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Internet-connected cars fail privacy and security tests conducted by Mozilla

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Re: Internet-connected cars fail privacy and security tests conducted by Mozilla

#481

Post by toast0 »

dylan604 wrote: post #278
ghaff wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's probably true that once you (more or less) need a screen for a decent backup camera and most people like a screen for at least GPS, it must be pretty tempting to at least think about what physical buttons can reasonably be eliminated given that the touchscreen is a given. And I do think a lot of designs go too far.

>and most people like a screen for at least GPS personal anecdotes, but the vast majority of me being a passenger to someone else's driving, they all used their mobile device for GPS. even the couple of cars i owned that had a nav system, the GPS came from the mobile device. it required their app to be installed to input the destination, making the internal unit just a second screen for your mobile.

From my experience with two cars with factory nav, it's nice because it will show the next instructions in the the dash area, so when you're looking down to check speed you also get that. And, one of my cars has an option to show the next several instructions (Ford Sync2, which everybody hates because the UI is really slow, and kind of ugly). On the other hand, pay to play for data updates sucks. And most importantly, safety requirements mean you either have to yell at the car and deal with dated voice recognition or stop to adjust things; even if you have a responsible passenger who could use the touch screen.

Mostly, I just use my phone. It's simpler and faster. My cars are too old for carplay/android auto, and my experience with android auto was that it was worse than the phone in a clip or a cupholder, but carplay seems nice. For longer drives to unfamiliar places, I'll put the address in the car too, sometimes the phone gets tired of listening to GPS.

Re: Internet-connected cars fail privacy and security tests conducted by Mozilla

#482

Post by tristor »

whycombagator wrote: post #232
tristor wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sadly Mazda doesn’t make any AWD cars, only a crossover. AWD is a requirement for me. I loved a Mazda 2 I previously had and loved the Miata track car I sold when I moved last year. Mazda makes great cars but unfortunately none that meet my base requirements.

Mazda 3 can be optioned AWD Edit: and seeing as you’re looking at a performance Corolla. You’d probably be interested in the Turbo AWD (250 hp and 320 lb-ft of torque). Car and Driver has an instrumented test. It’s not too far behind the GR and slightly cheaper

That's news to me. I'll definitely take a look.

Re: Internet-connected cars fail privacy and security tests conducted by Mozilla

#483

Post by bonestamp2 »

redbell wrote: post #471

> Many people think of their car as a private space — somewhere to call your doctor, have a personal conversation with your kid on the way to school.. The above quote was 100% true just a few years ago but it appears to be vanishing in speed light as the tech advances and the race to collect private data reaches its peak. I’m afraid we will have to check the “I Agree to Terms and Conditions” in our new cars and befor…

True, although I have some hope -- people have been disabling the onstar hardware in cars for decades and I assume this kind of thing will expand as these systems become even more invasive.

The solutions will probably have to advance. I assume the first stage will be just unplugging the telematics ECU (Electronic Control Unit). Then the automakers will get wise, and punish the driver if that ECU is offline (reduce/remove some unrelated features). Then we'll have to make hardware that plugs into the telematics and gps antenna connectors that acts like a man in middle to ensure only the minimum (and possibly fake) data is received by the ECU. Then they'll probably add something that calls home every so often and requires a valid response to know everything is ok... etc.

Re: Internet-connected cars fail privacy and security tests conducted by Mozilla

#484

Post by toast0 »

SamuelAdams wrote: post #450
EricE wrote: post #351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just unplug the cellular modem. I have three "dumb" cars and I'm going to continue to baby the crap out of them. I have zero interest in anything new. Maybe a Mazda if push came to shove.

Easier said than done. Where is that located? Is there a service manual that explains where that part is?

There's a good chance the modem is on its own fuse. There's also a good chance the modem is 4g only, so whenever that gets shutdown, the car will be trackerless, as happened to cars with 2g or 3g modems. :D

Re: Internet-connected cars fail privacy and security tests conducted by Mozilla

#485

Post by fidotron »

These cars are simply indicators of what smart homes would look like if marketers got their way: mechanisms to capture the hormonal state of inhabitants to better advertise to them.

