Now…I used to think that OnStar was a pretty good idea.  It alerted the police in event of danger, if you got in an accident they’d call you an ambulance, they could unlock the doors if you got locked out, and plenty more besides.

But the recent OnStar ads, drawing attention to the fact that they can remotely shut down your car (which has apparently been available for some time now), have me all kinds of freaked out.

The thought that some button pusher from who knows where could reach out and stab a tab and say, tough luck, pal, you ain’t going NO-where, raises my every hackle.  There’s some value in the OnStar service, no doubt, but maybe we’re giving these guys just a little TOO much control over our cars.

I’m not suggesting throwing the baby out with the bathwater and dumping OnStar, but maybe a backup ignition system, or at least cutting OnStar out of that loop, may be a smart move.

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The folks out at Delphi are working on a way for you to be able to check many of your car’s features  from your iPhone.  Pretty soon, if the folks at Delphi have their way, you’ll be able to do all of the following: start or stop the car, roll down the windows, check tire pressure, monitor oil and brake fluid life, as well as detect if the car has been broken into.

But this isn’t the most interesting part…no sir.  Delphi has also been fiddling around with remote control of the gas, brakes and steering column, essentially allowing for the possibility of driving your car from your iPhone.

I don’t know whether to be amazed or horrified.  On the one hand, if someone steals your car, you could pretty much recover it with your iPhone, and that’s awesome.  But if someone steals your iPhone, they could have your car within minutes, and that is NOT awesome.

I’m left a little unnerved by this technological movement.

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