Security: If your car is stolen, it's not too late

RENE JOHNSTON/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO

The Boomerang auto recovery system can even find vehicles underground.

Mark Toljagic

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

New York City recorded its first stolen Rolls-Royce when owner Howard Friend alerted the NYPD about his missing luxury car early on the morning of Aug. 1, 1922. The New York Times noted that the car was valued at $16,000.

Detectives from the "automobile squad" located the Rolls 12 hours later, abandoned on a street. The NYPD started advising motorists to lock their vehicles.

Simpler times to be sure, but the problem of car theft has grown immensely, despite advances in mechanical locks, electric alarms, electronic devices and the latest GPS-enabled systems.

Here are three recent innovations in car security that have helped to frustrate thieves.

Boomerang Auto Theft Recovery

Unlike an alarm system, Boomerang tracking effectively finds stolen automobiles, motorcycles, heavy trucks and even construction equipment. The hidden black-box transmitter relies on local cellphone towers to triangulate the location of the missing vehicle.

Boomerang states cellphone technology is non-restrictive, providing scope and accuracy superior to any other tracking systems. Unlike GPS and GPS-cellular combined systems, Boomerang is capable of sniffing out stolen vehicles located in underground parking lots and inside metal shipping containers.

The basic Boomerang requires the car owner to phone the company to report the vehicle stolen before tracking can begin. The monitoring team uses its wireless technology to identify the car's current position before calling police.

The advanced Boomerang2 will trigger an alarm to the company's monitoring centre if the owner's transponder is not in the moving vehicle. Within minutes of the car being stolen, the owner is notified that it's on the move.

Interestingly, company analysis showed 36 per cent of stolen vehicles Boomerang recovered had immobilizers – which are ineffective if the thief is using a factory key or the car is towed away.

A Canadian innovation, the basic system costs $549, plus $200 annually for the monitoring service. However, some insurance companies will provide a discount on a Boomerang-equipped vehicle.

OnStar Vehicle Slowdown Technology

Conceived in the 1990s, General Motors has consistently added new features to its suite of OnStar services to maintain its appeal, despite the onslaught of cheap GPS navigation devices and smart phones.

OnStar's in-vehicle safety, security and information services combine Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite and cellular technology to link the vehicle and driver to GM's OnStar Centre, which is staffed 24 hours per day to assist drivers.

To help curtail vehicle thefts, OnStar added Stolen Vehicle Slowdown and Remote Ignition Block as two new features this year in its Safe and Sound package.

The slowdown feature uses the in-car GPS locator to co-ordinate its position with police in pursuit and then, at their command, gradually slow down the vehicle to idle speed by remote control.

The decision to remotely de-power a stolen car is made only after officers have visually determined that there is no threat to public safety posed by doing so.

Remote ignition block can prevent the stolen vehicle from being restarted once the engine has been turned off.

While it doesn't immediately affect a vehicle that is being driven, it does strand thieves wherever they may happen to park the car.

Police reportedly like this feature because it prevents the stolen car from being used to commit further crimes.

Remote Ignition Block and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown are available on various 2009 and 2010 GM models.

The Safe and Sound package has an annual subscription fee of $289 and includes automatic crash response and remote unlocking, among other services.

Two-way Communicators

The best-selling car alarms today are two-way communicators marketed by CompuStar, Viper, Autostart and other makers.

Their appeal is that they can alert the car owner that their vehicle is being tampered with like a regular alarm, but with more details.

An LCD pictogram pinpoints a door or hood being opened, or the car being bumped or moved.

The owner can call the police or, more effectively, open a window and holler at the thief.

Convention dictates that that's usually enough to send the crook running, knowing that he's been discovered.

The transmitters' info-rich LCD display allows owners to stay in touch with their vehicle up a range of up to one mile (1.6 kilometres) under ideal conditions, although the system is stymied if the vehicle is parked underground.

The transmitters use AM or FM radio frequencies to share information between the car and the controller, which owners keep at their bedside at night and at work during the day.

New features include a vehicle temperature display and voltage readout (for cold nights), as well as a turbo timer that allows the engine to idle for up to four minutes after leaving the vehicle to allow the motor to cool down properly.

The devices, which sell for $300 and up, provide an element of convenience as well as security by integrating features such as remote starting, keyless entry and trunk release.

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