I've had remote starters on my last two cars, and loved them in both. Both were Infiniti's - an '07 G35x, and an '09 M45x, which is what I traded in for the 2010 GTI that I have now. In addition, my wife had a Jetta Sportswagon, and we installed a remote starter in that without any problems. All 3 were Viper remote start systems, and all 3 worked flawlessly.
Vipers automatically shut off after 10 minutes, so the horrible scenario above would have to be a fluke 1 in a million type of event, as sad as it is.
I was supposed to have a Viper remote start system installed in my GTI today, but the installer called me earlier on and said he can't locate the wiring diagram needed for this anywhere, and is unable to install it. Apparently even Viper have not yet tried it out on the '10 and later GTI, so they don't have anything. The place that installed this on my wife's Jetta was Myer Emco. They were expensive, but good. Unfortunately they've closed down, so they're not an option for me. So I guess I will just have to return the remote start unit, and instead, go start the car 5 mins before I leave my house, and run back inside to let the car warm up.
Regarding the speed of the heated seats. I do agree that the GTI's heated seats work very quickly - much more quickly than my 2 Infiniti's or my wife's current car - a Mercedes ML350. But it's not just the seat. For those of us who grew up in much warmer climates than the US Northeast, mornings in the 20's are not much fun, and I'm willing to waste 5 mins worth of gas to get the whole car warm when I get into it. Anyway, I guess it's a non-issues since it's not yet possible with the GTI. I will check out the Orbit though.
Cheers
t1