The amount of spying and protectionism built into these cars makes me uncomfortable with owning one. While there are manufacturers like Aptera who are claiming to want to buck this trend by offering mail-order replacement parts, I'm convinced that I should just weld together my own rolling chassis and build a modern electric horseless carriage. It's insurance and safety concerns that give me pause. People in my state drive like maniacs on the best of days. A home built car, regardless of how much over-engineering I put into it, will likely be less safe in a collision than a modern car.
Carmakers Will Give Your Location to Police Without a Warrant, Senators Say
141–150 of 198 posts
Re: Carmakers Will Give Your Location to Police Without a Warrant, Senators Say
#142This is exactly why I bought a car that has a fuse for the Data Communication Module (DCM) that I have pulled, and I will never buy another car unless I can physically disconnect anything in it that sends radio transmissions.
In my case I can’t drive my car then because the RF also handles the location beacon which is required for the class 3 alarm system which is needed for the insurance. Without insurance you can’t drive. So there are many situations where unfortunately this is not an option.
Re: Carmakers Will Give Your Location to Police Without a Warrant, Senators Say
#143Earlier quoted context omitted.
What you have to do is stay just under the radar without looking like you're staying under the radar. The Amish stand out. But mc32 driving a 1998 Volvo with no cell phone does not stand out.
> But mc32 driving a 1998 Volvo with no cell phone does not stand out. What is "mc32"?
Re: Carmakers Will Give Your Location to Police Without a Warrant, Senators Say
#144To take the counterpoint to most comments on this topic: It used to be impractical to track cars to fine granularity. Now that it is practical: maybe we want that? Cars are multi-ton, incredibly-expensive pieces of hardware that operate on shared roadways. There are about 42,000 deaths related to operating them each year. Increased tracking would simplify the challenges of * Finding stolen vehicles * Discovering the…
So as an absurd example: perhaps there is a net societal good in not treating a house with children in it as a private space? Most children are abused by their parents or other close relatives - shouldn't we want to protect children from their abusers?
Re: Carmakers Will Give Your Location to Police Without a Warrant, Senators Say
#145This is exactly why I bought a car that has a fuse for the Data Communication Module (DCM) that I have pulled, and I will never buy another car unless I can physically disconnect anything in it that sends radio transmissions.
In my case I can’t drive my car then because the RF also handles the location beacon which is required for the class 3 alarm system which is needed for the insurance. Without insurance you can’t drive. So there are many situations where unfortunately this is not an option.
Re: Carmakers Will Give Your Location to Police Without a Warrant, Senators Say
#146Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's illegal about removing the fuse for the OnStar system from your own car? Certainly the doctrine of first sale applies here?
On late model Toyotas, pulling the fuse for the DCM (Data Communication Module - component that sends nonconsensual telemetry back to Toyota) also disables the car's bluetooth microphone and front right speaker. There is a procedure to disable the DCM and restore at least the speaker, but it involves partial disassembly of the dashboard.
Re: Carmakers Will Give Your Location to Police Without a Warrant, Senators Say
#147This is exactly why I bought a car that has a fuse for the Data Communication Module (DCM) that I have pulled, and I will never buy another car unless I can physically disconnect anything in it that sends radio transmissions.
In my case I can’t drive my car then because the RF also handles the location beacon which is required for the class 3 alarm system which is needed for the insurance. Without insurance you can’t drive. So there are many situations where unfortunately this is not an option.
Re: Carmakers Will Give Your Location to Police Without a Warrant, Senators Say
#148There is a growing number of cases where the salesperson will activate OnStar (or a non-GM equivalent) without asking or telling the buyer about it. As far as I know, there is no (legal) way to deactivate OnStar or similar GPS trackers built into cars. Of course if you're driving in a city the proliferation of ALPRs is so pervasive that your movements are being tracked in real-time even if you're driving a 1958 Ford…
Re: Carmakers Will Give Your Location to Police Without a Warrant, Senators Say
#149Your location isn't that big a deal. They can easily get that from License Plate Readers. What will be interesting, is if they ever use the data to give you tickets. I know that there was a discussion of a plan to use the New Jersey Turnpike tollbooths/EZ-Pass to judge speed between two points, and mail you a ticket. I don't think it ever made it out of the starting gate.
Re: Carmakers Will Give Your Location to Police Without a Warrant, Senators Say
#150Makes me wonder how this case remains unsolved. (Or if solved, unreported.) https://cwbchicago.com/2024/05/bucktown-hit-and-run-bentley-...
That looks like a ~2005 Bentley Continental which may not the ability to call home.