Skip to main content

Connected-car pioneer LoJack will shut down on March 15

LoJack, a pioneer in the field of connected cars, will wind down its American sales operations in 2021. It will stop taking purchase orders in March, but it pledged to continue supporting stolen vehicle services indefinitely.

Founded in 1986, in an era when cars and computers were still largely mutually exclusive, LoJack rose to prominence by offering motorists a stolen vehicle recovery system that law enforcement officials could directly access. This was revolutionary in the 1980s, because even new luxury cars were relatively simple to steal with basic tools. LoJack’s technology was extremely innovative: GPS wasn’t commercially available yet, so its recovery system relied on a small radio transceiver that emits a signal every 15 seconds on a frequency set aside specifically for it.

Recommended Videos

If your, say, 1990 Ford Thunderbird got stolen, police officers could find it (hopefully in one piece) by tracking its LoJack device. The transceiver helped police officers recover thousands of cars. Commercial GPS systems became increasingly common in the 1990s, however, and trackers encroached on LoJack’s turf. Then, technology like General Motors-developed OnStar gave motorists an alternative to the system that was already built into their car.

LoJack fired back by expanding its roster of features to include boundary alerts and crash detecting, and by branching out into different segments. It notably released a system that tracked stolen laptops. But, much like Nokia, it missed a turn and fell behind. California-based CalAmp purchased the company in 2016 in a bid to turn it around, but the competition (from direct rivals, from start-ups like the freshly launched RecovR, and from carmakers) was already far ahead.

CalAmp explained in a statement that it will continue to support dealership orders for Classic SVR, Connect, and Connect+ products until June 18, 2021, though it’s asking customers to submit all final purchase orders no later than March 15. Suddenly pulling the plug on the project would have a negative effect on the law enforcement officials who use its products, so it will continue to honor its service commitments with police departments indefinitely.

Surprisingly, the announcement only applies to LoJack’s American division. Its international business will continue to operate in locations like Mexico, Italy, and England, among other countries. CalAmp pointed out that its international business operates with a subscription-based business model that’s well-aligned with its strategy.

Ronan Glon
Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…
These new NASA EVs will drive astronauts part way to the moon (sort of)
NASA's new crew transportation electric vehicles.

Three specially designed, fully electric, environmentally friendly crew transportation vehicles for Artemis missions arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida this week. The zero-emission vehicles, which will carry astronauts to Launch Complex 39B for Artemis missions, were delivered by Canoo Technologies of Torrance, California. NASA/Isaac Watson

NASA has shown off a trio of new all-electric vehicles that will shuttle the next generation of lunar astronauts to the launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center.

Read more
5 upcoming EVs I’m excited for, from luxury SUVs to budget champions
Lotus Eletre

Almost every major automaker has released an EV by now -- or plans to soon -- and makers like Ford and Kia already have a variety to choose from. But if you haven't found one that's right for you yet, hang tight. There are dozens of announced electric car models that have yet to come out, and it's clear that the future of EVs is bright.

From longer range to lower prices, the next batch of EVs gives us plenty to get excited about. Here are five upcoming EVs that we can't wait to drive.
Volvo EX30

Read more
Tesla shows off first Cybertruck after two years of delays
The first Cybertruck built at Tesla's Giga Texas facility.

The first Cybertruck built at Tesla's Giga Texas facility. Tesla

Tesla has shown off the first Cybertruck to roll off the production line at its new Gigafactory plant in Austin, Texas.

Read more