Luckily, the 2009 Chevrolet Impala was equipped with OnStar, which includes Stolen Vehicle Assistance. So when the senator realized the car had been taken, he immediately contacted OnStar. Watch what happened next:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Since its launch in 2008, Stolen Vehicle Slowdown has been used nearly 60 times. Read about how the service helped catch the carjackers who stole Laura Anderson’s TrailBlazer and the thief who took Jose Ruiz’s Tahoe.

Like many pet owners, Jack often brings along Duke, his 7-year-old shepherd mix, while he runs around town. So Duke was in the car when Jack made a quick stop at his doctor’s office. But when Jack came out, his GMC Sierra truck was gone. And Duke was nowhere to be found.

Find out what happened to Duke:

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you like to bring your pets with you in the car, check out these safety tips for traveling with your pets.

Shh. If you listen closely, you may hear the faint sounds of cracking baseball bats in the distance. It can only mean one thing: Opening Day is upon us.

If you’re looking forward to skipping work — not that we’d endorse that — OnStar¹ can help make your ballpark outing run smoothly. So as you head out, remember these six tips designed to knock Opening Day out of the park.

1. Give yourself plenty of time. Mid-day games mean mid-day traffic, so allow plenty of time to get there before the first pitch. When you’re using Turn-by-Turn Navigation, you can ask the Advisor for an alternate route should you run into a traffic jam. Still running behind? Give your friends a call and let them know when to expect you with Hands-Free Calling. (Or go ahead and call your friends who are still stuck at work. Home plate seats are worth rubbing in.)

2. Use accurate directions. Before you leave, you can use OnStar eNav to download the destination from MapQuest.com^® directly to your vehicle. Or you can always hop in the car with the confidence that Turn-by-Turn Navigation will get you there even if you only sort of know where you are going. Simply push your blue button and tell the Advisor where you want to go. You won’t even need the address because OnStar has over 13 million points of interest in the database, including major stadiums.

3. Lock your car from afar. You’ve finally got your hot dog and are settled into your seats when a sinking feeling starts to overtake you. Did you remember to lock your car? Luckily, OnStar can lock it for you. Just call OnStar and ask the Advisor to lock your door remotely. (And while we’re on the subject: Make sure to save the OnStar number (1.888.4.ONSTAR) in your cell phone before you leave home.)

4. Follow some simple anti-theft precautions. Follow these quick tips to protect yourself from theft. But if you’ve taken every precaution and the worst still happens, Stolen Vehicle Assistance from OnStar can help recover your car.

5. Forget where you parked (on purpose). Stadium parking lots are big — and it’s easy to forget where you parked. But you don’t need to remember which letter you parked your car under — or spend hours wandering around trying to find it. Just give OnStar a call and an Advisor can flash your car horn and lights until you locate your car.

6. Refuel with food. Need a place to nosh after the game? With Information & Convenience Services, available with the Directions & Connections subscription plan, you can request the address to a local restaurant — then download the phone number directly to your vehicle. And with Hands-Free Calling, you can call ahead to reserve a table for you and your friends to relive the game highlights.

What are your plans for Opening Day? Do you have any yearly traditions?




¹ Visit onstar.com for coverage map, details and system limitations. Services vary by model and conditions.

Onstar and Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department – Thank you! You rock!”

After purchasing my new ‘07 Chevy Silverado that I had a custom-designed lift kit added to, I went to the mountains to bring back some decorative rock. While in the bed of my 1 mo. old truck my cell rang and I heard the dreaded recording, “This is Lojack…your 2007 Chevrolet Silverado may have been stolen…” Hmmm…odd, because I was standing in the bed of the truck at that very moment with no one else around!

Okaaayy…Now, here’s how Lojack’s “Theft Advisory” works; first, you receive an email (?!?!?), then my daughter, who lives in a differnet state received the call that her mom’s prized 4×4 may have been stolen while she was on duty as a paramedic. She called me extremly concerned. I assured her all was fine-a “glitch” maybe. THEN I received the cell call advising me that my truck “May have been stolen”. Uh, nooooo. I called a “real person” and was asked if I’d put fresh batteries in my remote every other month. Nope: it was NEW! I was told that my truck would only be reported IF it had been driven continuously for 20 or more minutes.

Living in So.CA near the Mexican border and numerous “chop shops”, my beautiful truck could have been in pieces by then. I decided to test the system when I got home and purposely left the remote home (it HAD been with me in the mountains!)and drove around running errands for over an hour-NO phone call. It seems if you stop, shut the engine off and run into a store for a few minutes, it’s NOT considered a possible “stolen”. I rather loudly told the person on the phone that in that hour-or the 20 minute period, for that matter, my truck could (A) be on a flatbed enroute to Mexico, (B) be in a chop shop in pieces, or (C) be IN the trailer of a semi truck enroute to the harbor 30 minutes away to be loaded onto a freighter bound for a Middle Eastern country where it would be a prized acquisition, selling for approx. 4-5 times the price I bought it for-especially with the custome lift kit.

See, this lady is a ret ired police commander who know that kinda stuff… So, moral of the story? Don’t waste your money on Lojack! OnStar not only has a greater recovery rate, but also helped me get “unlost” in a very nasty back country area when I goofed and made a wrong turn. The advisor couldn’t ID the road I was on but then called the local fire dept. and they called my OnStar phone back and guided me out! I bought them ice cream that night! DO NOT WASTE YOUR $$$ ON LOJACK! The police dislike the static noise “false readings” blare out continuously and either turn it down or off (yeah, I know, naughty, naughty), but still, OnStar DOES have a much better recovery rate than Lojack. This retired lady cop gives OnStar FIVE *****’s!!

