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Privacy Transportation

OnStar Terms and Conditions Update Raises Privacy Concerns 185

Posted by Soulskill from the we-don't-need-this-kind-of-help dept.
PainMeds writes "An article by author Jonathan Zdziarski reveals that OnStar has recently updated their terms and conditions to allow the company to sell customer GPS coordinates, vehicle speed, and other information to third party marketers and analytics companies, where it could be used for a number of nefarious purposes. He says, 'To add insult to a slap in the face, the company insists they will continue collecting and selling this personal information even after you cancel your service, unless you specifically shut down the data connection to the vehicle after canceling. ... It sounds as though OnStar is poising part of their analytics department to be purchased by a large data warehousing company, such as a Google, or perhaps even an Apple. Do you trust such companies with unfettered access to the entire GPS history of your vehicle?"
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OnStar Terms and Conditions Update Raises Privacy Concerns More

OnStar Terms and Conditions Update Raises Privacy Concerns

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  • It sounds as though OnStar is poising part of their analytics department to be purchased by a large data warehousing company, such as a Google, or perhaps even an Apple.

    Nothing like wild baseless speculation that trashes Slashdot's hated mega-corporation du jour...

    Anyway, why would they sell such a huge profit center?

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Yeah.....Hell, I bet they'll make a fortune selling the information to your car insurance's marketing department so that they'll know how to target you to sell you more insurance and raise your premium.

      • Re:Oh please... (Score:5, Interesting)

        by theshowmecanuck ( 703852 ) on Wednesday September 21, 2011 @05:58AM (#37465990) Journal

        I used to work for a company that makes and is marketing a GPS tracking system exactly for this purpose. It includes their proprietary GPS tracking device and firmware, and server side software to store the data and do preliminary analysis (but the insurance companies mostly just care about the raw data and will do their own processing). And the insurance companies are very interested in buying data on where and how you drive. So this is pretty much a sure bet. I have to say that I wasn't very comfortable working for a company making 'big brother' devices.

        Another use for this kind of data is for road charging programs for the government. Governments get a lot of their money for upkeep of the roadways from fuel taxes. But as fuel economy goes up, the relative tax revenue for miles driven (which translates to wear and tear on the roads) goes down. So many governments are looking to charging for road use. i.e. pay for the amount of miles/kilometers driven, based on the type of road (expressway, interstate/motorway, two lane blacktop, city cores, etc), time of day (peak/off peak hours), and type of vehicle. Something like Onstar technology fits in nicely with this too.

    • The intent is clear (Score:5, Insightful)

      by macraig ( 621737 ) <mark.a.craigNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Tuesday September 20, 2011 @09:50PM (#37463806)

      The fact that OnStar took pains to alter their ToS in this specific fashion means that they're clearly thinking about it and perhaps even planning to do it. The INTENT is clearly stated, and intent is all that matters. Since OnStar intends to make such a thing legally and technically feasible, they can't be trusted NOT to do it.

      • I guess I didn't make myself clear:

        The key to my comment is the quote that OnStar might sell the division to Google or Apple.

        I think it's too much of a money maker for OnStar to sell to Google or Apple. They will keep it as a service and rake in the cash-ola.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by macraig ( 621737 )

          Your guess is right; that isn't what I thought you meant. I'm still glad I got to make the point I did, just perhaps not in reply to yours....

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by the CIA mind-control ( 2466322 )
        Still, at least OnStar is undertaking this for good, clean, capitalistic profit motives, and not for any conceivable usage in oppression and repression. There is no chance that the government would ever consider abusing these kind of commercial access arrangements to work around any theoretical constitutional limitations on tracking the citizens we own. There is nothing to fear.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by macraig ( 621737 )

          Does that hurt? I bet it would if you're one of those people with a pointy tongue. :-)

        • The day I purchased my car I disabled my onstar on the lot, I don't need it and thought of all the privacy concerns about having it on. The few benefits of having the system never outweighed my privacy concerns there are three cables that need to be disconnected the wiring harness, cell antenna, and gps antenna. I always figured if I could do it in less then a minute a criminal could as well.
      • Send across to them your ToS and mention that you like to place a tracking device in their executives cars.

    • Nothing like wild baseless speculation that trashes Slashdot's hated mega-corporation du jour...

