Car pager
The next step in automobile remote control technology

Jeff Colbourne
Northern News Services

NNSL (Aug 10/98) - A futuristic remote controlled BMW in OO7's most recent flick Tomorrow Never Dies may not be that far into the future after all.

A new automobile paging system has been developed so that any vehicle can be started by simply telephoning it and entering a four-digit personal activation code.

Unlike James Bond's 7-Series Bimmer, it does not maneuver with the touch of a finger on a control pad but it does start up no matter how far a person is away from their vehicle.

"Polar Start has come out with a new device that works basically like a pager for calling a person. You install a Polar start in your vehicle and you put in a little pager," said Brian Hixenbaugh, Co-owner of Autotech in Yellowknife.

"No matter if you're in Toronto and you vehicle is in Yellowknife. You have a phone number, you phone the number and you punch in four-digit code for the pager and it automatically starts the vehicle," said Hixenbaugh, who's installed more than 400 Polar Starts in the last three years.

The device is really great for people that work downtown and don't have the range with their Polar Start, which is a rival remote starter to the Command Start.

Most remote starter transmitters have a range of about 500 feet on a really good day with no radio interference. A pager is good as long as a person has a telephone handy.

Autotech is the only company who will be installing the pagers in Yellowknife at this point said Hixenbaugh. Installation trial runs will begin in the near future. The pager is still in production.

Each pager will cost roughly $175 which hooks to the Polar Start already installed on a vehicle. There is also a $49 pager service charge the telephone company bills the user.

"To have it installed you're looking at about $300," said Hixenbaugh.

To first begin, a vehicle must have a Polar Start to match with the specific pager device. Command Start is expected to come out with one of their own in the near future.

"Every person we install one for here say they would never own another vehicle without a Polar Start," said Hixenbaugh.

The remote starter and paging system does not only come in handy during winter. It works the same way with a vehicle's air conditioning system during the dog days of summer when a vehicle is sitting under the hot sun for hours.

In winter, Hixenbaugh added that the Polar Start promotes better vehicle maintenance and prevents unnecessary wear and tear caused by cold starts.

"You take people who walk down and get in the car when it's 40-below and they start the car. Nobody's going to take 15 minutes to let the car totally warm up. It's cold, the engines' running, you got it in gear and backing out the driveway. This gets rid of a lot of wear and tear on the engine."