jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I'm sure you know that modern cars are loaded with electronics that keep track of everything. I watched a video last night from a car shop that's working on a 2024 Mustang. Cars never have enough power. 😊 What he said is scary.

Basically, new cars spy on you and report back to the manufacturer. Imagine an invisible passenger riding with you all the time. But it's worse than that. It also knows everything that's on your phone, provided the phone has been paired with the car. It has all your contacts' numbers, and it can read your texts and emails even if you haven't read them yet. Basically, it knows as much as your phone knows. Did all your passengers click their seat belts? You may not know, but your car and the manufacturer know.

How about your driving? Are you weaving too much? If so, you're either tired or drunk. An alarm will sound, and it won't stop until you pull off the road and stop the car. Naturally, the manufacturer knows about this. Want to see if your car can do 100? Nope! It's limited to 80 MPH. There are circumstances in which you can go faster, but that is decided by the car. The car's camera can read! Some passengers in your car may not be able to read speed limit signs, but the car can. It knows when you are speeding, and so does the manufacturer.

As I said above, this pertains specifically to the 2024 Mustang, but the narrator said it's more or less universal. The owner's manual contains 551 pages, and most of this is spelled out in the manual. The manual also says that Ford will give information to "authorities" that request it. It also says - as all agreements do - that the agreement can change at any time.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Hmmm. Interesting.
Remember the lead in to The Fifth Element?
Guy got tickets because his "car" snitched on him.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Well, that's probably in our future. The same thing happens with red light cameras. You receive a ticket in the mail. Some towns are doing away with those cameras because they're not fair.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Yes, they don't show the circumstances.
Like sliding through on a light that just turned red to avoid getting rear-ended because the car behind you is not/can't stop in time. I had to do that once. I heard screeching tires, looked in my rear view mirror, and decided to keep going through the light...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I'm always afraid of that because so many cars - pickup trucks, actually - tailgate. it's unusual for me to see a pickup that isn't right on my bumper.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Exactly!!!
And a few will anticipate YOU continuing, so they will be RIGHT BEHIND you......
Dang. When I had a pickup I didn't tailgate! I value mu vehicles!

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

My 2024 Honda has all those features including a self-driving function (just to keep you in your highway lane) and a feature that steers your car back into the center of the lane if you wander. At this point, I assume these cars are essentially "fly by wire" vehicles where there's no longer a direct mechanical connection between the driver and the wheels or engine; it's all handled by the computer that's operating servos based on driver input.

When Skynet becomes operational, it won't need an army of Terminators. All it'll need to do, is run our cars up to 100 and steer the car and hapless passengers into the nearest building, lake or bridge abutment. Hell, it can even lock the doors and windows so we can't jump out.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

My son's 2020 Fit has those lane features, but they can be turned off. I've driven it on curvy roads without holding onto the steering wheel. If the curve isn't too sharp, the car easily follows the road.

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

I can turn off these features in my car but it's a complicated process requiring the owner to auger down through several "system setup" levels to do it. I shut off my car's automatic high/low beam switching because it was driving me nuts constantly flicking high and low as oncoming cars approached or I caught up to a car in front of me.

BTW hang on to that Fit; I tried to buy one last October and the dealer announced Honda no longer makes them. Probably because it was reasonably priced and had gas mileage close to a Prius. Not enough profit in them?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I'm not a subscriber to that yet......

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

Event recorders have been factory installed in a lot of vehicles since the 1990s. Real time OTA is a natural progression eventually.

EdJ0307 Loc: out west someplace

One of my vehicles is a 1996 Ford Explorer. For the most part it's a great car, haven't had many issues with it. Lately I have to fiddle with the gear shift lever to get the starter to engage. I figure it is the neutral safety switch. I used to do most of the work on my cars but being 81 and having medical issues lately I don't care to work on the cars anymore. So I took the car to a local repair shop to have it checked/repaired but they said they don't work on anything earlier than a 1999 vehicle which he said was the same with most garages. Oh, crap. That isn't as bad as motorcycles. According to the MC shop I frequented when I had a motorcycle they won't work on any MC over seven years old.

The place that said they don't work on anything earlier that 1999 gave me the name of a place that will work on it. I did find a Youtube video showing how to replace the switch but it requires getting under the vehicle to do the job which would be really difficult for me. If it was in the engine compartment I could probably handle the job Ok.

suterjo Loc: Delaplane, VA

I drive a pickup all the time and I never tailgate because it's harder to stop than a car; especially if I have a load in the bed.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

majeskiphoto Loc: Hamilton, Ontario

And who do You think are tracking our driving characteristics?
This will soon govern Your insurance rates!
Not to mention, whether they will cover You in an accident!