It turns out that the “Internet of Things” is full of automated snoops and spies. Data collection, now integrated into new car designs, is more pervasive than ever and is ushering in a brave new world of surveillance and corporate collusion.
My next car will probably be a 1986 Ford Bronco with an EV conversion and zero network connectivity. Just a hunk of 4x4 steel with a ton (literally) of batteries under the hood.
Dragging around a Ton of extra weight for no reason kinda defeats the purpose of going electric. Actually, dragging around the extra ton in the Broncos body kinda defeats the purpose of going electric too.
Just catch a bus!
for no reason
for to drive
“Real drivers” prefer lightweight cars that are more responsive and can corner, take off and stop on a dime.
Track racing, off-road racing and even Motorkhana and technical rock-crawling is more fun in a vehicle that is the bare minimum.
The only reason any driver would want something with superfluous extra weight is in Monster Trucks for stability, and then only if they are a shit driver.
Even Tractor pulls (where the object is to pull a heavy weight) need the right balance of power:weight and ballast to have sufficient traction to offset the dead weight of the load.
Sure! We can insure that for you! Oh we just noticed that our InsureLink service isn’t connecting to your car. So I’ll just need you to sign this waiver saying that you’re declining the InsureLink Safety discount. Just sign right here. It’s just saying that we cannot offer you all of our insurance services, just like if you get in an accident or something and we can’t remotely verify what you were doing at the time, we can’t help you. Great! And without the Safety discount your premiums will go up by only 372.50 a month.
Have you considered the International Harvester Scout?
The mid-80’s Bronco is just for sentimentality. It was a piece of shit but given that little of the original’s powertrain survives the conversion, I don’t mind. My second option is a Range Rover from the same era. There I would also replace the electronics.
What about the Unimog? That’s a bog hopper mobile.
In the US, your car manufacturer might have a Do Not Sell My Information request form on their website. Not sure how effective it is, but it’s worth trying.
That’s the thing that’s funny about this.
Some auto brands would ignore it, and some might actually take these requests seriously due to the legal ramifications if they don’t.
Even if they ignored it, how would you know?
It can’t spy on me if it doesn’t exist.
In related news, the DoJ are suing Apple because car manufacturers can’t extract Tracking data out of people’s iPhones.
This isn’t even remotely true. This is specifically what the DOJ is suing over: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39780312
CarPlay access is also included in the Lawsuit.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/21/24107976/apple-carplay-doj-lawsuit-anticompetitive-digital-key
GM are discontinuing CarPlay integration because they couldn’t reach an agreement with Apple over user data.
GM have been busted selling OnStar data to insurance companies for money.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/22/technology/gm-onstar-driver-data.html
Tracking individuals and selling their data is very lucrative and Automotive Manufacturers are trying to find income streams to subsidise EV sales. Apple and (to a lesser extent) Google have been protecting users data.
Porsche recently allowed Android Auto on their CarPlay-compatible headunits after negotiating with Google over owners privacy concerns.