      You don't think your insurance company would buy a record of your driving habits? Including what roads you traveled on and what speed you were going? Seriously? You really don't think they'd be interested in that information? I'm not being paranoid. You're being naive.

    • Re:Oh please... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Jane Q. Public ( 1010737 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2011 @10:31PM (#37464062)
      I used to work in the IT end of the insurance industry, and believe me, data is their bread and butter. Insurance companies would love to have something like this.

      I also have to agree with the other posters: as we have seen in recent years with TOS from Facebook, Google and others, if it's in there, they're probably going to do it. They don't hire lawyers to put that stuff in there for no reason... it isn't worded in such a way that it would really cover their asses for any liability, if they DON'T do it. So then... why else is it there?

      Third, "anonymized" data, as we know very well by now, does not guarantee privacy. Especially location data. If you know where somebody lives, it should be easy to follow their movements with that data, anonymized or not.

      And finally: after all these years, I get to say "I told you so" to the people who got OnStar. After all, it's not as though this wasn't foreseen by a lot of people.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mbkennel ( 97636 )

      "Anyway, why would they sell such a huge profit center?"

      Because they can make lots and lots of money by selling unique, valuable data to companies who have more capability in extracting money from data.

  • "they will continue collecting and selling this personal information even after you cancel your service"

    I wish I were a class-action lawyer, because this is retirement material. I understand that GM has money again.

    • Time to get a screwdriver and cut out the cancer that OnStar has become. In one policy change, they remove all white-knight status and become boorish, privacy robbing satans. Good Job, OnStar. Hope that wears well on ya.

      • Re:Hmm... (Score:5, Informative)

        by TheGothicGuardian ( 1138155 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2011 @09:41PM (#37463744)

        Time to get a screwdriver and cut out the cancer that OnStar has become.

        I believe you can just pull a dedicated fuse, actually.

        • Perfect.

          • Until they make some change that removing the fuse constitutes some kind of DMCA or other copyright violation; and that the only way is to have it permanently deactivated is by an authorized service person.

            • Chances are they'd have to modify the wiring layout to do that. Probably in future model years the unit will be more integrated and harder to remove (you know, kind of like removing IE from Windows).

              I've got a Saturn and an Equinox. Both are going to be OnStar-less shortly.

              • Some components already work like this. Factory ECUs will go into limp mode if they don't get a signal from the speed sensor (the sole purpose of which, to the ECU, is to activate the top speed limiter). You can bypass it by putting a resistor in place of the ECU's speed sensor hookup so the ECU thinks the car is travelling at a constant speed 100% of the time. Which it's fine with, as long as it's not over 180kph or so.

                There are similar issues if you want to remove the catalytic converter (not good for the

        • That's what they want you to think.

        • Yeah but you can knock a good 20lbs. off your car by removing the OnStar system, and maybe make room for something more useful, like one of those empty cubbies. You should be able to sell the old OnStar tumor to a scrap yard for some cash too.

  • And? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by EdIII ( 1114411 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2011 @09:16PM (#37463536)

    Do you trust such companies with unfettered access to the entire GPS history of your vehicle?

    Of course I don't. I don't own a vehicle that has the ability to be shut off remotely either, because I don't trust a company or the systems with something that important. I would not trust the electric company with my refrigerator either. The very fact the control exists with a 3rd party is unacceptable.

    If you are worried about being tracked, OnStar is the least of your concerns. It applies to a single source of data that is not always with you.

    Anybody that really cares about this should wonder what data is being collected with your smart phones, etc. Verizon can track you better than OnStar ever could.

    All of your devices with their own dedicated data connections also track you far better. Sprint HotSpot? Those things can track you just like a cell phone too.

    The only thing surprising about this is that OnStar tried slipping it into the TOS, except just selling the data anyways with some legal sleight of hand.

    • I would not trust the electric company with my refrigerator either.

      I hate to break it to you, but unless you generate your own power, the electric company can still shut off your refrigerator.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by EdIII ( 1114411 )

        Uhhhhhh... okay.

        1) The electric company cannot shut off my refrigerator. They can only shut off *everything* in my house. It is a blunt dull instrument, not a precision tool.
        2) I was referring to an extension of the levels of control that electric companies are trying to do right now, most notably with air conditioning. That does not have to be limited to that with a smart grid, and smart monitors/outlets in the house.

