Just when you thought VW couldn't do worse than the emissions scandal...

[Mr Brooksy]

So, recently we were talking about the Ford Autonomous repossession tech... Which I mentioned my wider concern about the industry.

Well this came out recently (I'm surprised it hasn't been brought up) in America whereby VW refused to give law enforcement officers the whereabouts of a stolen car with a 2 year old inside, because the pregnant mother having been beaten and then run over by the thieves of her car (and 2 year old) forgot to pay her monthly subscription to keep that optioned enabled... Only after the outstanding bill had covered did VW give the location... I mean... There's just no words for this...

https://youtu.be/FUd8SxFhc-U
(Full disclosure, this is one of the right to repair advocates in the states, so he comes at it from that angle)


https://www.businessinsider.com/volk...-mother-2023-2

[Franco Cozzo]

Louis Rossmann is a legend taking up the fight for right for repair, that guy who is based in the tech industry is fighting hard for legislation that also helps out auto tradies US-wide.

[Dr Smith]

I'm just staggered the initial call taker from the police behaved the way they did...surely the second thing they were taught was respond to police requests...the first thing they obviously were taught is don't track if account not paid....

[b0son]

Doesn't sound like the issue was with VW, rather, with the third-party that car-tracking was contracted out to. Sounds like somebody's losing the contract.

[marty351]

Could obstruction law cover this?

[Interceptor]

Originally Posted by marty351

Could obstruction law cover this?

I'm kinda disappointed the police didnt offer charges for obstruction as well as accessory to kidnapping

[EBSXR6]

The a*** covering will be interesting.

[T3rminator]

Which cars actually have this tech implemented and in use? Curious to know what "control" means in this case. Stop the car and lock the doors?

Carjackers stole a Volkswagen with a 2-year-old child inside and when police contacted Volkswagen Car-Net, a system that can control the car remotely, to get help finding it, they were told it would cost $150, authorities said.

[EBSXR6]

A mate worked for BMW they have had the tech for several years. I remember there was a company offering an aftermarket version and for some high risk vehicles it was the only way to get insurance.

[DK30RB]

I have an Audi, it has the ability to be tracked, locked and unlocked from my phone.

I assume Audi would be able to disable the vehicle if required.

Previous BMW had it too.

[Wretched]

Eh, it was a once off stuff up by the organisation (not VW). The process worked before but this time it was likely a newbie on the phone and wasn't able to manage the situation. But being good old USA law suits will happen.

[Ben73]

Who invented VW?

[hackney]

Originally Posted by Ben73

Who invented VW?

Volkswagen means ‘peoples car’(Volks Wagon) & that is what the original VW beetle was designed to be.Ferdinand Porsche is the name that comes up most often as the creator of the Beetle.However,it was actually a Jewish engineer named Josef Ganz who had the first idea of a ‘people’s car’.It was actually founded in 1937 by the German labour front under the Nazi party & revived into a global brand post WW11 by the British Army officer Ivan Hirst.

[simon varley]

any modem enabled car should be able to do this. Ford don't even need a paid subscription afaik

[Interceptor]

Originally Posted by simon varley

any modem enabled car should be able to do this.

The idea alone concerns me....

[simon varley]

Originally Posted by Interceptor

The idea alone concerns me....

you should be able to turn it off on the user end. But there are advantages for fleet managers. I can see mileage and oil life on my cars so I know when they are due for a service