StevethePilot

On the list for those who have everything, a cool new toy that just might satisfy those of us who love techie things! (And, for the moment, those of you who can stand AT&T's service, BTW)

http://www.viper.com/SmartStart/

"Need to start your car from Los Angeles when it's in Chicago? There's an app for that!"

Der!

293

I belive this works over the GSM cell network.

I wonder if this means you cannot start or unlock your car when it is parked out of cell range?

This would not be too useful if you still need to carry a fob or key as backup.

malahhaor

Good luck making that work on a benz with a smart key...

StevethePilot

Remote start already works on a Benz with a smart key, per http://www.smartkeystarter.com/. Add to that the fact that you'll require a key fob either way, whether you use your iPhone or the remote start system on the fob, so being out of cell range means your car will require you to be there to start it anyway. It can just be an add-on to the above system, ultimately.

STP

malahhaor

Yeah, i've seen that some time ago. A shop in chicago that used to install those told me many customers come back and ask to remove it because it was causing electrical issues
Besides, it would take some work to combine Viper with mid city engineering product.

rob13572468

not that i have ever heard... we take our product support and reliability *very* seriously and we work very hard to provide the best customer experience possible. We regularly talk to all of our shops for feedback and to make sure that any questions they have are answered.

are you sure about that???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw3bCMcgv3A

malahhaor

That's what i was told, i did not listen to it too much, because they could not give me any solid info, but they did tell me that.
It's nice to see that you guys are ahead of the curve, but do tell, it did take some work to get those two together...

Brocktoon

I don't know why people spend money on making their vehicles less safe. Start a car without knowing it's exact location? Accidentally starting it in your garage while your family is sleeping above? Watch dvds whilst the vehicle is in motion?

All sound like great ideas to me. Sign me up. (for the product liability class action...)

StevethePilot

Maybe I'm just becoming an old guy but +1 on everything you said. While I'd certainly not mind remote starting my vehicle (I found it very useful on another truck I had, though unreliable enough due to poor installation to eventually remove the whole thing), the thought of knowing how often my pocket has called people (while the keys are supposedly "locked") makes me think the remote-start-from-phone idea's a bad one. And personally I have enough to worry about without wondering who's enabled VIM on their car, while they're talking on the (non-hands-free) cell phone, while texting, while eating, while putting on their makeup (especially disturbing if it's not a woman), while yelling at their kids - do we not have enough distracted drivers already?

Anyway, I posted it as a point of fascination with creativity in technology, as much as to stimulate the back-and-forth we're getting now.

STP