        The electric company would be far less nefarious of course. Ostensibly, it is to rate

        • The electric company would be far less nefarious of course. Ostensibly, it is to rate throttle, prevent brownouts, and increase efficiency. All good green initiatives if you want to cooperate. I would not give them control over any of it, because I don't trust them to do it correctly. That, and at any one time, a refrigerator probably has at least $75 worth of food in it. Too risky. My beer might get warm.

          I will most definitely agree with your sentiment about warm beer :) However, we participated in such a program in Florida and it worked well. No warm beer. No A/C not running (and it always needs to in all but a few months) We felt no impact at all. What we did experience was a decrease in our electric bill, albeit not a large one. It was a good trade off in my opinion. I think the targeted appliance was the hot water heater. And having a hot shower was not a problem.

          • the smart meter business is backwards.

            rather than letting the electricity company switch things off - let them publish rate info electronically.

            e.g. 6.00pm to 6.01pm high rate
            6.01pm to 6.02pm low rate

            then you can have a server in your home which makes decisions where you control the params.
            switch it onto 'don't give a damn' mode 'super green' mode or 'minimum bill' mode

            it can broadcast info on your local power net (power cables can easily carry info) saying things like 'shut down now for a minute if it isn'

      • But, and this is the OP's point, the electric company is the equivalent of a "common carrier": It can shut off power to *all* of your stuff, or none. It can't choose to shut off power to X or Y, which it *could* with a smart control.

        • Some electric companies supply a second interruptible circuit with cheaper electricity. In a previous house I lived in, I had a stored heat circuit to power electric storage heaters. The heaters were switched on for 7 hours per day at times of the electric company's choosing. It cost about 2p/kWh vs about 7p/kWh for the other circuit. This was about 12 years ago, prices for both circuits will be much higher now.

    • Verizon/AT&T probably do not keep historical data, even if they can pinpoint my location at law enforcement's request.

      The problem is that we have traffic laws with unrealistic speed limits in this country, towns that will raise revenue through ticket writing and red light cameras, all now with access to your OnStar data without your consent or a warrant. Drivers that go with the flow of traffic are safer due to a smaller speed differential--but your insurance company may be glad to force you to do 65 on

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by EdIII ( 1114411 )

        Verizon/AT&T probably do not keep historical data, even if they can pinpoint my location at law enforcement's request.

        There was a posted article about this awhile ago. Verizon most certainly does keep historical data. Law enforcement was trying to get access to it without a warrant for a specific ~150 day period. They did not even specify what period it was, implying that Verizon has access to even longer historical logs than we thought, or is even implied.

        If Verizon did not maintain the data why:

        1) Was law enforcement requesting it?
        2) Why did Verizon not immediately state that compliance was impossible since they did n

        • 1) Fishing Expedition
          2) Proprietary Company Information (Trade Secret)
          3) Non-Story
          4) No Response Needed.

          Not saying your paranoia is not warranted, just offering a completely legitimate response. If I were VZ, I wouldn't respond one way or another. I wouldn't even HINT what company policy is on something like this. I'd let the Lawyers battle it out in Court, that is what Courts are for.

    • Re:And? (Score:4, Informative)

      by inviolet ( 797804 ) <slashdot&ideasmatter,org> on Tuesday September 20, 2011 @10:39PM (#37464114) Journal

      It gets worse.

      On at least one occasion, OnStar allowed police to secretly listen in to a car's cabin in order to gather evidence for a drug conviction. Start here [thetruthaboutcars.com].

      • That's nothing.

        I have a scanner in my office, to hear what's happening in the county on fire and police bands. Probably 4? years ago, city dispatch alerted a police officer that a "reported suspicious vehicle" would soon be passing his location on the interstate. "Onstar says the driver normally exits at Geddes Street, will hang a right onto Belden Ave, and normally parks with the engine running, in the 1200 block of West Belden Ave."

        I wouldn't have paid much attention, except for that whole "normally" th

    • The only thing surprising is that nothing they can put in the ToS gives them a legal right to track you when your contract ends. At that point there is no longer a contractual relationship and they are simply spying on you. Since it has been widely acknowledged that people don't read contracts, it's not reasonable to assume that someone would have read it in the detail necessary to discover something so unreasonable buried in the legalese, and in any case, contracts can't trump the law anyway.

    • True, whenever your cell phone's on, you're being tracked. Just keep that in mind everyone.

