the batteries used in hybrids vaporizes and can enter the vehicle and kill the occupants...almost like carbon monoxide. LOL.
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»PropertyMaps.com - Real-time, map based, nationwide MLS property search! |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
| said by kapil :He tried every trick in the book to steer me away from a hybrid...and towards regular car he just happened to have in stock. I never knew that the chemical in the batteries used in hybrids vaporizes and can enter the vehicle and kill the occupants...almost like carbon monoxide. LOL. Well there are legitimate issues related to hybrids that will forever keep me from buying them. They aren't related to the bona fide BS that the dealer tried feeding you, but that brings me to another point.
I personally think the best way to buy a car is to research it on Edmunds (no I don't work for them). We bought our last car in June of 2007. We ended up picking out a 2007 Honda Civic EX (non-hybrid) with a bunch of options we liked, and then submitted the quote to a bunch of local dealers. We bought the car from the dealer with the lowest quote. No haggling and no BS were involved, and we paid about quite a bit below the "invoice" price of the car.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. |
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Shark_615
join:2006-01-17
Pickering, ON
| reply to kapil
Hybrid cars are not as great as the auto-hippies would like you to believe. The batteries are expensive to make both dollar and environementally wise, the MPG is not anywhere near what the sticker says and your net savings in regards to the 'environment' are lower then other more conventional vehicles.
Of course you do get a large does of smug so that may be worth it |
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kapil
The Kapil
join:2000-04-26
Chicago, IL
| I think the real value of Hybrids is that they force us to think different. We are not going to save the planet with Hybrid cars...but if we can think up a Hybrid car, we can follow up with Hydrogen cars...and who knows what's next.
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»PropertyMaps.com - Real-time, map based, nationwide MLS property search! |
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imrf
Premium
join:2002-06-06
Utica, MI
 ·WOW Internet and C..
| reply to Kearnstd
said by Kearnstd :id imagine BMW and MB services also backbone with OnStar. and just call it something else. They aren't. Their system is made by themselves. |
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older dog
Premium
join:2005-06-09
Norwich, NY | reply to kapil
I guess any step forward is good I just wonder why they will have fuel cells in forklifts before the automakers do.
»www.wbng.com/news/local/12674222.html |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
| reply to kapil
said by kapil :I think the real value of Hybrids is that they force us to think different. We have Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel now. If more car companies started selling diesel vehicles once again we'd get a significant boost in gas mileage.
Of course, the Federal government is wedded to ethanol thanks to agri-business. Most states also tax diesel fuel higher than unleaded. I guess that just proves once again government is the cause of the problem here.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. |
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DMS1
join:2005-04-06
Carrollton, TX
| reply to kapil
said by kapil :I think the real value of Hybrids is that they force us to think different. We are not going to save the planet with Hybrid cars...but if we can think up a Hybrid car, we can follow up with Hydrogen cars...and who knows what's next. The problem is that hydrogen-powered cars aren't going to solve much either. They certainly eliminate harmful emissions from the car itself, but since we don't have access to a plentiful supply of molecular hydrogen, one has to consider how the fuel is produced. One option is to produce it chemically from hydrocarbons - i.e. fossil fuels, and another is to produce it by electrolysis of water which requires loads of energy which would probably come from fossil fuels! |
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factchecker
@cox.net
| said by DMS1 :The problem is that hydrogen-powered cars aren't going to solve much either. They certainly eliminate harmful emissions from the car itself, but since we don't have access to a plentiful supply of molecular hydrogen, one has to consider how the fuel is produced. One option is to produce it chemically from hydrocarbons - i.e. fossil fuels, and another is to produce it by electrolysis of water which requires loads of energy which would probably come from fossil fuels! Solar powered and geothermal electrolysis plants... The Europeans have working setups already in testing. |
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KA3SGM
- -... ...- -
Premium
join:2006-01-17
West Chester, PA
clubs:
·Verizon FIOS
| reply to kapil
OnStar Digital Locked To 1 Technology: 1xRTT CDMA
Their big deal is with Verizon, but the new Digital equipment is supposed to be Dual-Band CDMA (800MHz-1900MHz), so Sprint, Alltel, MetroPCS, Cricket, are possible other providers.
GSM/UMTS/WCDMA not an option, but it looks like EVDO Rev.A/B/ or LTE isn't in the cards either.
My 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix plays nice with Verizon 1x CDMA, but there are no promises that I won't need to buy an upgrade radio module for whatever they try over the next 5 years.
I think they hesitated until the last minute to see what digital technology would prevail, or at least offer the best coverage/service reliability.
That is why they just woke up to including digital technology in the past few years.
They had to consider Analog, TDMA, GSM, CDMA, plus multi-band operation.
By 2012, the current digital equipment might need replacement as well.
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"Lithium is no longer available on credit" |
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Windogg
join:2002-07-24
Cambridge, MA | reply to Kearnstd
Re: Bull F'ing Crap
BMW Assist is digital and has radios for TDMA, GSM, and CDMA networks. |
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wtansill
Ncc1701
join:2000-10-10
Falls Church, VA
| reply to older dog
Because many forklifts are used indoors. 30+ years ago as a teenager, I worked in several warehouses driving propane-powered forklifts. Propane was far better than gasoline because the emissions were not harmful enough to kill us in the warehouse. Fuel cells are a further improvement over that. |
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keyboard5684
join:2001-08-01
Youngsville, PA
 ·WestPAnet Inc.
·WestPAnet Inc. CA..
 ·Verizon Online DSL
 ·Vonage
| reply to kapil
I have an 04 Pontiac GTP and got notice. It said it was $15 for the upgrade, plus some other fees from the dealer as long as I signed a 2 Year agreement.
I am pretty sure I would keep the car and service for 2 more years but I signed a 2 year agreement when I bough it.
Contacts just piss me off... |
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margaf77
join:2000-12-22
Rego Park, NY
| reply to kapil
said by kapil :LOL. Funny you bring that up...I recently had a similar conversation about a hybrid car with a salesman who didn't have any in stock to sell. He tried every trick in the book to steer me away from a hybrid...and towards regular car he just happened to have in stock. I never knew that the chemical in the batteries used in hybrids vaporizes and can enter the vehicle and kill the occupants...almost like carbon monoxide. LOL. They only trigger that if you dont make your payments |
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AnonProxy
Proxy of Anon
Premium
join:2001-05-12
ß | reply to kapil
I'm with you! Your story sounds like Bull F'ing crap. |
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