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https://t.co/2vmg92Q3Yw— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) March 13, 2024
Posted on 03/15/2024 8:49:07 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
I drive an older car--a Lexus LS430 from 2005, so I can rest assured of two things: an amazingly comfortable ride and that the tech in my vehicle is way too old to collect data to be sold online.
You, however, may not be so lucky. Some late-model cars are secretly collecting data on your driving habits, and selling the results for profit.
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https://t.co/2vmg92Q3Yw— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) March 13, 2024
Not only is this practice super creepy, but it could be costing you money and, if what I suspect is the case, giving the government a window into your behavior.
Drivers of cars manufactured by General Motors, Honda and other popular brands say that their insurance rates went up after the companies sent data about their driving behavior to issuers without their knowledge.
Kenn Dahl, 65, is a Seattle-area businessman who told The New York Times that his car insurance costs soared by 21% in 2022 after GM’s OnStar Smart Driver computerized system installed in his Chevy Bolt collected information about the particulars of his driving habits.
Dahl said that his insurance agent told him the price increase was based on data collected by LexisNexis, which compiled a report tracking each and every time he and his wife drove their Chevy Bolt over a six-month period.
Yikes! Did you catch that? The data was sold to LexisNexis, and they turned around and sold it again to the insurance companies, and no doubt might be doing the same to other interested in parties.
Parties like, I would bet, the government. I would be very interested to know if purchasing this information in any way violates the 4th Amendment. And, if it does, could the government collect the data and then search for it if they decide they want to?
The LexisNexis report indicated that the details it had cobbled together were gleaned from the OnStar Smart Driver, the GM-owned subscription service that records driver information such as total miles driven, hard braking incident and other aspects of driver behavior.
According to its web site, OnStar Smart Driver “provides driving insights on how you can become a smarter, safer driver” while enabling users to “earn badges by completing challenges, build on streaks specific to different driving habits and view all your data in an intuitive dashboard.”
This service is being sold to you as a nice extra, but exists as all such things do to be a profit center for the company, and information ABOUT you may turn out to be more profitable than what you are paying yourself. And of course the car is able to collect and beam this information out even if you don't subscribe to the service, ensuring that your value as a product to others provides a revenue stream for the company beyond what you paid for the car.
GM, whose portfolio of brands includes Chevy, GMC, Cadillac and Buick, isn’t the only car company that is gathering data through internet connectivity and then providing it to insurance companies.Subaru, Mitsubishi, Honda, Kia and Hyundai also offer drivers the option of turning on similar features without them being aware that the data is being sold to brokers similar to LexisNexis.
My fear is that selling this information to insurance companies is just the tip of the iceberg. Connecting one's car to the cloud enables a whole new level of surveillance by God knows whom. And in some cases, you have no idea it is happening.
Automakers and data brokers that have partnered to collect detailed driving data from millions of Americans say they have drivers’ permission to do so. But the existence of these partnerships is nearly invisible to drivers, whose consent is obtained in fine print and murky privacy policies that few read.
Especially troubling is that some drivers with vehicles made by G.M. say they were tracked even when they did not turn on the feature — called OnStar Smart Driver — and that their insurance rates went up as a result.
I suspect that there are massive databanks in the Cloud that are accessible to people with whom you may not wish to share your every move.
I take that back. I am certain that this is the case. And given the history the FBI has of supposedly secure databases with information that is only to be searched under very limited circumstances being wide open to every curious agent, I trust these people not one bit.
Nor should you.
I am still very happy with my 19-year-old Lexus. It is comfortable, has a big engine, and gets about as good gas mileage as a land yacht can (28-30 on the highway, which is great for a V-8). I also added Bluetooth. What's not to love?
Of course, I am kidding myself when I think I am safe from this sort of spying. I have a smartphone. It is probably listening to my every word and saying it to Google. If OnStar can generate a 258-page report on some guy's driving habits, who knows what Google has on me.
But I can dream, can't I?
I have a hunch that soon businesses will spring up to ‘cut the cord’ from one’s car to the Internet. Of course, once you need a data-link to start the engine (or whatever they force on us), then that won’t be an option.
My 1965 MG Midget?
You’re ok with that. Lucas electrics can’t charge a battery, let alone collect data.
Just like social media. Pass it off as a positive thing, make a game of it, shower you with the benefits of using it, and in the meantime, stick the knife in your back and twist it when you are not looking.
There's not a *smart* anything that is not 100% betrayal and surveillance.
Google Maps knows when you drive over the speed limit. I noticed it started doing that sometime last year.
It’s funny - I’m aware of the reputation but I’m the second owner and in 31 years never had a single problem with the electric. I’ve had to redo the brakes, leaf springs, cracked exhaust manifold, blown head gasket, rebuilt the SU carbs, replaced the radiator. I replaced the upholstery, steering wheel, gear shift knob, soft top and tonneau cover to get it back close to original…
No electric at all! Guess I was lucky.
Can you say, "hyperbolic"? I knew you could!
The headline reads like this is a universal truth. Come to find out it's only been proved true in some isolated cases from a very few manufacturers.
= Click-Bait
We want information...information... information!!!
You won't get it!
By hook or by crook, we will.
My favorite thing is restoring old machines from a hundred years ago - so my house is full functioning antiques. Other than my hundred plus year old Glenwood gold medal gas/wood stove, out kitchen and laundry appliances are all from the 1980s when I bought them - and I have a slew of musical instruments and audio equipment from the 50s 60s and 70s.. plus the heathkit diagnostic eq to help me do the diagnostics and repairs. I just keep them running. My wife wishes they would break so she could have a modern one. But I’m happy to save the money and not be spied on.
The exception is this iPhone and other computers and smart TVs so I’m just as vulnerable as everyone else.
I have a hunch that soon businesses will spring up to ‘cut the cord’ from one’s car to the Internet.
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I sure hope so! Over the last few years, I’ve had plenty of discussions with car sales folks about the surveillance systems in their cars.... and my answer has always been “nope... until you tear out the surveillance systems, I’m going to keep driving my pre-2007 vehicles.”
I want the same hack that I put into my Chev truck... a plug in piece under the steering column that disables the AFM (active fuel management) system that kept flipping the engine from 8 to 4 cylinders. Plug it in and the AFM is disabled and now I get better gas mileage and less oil consumption.... I want the plug and play ASS (active surveillance system) disabler!
There was a case of a missing wife in Colorado. They got the husband’s information from a company that went through his truck’s computer. I don’t recall if it was online or physically going through it. But it was crazy what they pulled from it. When each door was opened and closed, blinkers, brakes, speed. Even showed that he backed up 47 feet (or whatever) in his driveway at 3 am. Based on GPS and the number of times the gears rotated in his transmission. It wasn’t even that new of a truck - 2018 or something.
They still didn’t have enough evidence to bring him to trial though.
Car insurance should be based on accidents you caused. I do not want to pay for someone else’s bad record.
You’re cell phone is definitely listening to you. I talk to my relative as an example and I start seeing video suggestions in Youtube on the internet and thru their app I watch on Roku soon after the call.
Why 65 Willys is a rolling chassis with no battery so it’s ok.
I always liked that car.
Uh..turn off Google Maps?
From 4 days ago...
Buy a base trim.
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