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I drive a 30-year-old Nissan pickup truck for this exact reason. Not sure why, but I get a small sense of joy knowing that the corporate overlords aren't "watch

I drive a 30-year-old Nissan pickup truck for this exact reason. Not sure why, but I get a small sense of joy knowing that the corporate overlords aren't "watching" me drive. Of course they're "watching" me on my phone (as I drive the beater truck), but that's a different story.

reverendsteveii 2y ago
my headphones just popped up an alert on my phone that turned out to be an ad for a nascar race. that got their app uninstalled. if they ever realize that they can start shoving ads directly into my ears that's when the headphones themselves get taken out back and smashed with a hammer.
NotYourLawyer 2y ago
Before I bought my most recent vehicle, I did my research and figured out how to physically disconnect the modem / telemetry unit.
- sodality2 2y ago
  Is this actually feasible for some decent percentage of cars nowadays? If so, where did you research?
  - NotYourLawyer 2y ago
    YouTube. I think in most cars it’s gonna be a discrete component that can just be unplugged. The big question is what functionality you lose, and whether you can live with that tradeoff.
  - colonial 2y ago
    Anecdotally, my 2023 Kia's infotainment unit is one big plastic box that I was able to access by just prying up some plastic and undoing a handful of screws. I was applying some dielectric grease to the USB port used for Android Auto (in order to prevent intermittent disconnects while driving) but I wouldn't be surprised if one of the many other cables plugged into it led to a cell antenna on the exterior. There are also software options; I was able to disable the "telematics" in the same vehicle by inputting a (frankly schizophrenic) combo of rolling back the date, touching random invisible trigger zones in menus, and entering a leaked PIN to access the appropriate service menu on the infotainment unit. Figuring all that out was unfortunately quite difficult, although I imagine you might be able to get "official" help if your local dealership is friendly and willing to bend the rules. I had to settle for a lot of keyword massaging on Google.
    - NotYourLawyer 2y ago
      > I was able to disable the "telematics" in the same vehicle This is only sufficient if you trust software, which you shouldn’t. Hardware disconnects are reliable. Cut the power.
ed_mercer 2y ago
That old truck is probably polluting 10-30× more than a modern one. While corporations have their flaws, they have spent time and money making engines more efficient and reducing harmful emissions.
- userbinator 2y ago
  Don't care. They can entice us as much as they want. We will not comply. Some people love rolling coal for that reason. (My semi-daily driver is over 50 years old.)
  - nick238 2y ago
    Some people love shooting guns into the air, why is that so bad?
    - guy234 2y ago
      that could directly cause a death
      - morsch 2y ago
        High particulate emissions directly cause deaths.
        userbinator 2y ago
        Everyone is born with a fatal disease called life.
- kmac_ 2y ago
  After seeing how much safer new cars are in crash tests, old cars don't look so good anymore.
  - colonial 2y ago
    I wish more people were aware of this. I'm often reminded of a conversation I overheard at my high school retail job: $OLDGUY_CUSTOMER (to my coworker): "Wow, I just saw a big crash on [nearby arterial road]! The entire front of the car was smashed in!" $COWORKER: "Oh no! Was the driver alright?" $OLDGUY: "Yeah, he seemed fine. There wasn't an ambulance or anything." [beat] "Man, they don't make them like they used to. When I was young, cars didn't crumple like that - it was much safer!" Ugh.

reverendsteveii 2y ago

my headphones just popped up an alert on my phone that turned out to be an ad for a nascar race. that got their app uninstalled. if they ever realize that they can start shoving ads directly into my ears that's when the headphones themselves get taken out back and smashed with a hammer.

NotYourLawyer 2y ago

Before I bought my most recent vehicle, I did my research and figured out how to physically disconnect the modem / telemetry unit.

sodality2 2y ago
Is this actually feasible for some decent percentage of cars nowadays? If so, where did you research?
- NotYourLawyer 2y ago
  YouTube. I think in most cars it’s gonna be a discrete component that can just be unplugged. The big question is what functionality you lose, and whether you can live with that tradeoff.
- colonial 2y ago
  Anecdotally, my 2023 Kia's infotainment unit is one big plastic box that I was able to access by just prying up some plastic and undoing a handful of screws. I was applying some dielectric grease to the USB port used for Android Auto (in order to prevent intermittent disconnects while driving) but I wouldn't be surprised if one of the many other cables plugged into it led to a cell antenna on the exterior. There are also software options; I was able to disable the "telematics" in the same vehicle by inputting a (frankly schizophrenic) combo of rolling back the date, touching random invisible trigger zones in menus, and entering a leaked PIN to access the appropriate service menu on the infotainment unit. Figuring all that out was unfortunately quite difficult, although I imagine you might be able to get "official" help if your local dealership is friendly and willing to bend the rules. I had to settle for a lot of keyword massaging on Google.
  - NotYourLawyer 2y ago
    > I was able to disable the "telematics" in the same vehicle This is only sufficient if you trust software, which you shouldn’t. Hardware disconnects are reliable. Cut the power.

ed_mercer 2y ago

That old truck is probably polluting 10-30× more than a modern one. While corporations have their flaws, they have spent time and money making engines more efficient and reducing harmful emissions.

userbinator 2y ago
Don't care. They can entice us as much as they want. We will not comply. Some people love rolling coal for that reason. (My semi-daily driver is over 50 years old.)
- nick238 2y ago
  Some people love shooting guns into the air, why is that so bad?
  - guy234 2y ago
    that could directly cause a death
    - morsch 2y ago
      High particulate emissions directly cause deaths.
      - userbinator 2y ago
        Everyone is born with a fatal disease called life.
kmac_ 2y ago
After seeing how much safer new cars are in crash tests, old cars don't look so good anymore.
- colonial 2y ago
  I wish more people were aware of this. I'm often reminded of a conversation I overheard at my high school retail job: $OLDGUY_CUSTOMER (to my coworker): "Wow, I just saw a big crash on [nearby arterial road]! The entire front of the car was smashed in!" $COWORKER: "Oh no! Was the driver alright?" $OLDGUY: "Yeah, he seemed fine. There wasn't an ambulance or anything." [beat] "Man, they don't make them like they used to. When I was young, cars didn't crumple like that - it was much safer!" Ugh.