GPS Tracking For Cars

I have a VW (Passat) with vw sound and a built in GPS system. I have added the VW USB adapter (it fits in the glove box) and treats your USB stick as a cd changer, but none of the titles of the songs are appearing. All I get is Track 1, Track 2. All the other mp3 players I have tried show the titles – what can I do to resolve this issue? (the garage hasn’t got a clue – they even thought the car had an mp3 player in it before I had to add this one)

Best Answer: Some units are not capable of reading and displaying mp3 tags and therefore will only show the track number. Especially if the USB adapter is one that has to utilize the CD Changer input of the head unit, then it’s simply reading the mp3’s as if they are tracks on a CD in a changer. Nothing you can do about it other than replacing the head unit with one that has built in USB which would be capable of reading mp3 tags.

Mom just wants to make sure he can get home. It is only a sometimes thing. We would like to hide it in the car, so he wouldn’t even know he was being “watched”. Don’t even know if something like this exists. I know phones can be equipped with GPS, but he would lose the phone. I am sure there are other people out there with the same worries as their parents get older. Thanks for any help.

Best Answer: There is definitely something like this, and I’m pretty sure it’s illegal. I read about a case where a guy was arrested for using one of those things to spy on his ex-wife.

• I think there is a product like this although I don’t know what it would be. You could use it for a different purpose, for instance, ‘in case your car is stolen.’ Or maybe have a phone [one of those $20 tracphones from Walmart - they stay charged for a LONG time and for about $100 you can buy minutes for a year] that you could put in the glove compartment ‘for emergencies.’ Just make sure he knows how to turn it on.
• how about on star? don’t know the cost but it might be worth it. or lojak maybe?
• Here are a few links for GPS Car Trackers

  http://www.rmtracking.com/

  http://www.worldgpssolutions.com

  http://www.buygpsnow.com

• Your mother can get one of those maps in HER car and all she has to do is state the license plate number,and it will tell you and give you directions to where his car is parked or going
• Why can’t you just ‘tuck’ a cell phone that is ‘on’ into that car (using the ‘excuse’ that you ‘need to get something out’ before dad leaves. But there are also some ’silent trackers’ that are very small that could be ‘hidden’ in the car easily, and be ‘tracked’ by your computer. BUT, if your dad is really getting that ‘forgetful’ I think that you and your mother should ’sit down with Dad’ and have a long talk, because if he has the beginnings of Alzheimer’s or ’senile dementia’ he may not be AWARE of it, and there are ‘other things’ that need to be ‘taken care of’ NOW, while he still can ‘think properly most of the time’ … because he could have ‘hidden’ papers that you may need or even have ‘memories’ that you want to preserve before he is ‘too disabled’ to tell you anything. And I’m sorry, but I find ‘way too much wrong’ with anyone ‘hiding’ a ‘watcher’ in a car, because how do you know that what she wants is just to be sure he can come home … he could be suspected of having an affair or being a gambler … so I’d talk to your mom seriously about putting any ‘watcher electronics’ into your dad’s car so that you are SURE before you help her actually buy and install such a device.
• I am sure that your town has a spy shop! Go in and tell them what you need and they can help. I am sure that you could get GPS for the car.
  The bigger problem is, should your dad be driving? This is a safety issue for him and the general public. Your mom should talk to his doctor and have some testing done to see how far his dementia has progressed. I use to do home-care and 90% of the people that I cared for suffered from dementia.
  You must know that that all figure out how to hide it and if he is getting to the point that he is slipping up and is unable to hide it at times, this has been going on for a while now.
  It is important that he get evaluated by his doctor and there should be talk of restricting his driving and/or taking his license away.
  This is never easy or pleasant, but it is a safety issue. Elderly people come up missing all of the time and it is usually because of what there family though was occasional confusion/mild forgetfulness… he could have an accident and seriously injure himself of another person.
  I wish you luck, just remember that whatever you do, it is for his safety… he may get angry, but it is better than the alternative.
  Good luck!

I have noticed that all too often a man tries to impress me with his technical know-how. On the phone, they find it necessary to tell me they have a tracking system in their car. Wow – look at their cool phone attached to their ear. That they get so many calls on because they’re so important. Yes, you carry your laptop everywhere. Cool.

No offense – but internet porn and a vibrator can find my spot faster than any GPS.

If I wanted someone with wires coming out of them all the time, I’d stay at home.

