This is creepy:

People with sophisticated safety and communications systems in their cars may be getting an unwanted feature. An appeals court decision last month revealed that the government may be able to convert some of the systems into roaming in-car wiretaps....

The technology involved, used by OnStar, ATX and others, combines a global positioning satellite transmitter with a cellular telephone. Drivers can use the services to seek information and emergency help....

The device discussed in the decision allows drivers to punch one of three buttons: for emergencies, general information and roadside assistance. The phone has a speaker and microphone, and it turns out that the microphone may be activated surreptitiously, allowing government agents to listen in on conversations in the car....

The appeals court decision, rendered after the wiretapping had concluded, ruled that the lower-court judge should not have allowed it. But the appellate ruling was narrow, based on the fact that safety features of the system in question had to be disabled to permit the government to listen in.

The majority had no objection in principle to converting the device into a bug; a dissenter would have allowed the eavesdropping even at the expense of safety....

--New York Times

These systems are in high-end cars now -- but who knows how long they'll be limited to pricier models?

Oddly, this decision was from the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco, which is regularl accused of out-of-control leftism by conservatives.

(In the article, Bob Barr denounces the ruling -- which would seem odd if you didn't know that the former scourge of Clinton has hooked up with the ACLU since leaving Congress.)