Smart Car Surveillance.

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1 How to Make a Smart Car Surveillance System Using a Mobile Phone
2 Tips
3 Warnings
4 Things You'll Need

[edit] How to Make a Smart Car Surveillance System Using a Mobile Phone

Instead of purchasing a fancy car alarm that'll go off in the middle of the night when a bird flies by and annoy the whole neighborhood, you can protect your car with a simple cell phone and the following set-up...

Buy a decent GSM mobile phone with auto-answer and mute features. It should have good reception and a perfect microphone. The ones with small external antennae work best.
Note down the International Mobile Equipment Identification number (IMEI Number) of your mobile phone. This 15 digit number can be located underneath the battery of the mobile phone (you may need to remove the battery to find it). You can get this number displayed on the screen by dialing *#06# on the keypad of your (nokia) mobile phone. If you are not sure, seek help from the vendor.
Buy a new postpaid (contract) mobile connection. Choose the cheapest plan available since the phone will be rarely, if ever, used. Pre-paid mobile plans may work in some areas, if you can easily and simply keep the number activated (which generally requires either additional deposits or use of the phone).
Mount the SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) Card in the mobile phone and test the connection. Select the best network for coverage and reliability, and make sure that the connection has roaming ability.
Switch on the Automatic Network Search option on the phone.
Mute the phone by removing its speaker. If you choose not to remove the speaker, make sure to turn off the speaker phone, ring tones and alerts. Also, turn off the screen light and vibrator options. *The idea is to make it totally silent and quiet.
Put on the auto-answer mode in the mobile phone.
Get a suitable car-mobile charger and mount it securely behind dashboard of your car. Get some wires and connect it to the car battery.
Enable the PIN (Personal Identification Number) feature.
Lock the keyboard of the mobile phone.
Mount the mobile phone securely behind the dashboard or some other inconspicuous place inside the car. Both the mobile phone and the charger should be smartly hidden.
Securely connect the mobile phone to the mobile charger (soldering the wires together is the best method).
Keep the mobile number to yourself.
Test the connections made by calling to the mobile installed inside the car from another phone. The auto-response should work. Tell your kid to get inside the car and to keep on speaking some thing. You should be able to clearly hear him speaking over the other phone. If that is accomplished, your Smart Car Surveillance System is properly installed.
When your car is found missing, immediately inform the police and your mobile network. Tell them about your Smart Car Surveillance System, the phone number and IMEI number. They'll be able to easily track down the culprits. Remember to tell the Network not to block the SIM, which they usually do, whenever a mobile phone is reported stolen (if the connection is blocked, your purpose may not be served...). All the way, you can hear the car thieves talking to each other and that too can give you helpful hints to track them.
Test the system once in a while.

[edit] Tips

The effectiveness of this system is directly proportionate to the willingness and smartness of the mobile phone network and police.
Removing the outer covers of the mobile phone before mounting it can make it more unidentifiable. Sign up on one of the new style "Family Share Plan" type contracts. It uses the same minutes as your main plan, and, at least with Cingular, costs only $10 a month. Other providers have similar plans and similar costs.
There are also websites around that let you track where the phone is (GPS based services based on trianglulation of your mobile signal) on sites like www.childlocate.co.uk and www.mapamobile.com.
When your car is stolen you can just give the police this link and let them get it that way as well.

[edit] Warnings

You will have to pay the monthly bill for the mobile connection. That will be the minimum, since you'll not making any outgoing calls.
Don't go around and tell everyone about your new Smart Car Surveillance System.. Once known, it is very easy to dismantle the system. Remember, a known trap is no trap at all!
Mount the whole system inconspicuously.
Try to mount the mobile phone very near to the driver seat.
The mobile connection should be a postpaid (contract) plan, unless you are confident that a pre-paid plan will work.
This may not work if the car is taken to a place where there is no network at all.
Mount the mobile phone in such a way so as not to block its transmission or reception.
Don't forget the mobile number or its IMEI Number.