Do you guys really think this impresses ladies? Or do you not even realize that you do it?

Best Answer: hahaha..that was funny and i agree with you.

• A lot of times, they probably dont even know they are doing it. Other times, they think that it makes them look smart for you. And that they can do things, maybe help you out. I’d be more concerned if I were you, if they started talking about fashion and the shade of lipstick they look best in!! HA!!
• I’ve got this really cool vibrator in the shape of a pineapple, wanna go out?
• why do i never meet women like you?

by a train because the GPS TOLD him to drive on them…does that mean if thye GPS told him to drive off a cliff hed do it it too? i herd this on thenews….

Best Answer: His parents are at fault. They let him out without his nanny. lol

• haha thts funny u gatta b smarter thn tht..i mean damn
• some people cannot think for themselves. these are generally middle management types.
• There’s no limit to people’s stupidity. This guy’s family is probably going to sue the GPS manufacturer, proving he came by his stupidity honestly — he inherited it.

WTF will our govt. think of next? This retard James Oberstar and some other congressmen are pushing for GPS tracking in YOUR vehicle!!! I’ll go to prison before they get one in my car.

Article below for all who haven’t read

Despite opposition from the White House, a proposal to tax motorists on the number of miles they drive each year is gathering speed on Capitol Hill.

Its popularity is increasing as Congress searches for alternatives to the federal gasoline tax, which isn’t indexed to inflation and hasn’t been raised since 1993.

Supporters say that a mileage tax would be a more reliable source of funding for the upkeep of the nation’s roads and bridges. Many environmentalists endorse it, saying that it would lead to less driving and less pollution.

However, the proposal is raising privacy concerns – particularly if GPS devices were to monitor mileage – and opponents say that the last thing people need is a new tax, particularly in the middle of a recession. Some critics, moreover, fear that it would have a disproportionate impact in states such as California, which has longer-than-average commutes.

A bipartisan commission that Congress created said last week that lawmakers should increase the gasoline tax by 10 cents per gallon but begin shifting to a mileage tax.

“With the expected shift to more fuel-efficient vehicles, it will be increasingly difficult to rely on the gas tax to raise the funds needed to improve – let alone maintain – our nation’s surface transportation infrastructure,” said Robert Atkinson, the chairman of the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission.

The idea is nothing new in Congress.

At a hearing last year, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., called the mileage tax a brilliant idea.

Last week, after the White House said it would oppose such a tax, Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., rushed to its defense, saying that the new administration should be “open to new ideas and open to dialogue.”

“Whether they want it or not, they are going to get it,“ Oberstar said in a speech to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

The opinions of the two veteran lawmakers carry punch because they head the Senate and House of Representatives transportation committees, which oversee the country’s infrastructure. With Boxer and Oberstar promising to examine the mileage tax as an option, the idea is sure to create a lively debate this year.

The proposal has plenty of skeptics.

“The gas tax strikes me as being far more appropriate,” said freshman Republican Rep. Tom McClintock of California, adding that it automatically provides a discount for lighter vehicles. “The heavier and less efficient your car … the more gas you consume, and therefore the more tax you pay.”

In addition, McClintock said, a mileage tax could result in the government’s making “arbitrary distinctions,” taxing the number of miles driven in different types of vehicles at different rates.

The proposal already is fueling privacy concerns.

Critics are objecting to proposals to use Global Positioning System devices to keep track of how many miles drivers log and where they go. The technology is part of federally funded test projects that are under way in Oregon and elsewhere.

When transportation officials pitched the idea at a committee hearing last year, Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe, the senior Republican on the panel, told them: “Don’t waste your time on that one. It ain’t going to happen.”

Best Answer: GPS would be needlessly expensive just to keep track of a tax.

A simpler way (and I am NOT advocating they do this) is just to raise the gasoline tax-number of miles driven is proportional to amount of gas used, and high-mileage cars are taxed less than low-mileage cars. No extra expense, same result.

If people are seriously advocating GPS, they have some other reason.

• The concept is the same as using a toll road where you pay by the mile.
• Why don’t they just put a GPS tracker in my chest? That way they can tax every breath I breathe.
• Personally I think it’s a really dumb idea. Aside from the obvious huge expense to implement and maintain it, it takes away the penalty that people currently pay to drive gas guzzlers, and takes away incentive for people to drive cars that get good mileage.