  • Privacy Concerns?! (Score:3)

    by morari ( 1080535 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2011 @09:16PM (#37463538) Journal

    OnStar is just now raising privacy concerns?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by IMightB ( 533307 )

      No kidding, if you didn't see this one coming you're either extremely naive or been sticking your head in the sand intentionally.

      • Re:Privacy Concerns?! (Score:4, Interesting)

        by alcourt ( 198386 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2011 @09:47PM (#37463778)

        Last time I shopped for a car, I told the dealer that disabling the interface so it couldn't be activated remotely was a deal breaker. Manager came over and on a demo car showed how in two minutes they could remove the antenna and attach a cosmetic cover where the antenna used to be. That was about four years ago. Even then, it was known that the service was being activated to monitor position without permission of the owner.

        • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

          by Anonymous Coward

          I went into a GM dealer and asked about this. You can no longer pull the antenna (it's integrated into some non-removable component), nor can you disable the onstar computer, as it is tightly integrated into the drive train computer.

    • OnStar is just now raising privacy concerns?

      OnStar has always been just short of the imaginary-cia-mind-control-chips in terms of potential privacy concerns. Now they've gone and updated their privacy policy to read, essentially, "We own you, sucker." it becomes only reasonable to suspect the actualization of those concerns.

      It's not like some privacy policy was ever likely worth the shrinkwrap it was printed on; particularly if feds are sniffing around; but you pretty much have to assume the worst when somebody goes and publicly guts such a toothl

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by rta ( 559125 )

        This is the thread i'm "voting" in. OnStar was ALWAYS creepy. If there was ever any doubt then the commercial a few years ago about their remote disable that shut down the "stolen" SUV on the highway should have struck fear into the heart of any red-blooded nerd.

  • AT&T violates its customers privacy

    AT&T is a telecommunications company

    Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate.

    OnStar is a telecommunications company

    Therefore, OnStar violates its customers privacy

  • Disconnecting ? (Score:3)

    by nurb432 ( 527695 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2011 @09:21PM (#37463584) Homepage Journal

    Can you even disconnect it from your car if it comes built in, without paying someone at the least ( or rendering parts of your car non operational at worst )?

    • Procedures vary, but a quick Google suggests various ways to turn OnStar off for numerous vehicles (as simple as pulling a fuse, as complicated as tracking down the OnStar module and disconnecting all the wires). I have an OnStar vehicle, but it was never updated from analog cellular (which no longer exists), so it's moot in my case.

      • are you *sure* no passive analog equipment is operational?... (donning foil hat...)

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by green1 ( 322787 )

          In my area I can be sure, because I have seen the inside of the cell towers where it was removed from and have seen the old units in the large bin out back of the main telco warehouse with my own eyes...

        • The analog equipment is gone-baby-gone from the cell towers, though if you were a sufficiently resourceful enemy you could track the emissions my car is making with your own fleet of aerial drones.

    • You can do it yourself if you know how. If you don't, you can pay a mechanic to do it. It won't affect any other functions of your car (yet).

  • Open Source Project (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Has anyone hacked their car to spoof OnStar packets and send them assloads of chaff? I don't see anywhere in the contract where it says you can't send them any GPS coordinates you want. Success will be measured by the number of OnStar-equipped vehicles shown to be commuting across the Atlantic Ocean on a regular basis. Why yes, I believe my vehicle is currently somewhere in Afghanistan. The bloke said he had lots of important packages he needed to deliver. He seems like a nice guy and always returns it

    • Oh now that would be sweet if you did it right. How about messing with the altitude coordinate.
        I can just imagine the Onstar tech, "Sir, I show you at... WTF!?!?! FOURTEEN THOUSAND FEET!!!! errr.....".

    • It's possible, just hardhack in a line to spoof GPS output in place of the unit's GPS module. Get a few and make it look like cars are swarming Area 51 or driving in the ocean or flying in the sky or whatever.

  • Of course this is the reason that the US gov't required GM to make OnStar standard equipment as part of the auto industry bailouts. Anyone who didn't see this coming deserves to be tagged and tracked like the sheeple they are.

  • It's already being done (Score:4, Interesting)

    by dwreid ( 966865 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2011 @09:54PM (#37463840)
    I just received a notice from State Farm Insurance that if I allow them to collect OnStar data I "MIGHT" get a discount on my insurance. Uhhh... yeah... I'll be sure to do that. (NOT) I'm fairly certain that this is only the tip of the iceberg. How long before the car automatically calls the police when you exceed the speed limit?

