4 ms·

just another reason among many for why I refuse to own a car with an internet connection.

by Brett_Riverboat 1y ago

SteveNuts 1y ago
Or anything made by Stellantis, in my case at least.
- gedy 1y ago
  My dad's old joke was FIAT stands for: Fix It Again Tony
  - hulitu 1y ago
    https://www.web-cars.com/humor/acronyms.html https://www.web-cars.com/humor/acronyms.html
    - janwl 1y ago
      For some reason BMW is missing a very good one.
      - marcoc 11mo ago
        Which one?
whynotmaybe 1y ago
How does it work in this case? The car has an esim and can connect to cellular network?
- bnjms 1y ago
  People on hn and I assume car forums will remove the radio antenna or otherwise disconnect the relevant hardware.
  - 7thaccount 1y ago
    I don't think that's always possible anymore
    - Our_Benefactors 1y ago
      It must be possible given the understanding of: - there must be a physical mechanism providing connectivity to cellular networks - this mechanism cannot be required to handshake in order to start the car (not everywhere has cell service!) Manufacturers can certainly increase the difficulty to remove the offending hardware, but given these two axioms is can’t be determined to be impossible.
      - emptybits 1y ago
        "- this mechanism cannot be required to handshake in order to start the car (not everywhere has cell service!)" In 2025, this is true. At some point in the future, I predict this will be false. Maddening. It's the We Must See You Online Or We Don't Owe You The Service You've Paid For Principle. Sure it starts with software (e.g. Adobe) and content (e.g. Spotify) but I can see it extending to home appliances and vehicles. Because they can. Word to justify this principle will be used and the words will sound positive and good and consumers will nod their heads and shrug. "For Your Protection." "Safety." "Authentication." "Copyright Protection." i.e. assumed guilty offline until proven innocent online
      - mindslight 1y ago
        Think again. Imagine a scheme where the car won't start (or only operates in limp mode) if it has not been able to connect to the network (and therefore backhaul surveillance logs) in say 30 or 90 days. And this kind of scheme actually seems likely to arise from standard corporate incentives like wanting to make sure critical safety recalls actually get fixed.
      - 7thaccount 11mo ago
        Not if those components eventually get included as part of other core chips you can't remove. At some point, you'll have to completely redesign your cars electronics system to do so.

just another reason among many for why I refuse to own a car with an internet connection.

SteveNuts 1y ago

Or anything made by Stellantis, in my case at least.

gedy 1y ago
My dad's old joke was FIAT stands for: Fix It Again Tony
- hulitu 1y ago
  https://www.web-cars.com/humor/acronyms.html https://www.web-cars.com/humor/acronyms.html
  - janwl 1y ago
    For some reason BMW is missing a very good one.
    - marcoc 11mo ago
      Which one?

whynotmaybe 1y ago

How does it work in this case? The car has an esim and can connect to cellular network?

bnjms 1y ago
People on hn and I assume car forums will remove the radio antenna or otherwise disconnect the relevant hardware.
- 7thaccount 1y ago
  I don't think that's always possible anymore
  - Our_Benefactors 1y ago
    It must be possible given the understanding of: - there must be a physical mechanism providing connectivity to cellular networks - this mechanism cannot be required to handshake in order to start the car (not everywhere has cell service!) Manufacturers can certainly increase the difficulty to remove the offending hardware, but given these two axioms is can’t be determined to be impossible.
    - emptybits 1y ago
      "- this mechanism cannot be required to handshake in order to start the car (not everywhere has cell service!)" In 2025, this is true. At some point in the future, I predict this will be false. Maddening. It's the We Must See You Online Or We Don't Owe You The Service You've Paid For Principle. Sure it starts with software (e.g. Adobe) and content (e.g. Spotify) but I can see it extending to home appliances and vehicles. Because they can. Word to justify this principle will be used and the words will sound positive and good and consumers will nod their heads and shrug. "For Your Protection." "Safety." "Authentication." "Copyright Protection." i.e. assumed guilty offline until proven innocent online
    - mindslight 1y ago
      Think again. Imagine a scheme where the car won't start (or only operates in limp mode) if it has not been able to connect to the network (and therefore backhaul surveillance logs) in say 30 or 90 days. And this kind of scheme actually seems likely to arise from standard corporate incentives like wanting to make sure critical safety recalls actually get fixed.
    - 7thaccount 11mo ago
      Not if those components eventually get included as part of other core chips you can't remove. At some point, you'll have to completely redesign your cars electronics system to do so.