As I pulled into a Target parking spot, I thought I heard my cell phone ring. Just as I realized that it wasn't my ringtone, the ringing stopped and an automated message from a Blockbuster video store started to admonish me for not returning a DVD on time, warning me that if the movie wasn't returned by Monday, I would be charged full price.
Curious, I thought, because I don't rent movies from Blockbuster. Even curiouser because the message was not, in fact, coming through my own cell phone, but instead it was playing through the Buick Enclave's audio speakers...
A bit thrown, I called Road Test Editor Brian Moody.
"The Enclave is accepting its own phone calls," I complained.
"Yes," explained Brian. "That's the peril of having a phone number assigned to a vehicle through the OnStar system instead of using Bluetooth through your own cell phone. Someone who was desperate to keep a "Blades of Glory" DVD forever may have given your Enclave's number to Blockbuster, uh, accidentally."
Huh. The Enclave better pay its own late fees.
Kelly Toepke, News Editor @ 14,706 miles
SubyTrojan says:
02:22 PM, 04/ 1/08
LOL! That's hilarious, Kelly! =Þ
tlcruz says:
02:53 PM, 04/ 1/08
Now the Enclave will forever be getting calls from Blockbuster :p
benson2175 says:
04:00 PM, 04/ 1/08
That's kind of scary.
lime679 says:
04:10 PM, 04/ 1/08
I would be scared as crap if that happened to me. Imagine doing 80 on the highway and it comes on.
carfreak8394 says:
07:00 PM, 04/ 1/08
Yeah, that is pretty scary.
Let us know if it happens again =Þ.
ahightower says:
07:19 PM, 04/ 1/08
Don't you have to answer it yourself? That is annoying, it will use up OnStar minutes. I like OnStar's safety features and keep it activated in my wife's Yukon, but it will never be an acceptable substitute for bluetooth (separate number is annoying, and only one carrier - Verizon - allows you to share minutes, and only then for an extra fee), or a real Nav system ("directions and connections", no thanks, I'd rather just see the map and the arrows myself).
tmanz says:
10:15 PM, 04/ 1/08
The CX9 knows to return movies on time! Or maybe it uses netflix.
jerrywimer says:
07:17 AM, 04/ 2/08
Yep. *You* have to answer the calls with OnStar, or it'll ring until the other person gets tired and hangs up. Someone must've hit a button somewhere, or that message wouldn't have made it through.
I've had the same sort of experience before, with folks giving my OnStar number to a business and me getting called while in the car. It's kind of neat, since I so rarely give out that number, and practically *never* receive calls on it. I use a minimal number of minutes, mostly for emergency purposes or when I want to call out from an area where my regular cell won't get reception.
ryster says:
10:52 AM, 04/ 2/08
A few months ago I received a call to my OnStar number, I answered thinking it was important as I only give my number to people who may need it (there are currently 2 people who know the number).
The person on the other end was looking for someone and was not at all pleased when I said I wasn't that person. I was verbally abused by the person on the other end and accused of "avoiding them", "lying to them", etc. I ended the call, and expected a return call since the person was adamant I was the party they were seeking. No return call ever came. The whole thing was actually kind of scary...I was half expecting to need to call OnStar and get my number changed if the person continued to call and berate me.
ahightower says:
11:15 AM, 04/ 2/08
I did buy the minimum 100 minutes for $20 when they expired, like you said in case I need a phone and there is no cellular reception. Never used them. And I've never given it to anyone. I think they've expired again. I reckon I could always just push the blue button and buy some more minutes on the spot if needed.