That isn’t a joke btw. For example women are far more susceptible to advertising based on their menstrual cycle. Gad Saad, of all people, wrote a very serious book about basically that.

Re: Internet-connected cars fail privacy and security tests conducted by Mozilla

#486

Post by foxyv »

ghaff wrote: post #178
devilbunny wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know about their markups, but Mazda has been pulling out touchscreens and putting back buttons for audio and climate control purposes. Not sure how far it's made it through their models.

A 2022 Honda Passport has physical buttons for pretty much everything. The only thing I use the touchscreen for is as a display for maps from CarPlay (and the backup camera). So reliance on the touchscreen for things like environmental controls isn't universal even in new cars.

I love Honda interiors. The base models are almost always the best with big unique knobs and buttons. However, I'm really disappointed on their electrification. I would speculate that their misguided attempt to push Hydrogen is going to kill the Japanese companies if they don't invest in BEVs soon.

I would seriously consider a 300 mile range, electrified Honda Fit using Chevy's Ultium platform. But it seems car companies are too focused on SUVs and Crossovers to pad their nests. Make number go up strikes again!

Re: Internet-connected cars fail privacy and security tests conducted by Mozilla

#487

Post by InitialLastName »

phpisthebest wrote: post #469
InitialLastName wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For anyone from outside the US concerned about this: car inspection standards are state-specific. Many states have far more stringent standards.

Only 12 states require routine safety inspections.

The civilized world gets smaller by the day...

Re: Internet-connected cars fail privacy and security tests conducted by Mozilla

#488

Post by falcolas »

sergiosgc wrote: post #455
cduzz wrote: post #432

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dislike indeterminate lag between input and action. With an automatic, there's a threshold where the car decides to downshift when asking for a particular increase in forward velocity; that set point will wander depending on current RPM state and velocity and drive gear ratio. Modern cars are bad enough with turbos and fancy valve timing and throttle by wire stuff where the behavior of the thing is a big stack of j…

That is true, but only in automatic mode. In semi-automatic, everything is quite predictable, no?

Predictable, usually. Lag free? Not in my experience. Most of the time there’s a good quarter to half second between requesting the shift and the transmission acting.

For me at least, that lag is very effective at disconnecting me from the experience of driving.

Re: Internet-connected cars fail privacy and security tests conducted by Mozilla

#489

Post by technothrasher »

sergiosgc wrote: post #262
tristor wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate them so much. Otherwise great cars are completely ruined by touchscreens. What was wrong with tactile knobs you could operate one handed without looking? You’re driving for fuck’s sake. It’s why things like the GR Corolla are nearly miraculous in 2023, it even comes stick shift only.

As an European, where we drive mostly stick, it's funny to observe the newfound US love for stick shifts. It's funny because it happened almost exactly when automatics became good! Good dual clutch gearboxes are amazing, but even "classic" ones like BMW's ZF6 or ZF8 are really close. ZF8 is so good BMW uses it in the M3, instead of a dual clutch. With these options, I'd never go back to stick shift. This after having…

> it's funny to observe the newfound US love for stick shifts

Nobody in the US loves or drives stick shifts. There's been a steady drop in manual transmissions here from about 12% of the market in 2000 to 2% of the market today. The noise around them is just a very small vocal minority of enthusiasts who pine for the "old days". I'm definitely one of those enthusiasts, but I have to face reality that they're effectively gone. I haven't had a stick for a daily driver since about 2010. I do still have older manual sports cars that I can drive and enjoy when I wish.

Re: Internet-connected cars fail privacy and security tests conducted by Mozilla

#490

Post by CP3f6kMA »

eficek wrote: post #241
kornhole wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kill switches are now required for cars produced after 2026. https://www.musclecarsandtrucks.com/biden-infrastructure-bil... It is for your safety. ;)

https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-402773429497

It's my car. Who are these people to place restrictions on what I do with it?
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