I am sure this article has been shared before, however I wanted to have a look at this topic.
The articles short summary is this:
All 25 car brands we researched earned our *Privacy Not Included warning label – making cars the worst category of products that we have ever reviewed
I am currently driving a 2014 Ford Fiesta which just has a radio with a CD player and Bluetooth. I do not need more than that in a car.
The reason I am looking at all is that that the Fiesta does not belong to me and the friend owning it will be moving out in a bit, so I kinda need another one.
There seems to be one brand that is not as bad as the other ones (but still bad): Renault; mozilla's review...
Maybe I will have a look at their cars.
What do you guys think? Stick to older used cars and not use an EV or look at which of the manufacturers have the least bad privacy policy?
Stick to older cars. Learn the way of the wrench. End.
Automated license plate readers (both fixed abd mobile) means old cars are tracked as well.
Right, but that's not relevant to the topic. We're talking about the car itself collecting data and sending that to the manufacturer.
I'm sorry to say this is nowhere near the "end"... there is only a relative small window where pre 2018 vehicles are a viable purchase for the masses (those are already at least 8 year old cars)... in 10 more years they will simply not be practical/suitable unless you happen to be a full mechanic and restorer
So first off, no need to throw around insults to look cool... this isn't a shitty US sitcom from the 80's
You claim "the end" as in learning some auto mechanics is a permanent solution. I am claiming it is not since we will run out of cars that do not have all the invasive crappy technology. This movement hit the fast lane with the 2018 models which means you need to stay in 2017 or earlier models which are now, 8 years old. In 10 years, 15 to be generous, it would be hard to buy a car from 2017 in working order and not everyone will be able to become a full on mechanic. Even if you are, the bodies of the cars cannot last that long in regular use in harsh weather like Canada's
And all of this is if the gov does not intervene for the auto industry, which they will absolutely do, and ensure your 18 year old car does not pass safety and you cannot legally drive it anyway
The question wasn't "how do I restore an old car without skills?" Rather, the question was quite literally: "Stick to older used cars and not use an EV or look at which of the manufacturers have the least bad privacy policy?"
And I answered accordingly, albeit with a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor. It's not that deep.
The stupidest part of this whole "always connected" BS is it doesn't do anything for the car. I pulled and partially rebuilt the engine in my 2020 gmc and those stupid emails about the car's health didn't even notice. It keeps sending them to me regardless of me not paying for on star or if the engine is sitting in the garage. Made me want to find the antennae and disconnect it.
For most OEMs it's the shark fin (older) or bump (newer) on the roof. It would probably be way easier to pull the fuse.
Which GMC, specifically?
Terrain diesel. Flex plate exploded around 100k miles so I pulled it and did the timing chain at the same time.