It started out as a typical Tuesday evening for Laura Anderson. But it turned into a night she’ll remember for a long time.

Laura had just returned home from bowling and parked her 2007 Chevy TrailBlazer in her driveway. As she walked to her back door, a gun-wielding teen approached her and demanded she give him everything she had. Laura was absolutely terrified. She hit the panic button on her key fob, threw the keys at him and yelled, “Here, take the car and get out of here, just go!”

Then two other teens appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. They jumped into the vehicle and sped off. Laura was in shock.

“I was never so frightened in my life. I had my cell phone in my hand the whole time but I was shaking so bad, I couldn’t even dial 911. I ran into the house and screamed to my boyfriend to call the police. He had been upstairs and didn’t hear anything.”

When the police came to her home and took the report, Laura told them her car was equipped with OnStar. The police contacted OnStar, and after confirming with Laura and the police that the vehicle was stolen, an OnStar Advisor used GPS to help police locate the vehicle. The police found the TrailBlazer with the thieves still in it. They were apprehended and the vehicle was returned to an ecstatic Laura.

“I was absolutely amazed at how quickly they found it,” Laura says. “It took less than 30 minutes and, because they were so fast, there was minimal damage to my car. The whole thing happened so quickly — from the carjacking to the recovery — it was almost surreal. But I do believe that if it wasn’t for OnStar, I would never have seen my car again.”

Laura has been driving cars equipped with OnStar for almost 10 years. “I wouldn’t think of getting a car without OnStar,” she says. “I highly recommend it to everyone I know. I feel it’s worth every penny.”

OnStar’s newest weapons to combat stolen vehicles

OnStar’s latest enhancements to its Stolen Vehicle Assistance¹ arsenal — Stolen Vehicle Slowdown^®2 and Remote Ignition Block³ — are doing even more to help with the quick and safe recovery of stolen vehicles and assist police in helping prevent high-speed chases, reducing property damage and saving lives. Here’s how they work:

Stolen Vehicle Slowdown can remotely slow a stolen vehicle to idle speed

• • OnStar pinpoints the stolen vehicle’s exact GPS location and provides it to authorities.
• • When police identify the vehicle and let OnStar know it’s in the clear, an Advisor will send a remote signal to reduce engine power, slowing the vehicle down gradually while all other vehicle systems, including power steering and brakes, remain fully operational.

Remote Ignition Block prevents a stolen vehicle from restarting

• • OnStar pinpoints the stolen vehicle’s exact GPS location and provides it to authorities.
• • The Advisor sends a Remote Ignition Block signal to the stolen vehicle, which prevents it from being restarted.
• • On select models, authorities can request Stolen Vehicle Slowdown if they have a clear line of sight of the stolen vehicle and confirm conditions are safe to slow the vehicle down.

With capabilities such as Stolen Vehicle Slowdown and Remote Ignition Block, OnStar subscribers have the added peace of mind knowing their vehicle can be prevented from being used as an instrument of harm.

¹ Ability to locate stolen vehicles varies with conditions.
² Stolen Vehicle Slowdown is available on select 2009 GM vehicles. Visit onstar.com for details.
³ Remote Ignition Block is available on select 2009 and newer GM vehicles. Visit onstar.com for details. Success varies with conditions.

Scariest situation ever in a vehicle: What is the scariest situation you have ever encountered in a vehicle? Does the memory make you a different driver now? Share your story with others in our OnStar Connections forum.

Jose knew he’d get his Tahoe back, because he has OnStar. He knew OnStar could let law enforcement know where his Tahoe was. But it was how he got it back — with the help of OnStar Stolen Vehicle Slowdown^®1 — and how soon it was returned that truly amazed him.

Watch the video to find out how it happened…

¹ Stolen Vehicle Slowdown is available on select 2009 and newer GM vehicles. Visit onstar.com for details. Success varies with conditions.

Learn how OnStar’s Stolen Vehicle Assistance helped police recover a U.S. senator’s stolen Chevy Tahoe.

Read the story at politico.com.

For more about OnStar’s Stolen Vehicle Assistance service click here.

Source: politico.com

Jose Ruiz & his recovered Chevy Tahoe

When the suspect demanded Jose and his cousin exit the car and hand over all their valuables, Jose quickly obliged. His cousin attempted to argue with the perpetrator, but Jose encouraged him to cooperate. He was confident that as long as they could escape with their lives, it wouldn’t be the last he saw of his Tahoe.

He has OnStar.

Once the suspect sped off, Ruiz quickly ran to flag down help. He found an off-duty sheriff’s deputy, who notified the local police department in Visalia, California and at Jose’s request, reached out to OnStar.

After OnStar advisors verified the Tahoe had been stolen and the subscriber requested assistance, they were able to quickly locate the Tahoe and alert the Visalia officers of its location. They were also able to initiate OnStar’s newest stolen vehicle recovery service, Remote Ignition Block, in case the suspect stopped the vehicle before the officers were able to locate it visually, he would not be able to restart it. Once officers had the vehicle in sight, they requested Stolen Vehicle Slowdown be initiated. As the vehicle began to slow, the suspect attempted to escape on foot, but was quickly apprehended by officers without incident.

Less than 16 minutes after OnStar was first contacted, Ruiz’s Tahoe was safely recovered.

“This situation allowed us to leverage our full suite of Stolen Vehicle Assistance services – Vehicle Location, RIB and SVS,” said OnStar President Walt Dorfstatter. “This is the perfect illustration of how our services come together for the benefit of our subscribers and the community.”

The OnStar team caught up with Jose (and his Tahoe!) two days after the carjacking happened – check out the video below to hear him share his harrowing story.

Click here to view the embedded video.