    • That won't happen actually. If there was ever full proof speeding detection, people would stop speeding, costing the government revenue. Any operational speeding detection system will miss 90% of the occurences so that people keep speeding and paying occasional tickets.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Thagg ( 9904 )

      Progressive Insurance is busy flogging their "Snapshot" [progressive.com]system, which is exactly that. They give you a tracking device, and you put it in your car, and if you are the "good" driver you say that you are you get a discount in your insurance. I'd love to see the TOS on that baby.

      • Does anyone know exactly what data the Snapshot collects?

        I can see it tracking vehicle speed, for instance - but it can't tell whether I took that offramp at 40 MPH normally, or sliding sideways with the rear tyres smoking. And unless it has an accurate GPS, it can't tell if I was doing 65 on the interstate, or in a school zone.

        • Depends on what they tap into. There's a lot of data available from a simple ODBII connection. Speed, throttle position, manifold pressure, turbo/supercharger boost, water temp, air intake temp, battery voltage, fuel consumption rate, fuel pressure, engine load, etc. And a GPS can easily locate you with sufficient precision to determine whether you were on an interstate or a school zone. They can also throw in an accelerometer to figure out that "drifting" thing when combined with the other data.

    • The obvious next step is that you cannot have car insurance without some kind of automatic data collection. It won't be the law that requires this, but the corporations that now own you. An you can just change insurance plans if you don't like it, but either you will not be able to find an alternative, or the replacement will be horribly expensive and useless. (Just see how health insurance works for and example.) And without car insurance you can't drive in many states.

      You want to see how far this can go?

      • Okay, in general that is not a good policy, but there is at least one way to protect yourself. Open up another checking account then have the credit card make deposits once a month. This way the monthly routine is handled almost the same way. I did not see anything that required a minimum balance. IT also means that if there is a "computing error", only that account is effected and if the balance is zero except the day before payment there is little the company can do, but contact your for money.

        I am fo

      • Its why we have the Direct Debit g'tee system in the UK: if they clean your account out, both your bank AND the company have to make good, on absolutely everything they have stuffed up.

  • My real question in all of this is, Who is asking for this information? It seems to me, that time and time again, Company X or Company Y updates its TOS, or has some flaw in software that reveals that they are gathering personal information, for 'sale to third parties' or the slightly less unsettling 'Company X will in no way make this information available to third parties'.
    On the surface, the claim is that it is to provide a better service down the road, or to provide more targeted ad's or in some way i

    • Re:who wants this information? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by sunderland56 ( 621843 ) on Tuesday September 20, 2011 @11:11PM (#37464266)

      My real question in all of this is, Who is asking for this information?

      Google would like to know where the traffic jams are. Stores would like to know who drives by and does not stop. Your insurance company would like to know how fast you are driving. The police would like to know who was driving away from the bar at closing time. And your wife's divorce lawyer would like to know where you were late Tuesday night.

      • Google already know where traffic jams are. They have their own broadly deployed tracking system. (android/google maps/google navigation).

  • ...we as consumers need an updated and ironclad consumer protection act, period. These companies have us over a barrel and there is virtually nothing we can do about it. IP tracking, cell phone records, OnStar tracking and marketing of consumer data where will it stop? More importantly, if it doesn't stop which is a very real likelyhood, where will it lead? Technology finally, if it hasn't already, is showing it's ugly face.
  • Stalking laws should be amended to include collecting this kind of information by anyone.

  • Facebook disease has spread to Slashdot!

    The world will soon end.

  • From http://wnd.ha-hosting.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=346997 [ha-hosting.com]

    "Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, have introduced the truly patriotic Geolocation Privacy and Surveillance Act, supported by the ACLU, that "requires the government to show probable cause and get a warrant before acquiring the geolocational information of a U.S. person."

    This would apply, among other forms of such tracking, to cell phones. It would also require telecommunications companies (including providers of cell phones) to get our consent to collect data from locations where we use them. Where do we go with cell phones in our ears? These companies, without telling us, already convey this location information to the FBI without our knowing we're being tracked as we talk. "

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Fjandr ( 66656 )

      show probable cause and get a warrant

      Police: "He was breathing."

      Judge: "Approved!"

