Truckin' On

I participated in the "Cash for Clunkers" program during it's first weeks to purchase a Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck. Seems that the differential between the "Cash for Clunkers" value of my beloved Jeep Cherokee and it's resale value would fund thousands of dollars of expected repair costs on a vehicle with 170,000+ miles presently on it without the aggravation of actually having to have the repairs made. And, with rationalization once again being a wonderful thing, I made the plunge and had the Jeep crushed.

Now the Colorado is a small, low-cost pickup. And, I found one with absolutely zero dollars of accessories on it. Plain Jane. Dark metallic gray. It does have air conditioning and a simple radio with no CD player (no additional charge), but it also has an inline 4-cylinder engine, 5-speed manual transmission, wind-up windows and manual door locks. And, being a General Motors product, it has the On-Star spy system.

So, as I'm leaving for the shop this morning, I inserted the ignition key and absolutely nothing happened when I turned it except for an indicator blinking on the instrument panel. Interesting. The manual said that this meant that vehicle security had been compromised and that I could reset security by a series of clicks on my remote entry key.

Trouble was that I have manual door locks without a remote entry key.

With further reading of the manual I learned that vehicle security is controlled by On-Star through a satellite signal. I could call an 800 number and someone at On-Star could unlock the security system for me!

However, as I was issuing an oath of four-letter words, I heard a clicking in the door lock and the security indicator light went away.

Did someone at On-Star hear me?

Hmmmm.

Makes you wonder.