Not everyone can weather an economic downturn with the grace of, say, a Ferrari. Even with Wall Street bonuses under fire from DC, The Scuderia’s North American boss tells Wall Street Journal that “our customer base is not mainly those people. Our people have serious money.” No, really. Giant, heaping piles of it. Which is nice for them, but we’re not all in that boat, ne’est-ce pas? For the “less insulated” portions of the economy struggling to make payments on our less “investment grade” vehicular assets, the new economy is here to make things more efficient. For the people to whom you owe money. The Journal explores the rise of vehicle disablers, small satelite-linked devices with which your loan holder can “turn off” your vehicle when you miss a payment. The logic goes that people miss fewer cell phone bills if they know they will instantly lose service. And if it comes to reposession, satellite tracking makes the job easier and less expensive. Some customers complain that the ever-present reminder of their indebtedness is unwelcome, but lenders and dealers are finding them harder to resist every day.
Hmmm. The whole thing looks open for abuse and has several massive holes anyway. Looking at the hard details just who exactly would be pushing the button at the other end? Anecdotally in the UK I think a *lot* of borrowed money for new and used vehicles is in the form of an ‘any use’ loan from any of the plethora of lenders out there without any security as such so this is a non-starter in those cases as disabling the vehicle would be akin to security. In terms of new cars this could be viable where the device is OE and finance is obtained from the vendor but what about those who buy new and pay in full? I don’t care how dormant it would supposedly be – its very presence would be enough to dissuade me from buying (not that I’m in a position to). I can’t see this happening over here.
Don’t be so sure it can’t happen here. Right now, many car computers store the last 10 to 15 seconds of operating parameters. They are overwritten in an endless loop, kind of like an aircraft “black box.” When you car is involved in an accident and it is impounded, that data can be downloaded and used to build a case against you. This should make anybody’s blood boil. Your own car used against you. How terrifying is that? It has already happened…when you say 60 MPH and the car says 90, the charges, and the ramifications, can change dramatically.
Hi Golden,
Yeah there are a few horror stories of the data being used (abused) by the prosecution. I’m not sure where I stand on this though, I think for safety systems development we have to give it the benefit of the doubt and learn to live with it.
In terms of immobilising vehicles that havn’t been paid for I think for this to launch in Europe the supporters may have to lobby the case that the current courts and repossession system is ineffective somewhere. It seems to solve a problem that I don’t think exists here. Yet.
Sorry guys, but this is old news. As a tech at a GM store back in 1997-98 when OnStar first came out as an optional add on accessory at the dealership. One of their leading reasons was the future possibility of “Pay as you drive” lease programs that billed you by the mile rather than the month. along with disabling your vehicle if a purchase or lease payment reached certain delinquency. I do wish that I had saved that promotional installation training guide now from GM. It would have been great to post GM’s intentions for the general public when they were riding high on the wave, now that they are asking for huge sums of money.
Where this is really taking off is the bottom of the barrel car places. Sub sub prime, buy here pay here type places.
First time I came across this I was flabbergasted.
According to the WSJ story linked:
“These so-called disablers, palm-sized devices that are placed under dashboards and wired into ignitions, once were limited to what industry insiders call the “buy here — pay here” segment: the kinds of small used-car lots that line state highways, strung with lights and multicolored pennants. But as the economic downturn deepens, larger, more mainstream dealerships are using the devices as a condition of financing.”
Of course, the story’s not without its issues. The president/CEO of a company that sells these things is a main source for this story. Not great. Ultimately though, I find myself strangely at ease with the whole idea of immobilizers. Being reminded of your debt is unpleasant, sure, but at the end of the day it’s usually a good thing. If easy credit can be blamed, at least in part, for the current economic mess, this kind of trade-off might help keep more of the risk out of the sharp end of the market.
When you car is involved in an accident and it is impounded, that data can be downloaded and used to build a case against you.
Yes. If you are a reckless driver.
Those devices make your actions accountable. If that accountability “makes your blood boil” I have a piece of advice for you: Check your premises.
Drive safely.
when you say 60 MPH and the car says 90, the charges, and the ramifications, can change dramatically.
Maybe you shouldn’t lie.
I’ve heard of this being used at buy-here-pay-here type places, where the dealer would have to send a regular (weekly, monthly) signal to the car or it would stop operating. Problem is, those places are as shady as their customers, and buyers would be hosed when the dealer went out of business.
Regarding the “black box” – that is frustrating. I have a right not to testify against myself. If I pay for a car, it should not be able to circumvent my rights on my behalf.
The first time one of these devices prevents someone from getting medical assistance, well, you can guess the rest.