  • No way (Score:3)

    by xenobyte ( 446878 ) on Wednesday September 21, 2011 @02:06AM (#37465054)

    Do you trust such companies with unfettered access to the entire GPS history of your vehicle?

    No, I trust nobody with something like that.

    Not only are they making profit from something deeply private, but the data can easily be abused in a number of ways. It might be that you happened to be in an area where something bad happened, and right away you're a suspect just because you were in the area. You stand out because someone can document that you were there. They're not documenting that you did something wrong but the very thing that you were there, makes you a suspect.in particular compared to others who were also there but whose location wasn't documented.

    We already see a similar issue with DNA profiles. The initial (quick) profile only uses a handful markers and they're not all that unique. A typical crime scene sample will yield dozens of partial matches, also due to it like being slightly contaminated which lowers the match probability. You then have to seek out all the partial matches and review them, probably interview them and perhaps detain one or two. And you still have the very likely possibility that the perpetrator isn't in the register at all.

    After a few weeks the full profile is available and you'll most likely either have the perpetrator or realize that you don't. Now, having spent weeks in jail, suspected of some evil crime, you might get completely exonerated and probably financially compensated, but you'll carry that branding of 'criminal' forever, and that can never be removed. Usually there's nothing to suspect you other than the DNA matching, but DNA is such a strong piece of evidence that it in itself usually is enough to get you thrown in jail.

  • Could this data be purchased by police departments to issue speeding tickets? Is there any legal impediment to using this data by a government entity for any purpose? If they can use it for enforcement of speed limits it seems like it would be a gold mine for any municipality that had an interstate passing through it. OnStar could even ask for a cut of the fines.

  • I don't think the value of this data is tied to the fact they know a particular car belongs to a certain person, I think their plan is to try and sell traffic congestion information to GPS companies for real-time updates on route times.

    While there could be a lot of money in the 'Where did my cheating husband go with his Corvette last night when he said he was working late?' market, I'm not sure how OnStar could advertise such a service and then sell cars to philanderers and criminals. On the other hand, it

  • Before congressional whores kept by the insurance companies require boxes that collect and transmit all data including speed and position back to corporate and tax HQs. The great migration from the Dust Bowl to California in the 1930s will never happen again, as you (and your debts) will be tracked in real time in perpetuity. #USAUSAUSA

  • Fitting (Score:4, Interesting)

    by 2names ( 531755 ) on Wednesday September 21, 2011 @10:12AM (#37468670)

    My uncle has a country place
    That no one knows about.
    He says it used to be a farm,
    Before the Motor Law.
    And on Sundays I elude the Eyes,
    And hop the Turbine Freight
    To far outside the Wire,
    Where my white-haired uncle waits.

    Jump to the ground
    As the Turbo slows to cross the Borderline.
    Run like the wind,
    As excitement shivers up and down my spine.
    Down in his barn,
    My uncle preserved for me an old machine,
    For fifty-odd years.
    To keep it as new has been his dearest dream.

    I strip away the old debris
    That hides a shining car.
    A brilliant red Barchetta
    From a better, vanished time.
    I fire up the willing engine,
    Responding with a roar.
    Tires spitting gravel,
    I commit my weekly crime...

    Wind-
    In my hair-
    Shifting and drifting-
    Mechanical music-
    Adrenalin surge...

    Well-weathered leather,
    Hot metal and oil,
    The scented country air.
    Sunlight on chrome,
    The blur of the landscape,
    Every nerve aware.

    Suddenly ahead of me,
    Across the mountainside,
    A gleaming alloy air-car
    Shoots towards me, two lanes wide.
    I spin around with shrieking tires,
    To run the deadly race,
    Go screaming through the valley
    As another joins the chase.

    Drive like the wind,
    Straining the limits of machine and man.
    Laughing out loud
    With fear and hope, I've got a desperate plan.
    At the one-lane bridge
    I leave the giants stranded at the riverside.
    Race back to the farm, to dream with my uncle at the fireside

    - Rush, Red Barchetta, Moving Pictures

  • So, can a party to a contract unilaterally change the terms and not have to allow the contract to be canceled? Yeah, the thing is trivial to disable (supposedly), but I have long term paid up front, and lotsa minutes on the phone. Would they let me keep the phone but ditch the onstar and tracking? Is that even possible? I suppose I'll have to go out and push the button and ask. Seems like a Netflix moment for them at this point and the only way to get them to say "I messed up" is going to be a lot of c

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