Rachane Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 I noticed in the Ford 2011 Mustang brochure that SmartAlert is available as an apparently dealer-installed accessory. Has anyone had one of these installed? What did it cost? Does it appear "separately" in the interior, or does it function through the electronics system & screen? How does it function? I installed LoJack in my 2007 GT500, and am wondering whether this is a better option for the 2011. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigsnake Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 I noticed in the Ford 2011 Mustang brochure that SmartAlert is available as an apparently dealer-installed accessory. Has anyone had one of these installed? What did it cost? Does it appear "separately" in the interior, or does it function through the electronics system & screen? How does it function? I installed LoJack in my 2007 GT500, and am wondering whether this is a better option for the 2011. Looks promising, $1K before installation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Jerome Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 I noticed in the Ford 2011 Mustang brochure that SmartAlert is available as an apparently dealer-installed accessory. Has anyone had one of these installed? What did it cost? Does it appear "separately" in the interior, or does it function through the electronics system & screen? How does it function? I installed LoJack in my 2007 GT500, and am wondering whether this is a better option for the 2011. I have the system in one of my cars. You don't see anything on the inside of the car. It is integrated into the ignition electronics. One thing to be aware of, it is not GPS based. It uses cellular technology to record the location of the car by start and stop cycles of the ignition. This is important to recognize, because if your car is on a truck and not running, it could be going cross-country without you knowing it until the car is started again. So, you don't have what I would consider to be "real-time" tracking of location. Again, it only records where your car is when you start or stop the engine. You can manage the system by logging onto the web page or an 800 number. It does have some nice features - speed alerts, fences, no drive zones, etc. - but IMO I wouldn't consider it a replacment for the LoJack system. I was considering something like the Escort Entourage CIS as a better alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachane Posted January 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Thanks, very helpful. I think I will be returning to LoJack for the reasons you mentioned. I agree that an ignition-only location system is inadequate. Curious that Ford would bother with a system with this significant deficiency. Otherwise SmartAlert seems somewhat similar to GM's OnStar, except that it's missing some of the best OnStar features - like an on-call operator for guidance, concierge, emergency, etc.; and remote vehicle diagnostics in case of a breakdown or idiot-light event. If Ford offered OnStar, I'd go for that in a minute. Always wondered why GM didn't make an "installable"OnStar system for cars that are not pre-wired for the whole show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod_Michel Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 I have this system installed in my vert, to my knowledge it is both Cellular and GPS based. http://www.myskyway.com/skydoc/SmartAlert/FrostandSullivanAward.html Thanks, very helpful. I think I will be returning to LoJack for the reasons you mentioned. I agree that an ignition-only location system is inadequate. Curious that Ford would bother with a system with this significant deficiency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muvover Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Check out the escort entorage, it doesn't have all of the fetures of the ford system but it does work well and is very simple to install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bring500 Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Thanks, very helpful. I think I will be returning to LoJack for the reasons you mentioned. I agree that an ignition-only location system is inadequate. Curious that Ford would bother with a system with this significant deficiency. Otherwise SmartAlert seems somewhat similar to GM's OnStar, except that it's missing some of the best OnStar features - like an on-call operator for guidance, concierge, emergency, etc.; and remote vehicle diagnostics in case of a breakdown or idiot-light event. If Ford offered OnStar, I'd go for that in a minute. Always wondered why GM didn't make an "installable"OnStar system for cars that are not pre-wired for the whole show. There was a recent announcement that a completely self-contained OnStar unit in a rear-view mirror would soon be available for retrofits. Don't know when or any details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Allen Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 The research I've done, I've decided on this product. It has true GPS tracking, remote start, remote disable, and a lot more. I have one on order for the F150 and GT500. The functions and tracking are from your smart phone or PC. http://www.dronemobile.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Alibi 2 Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Thought about Lo-jack when I bought the car......................problem is " it's a recovery system " as in " after it's stolen " . Had a " Ravelco " electronic " emobilizer " installed instead..................................can my car still be stolen......yes.........but they need a flatbed with a winch to do it.. Ford couldn't start the car & they had the key.. . Unit was installed @ home in my driveway.......they came to me.........not quite $ 500 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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