Technology

My 2021 Seat Leon has this idiotic panel on the semi underside of the dash on the left side of the steering wheel.

It controls the headlight modes, fog lights, and, most annoyingly, front and rear de-mist, all controlled by touch buttons.

So if you are driving and the windows are fogging up for some reason, you need to take your eyes off the road and carefully touch only the two buttons for de-misting.

I counter the privacy crap with a constant stream of podcasts when I drive...

2012 prius-c, physical air-conditioning temp knob, physical buttons for everything. Added CarPlay receiver, and it's the perfect vehicle. No electronic "syncing" to be done. Just works.

My 2004 was the newest car I'd had when I bought it in 2018. I don't plan on ever buying anything newer.

Yeah I've always believed in tactile feedback for driving safety. Which is why I love my Jeep Wrangler without the fancy features. Analog dash, keyed ignition, manual locks, windows, seats. Dials, knobs, handshift. I only have the backup camera since it became required lol

My 2009 Outback Wagon died on me this past summer 😭😭😭

That was Nissan. I don't think that it was ever established that they were, just that their click-through privacy agreement had the consumer explicitly give them the right to do so.

kagis

They apparently say that they put it in there because the data that they did collect would permit inferring sexual orientation (like, I assume that if they're harvesting location data and someone is parking outside gay bars, it's probably possible to data-mine that).

https://nypost.com/2023/09/06/nissan-kia-collect-data-about-drivers-sexual-activity/

On Nissan’s official web page outlining its privacy policy, the Japan-based company said that it collects drivers’ “sensitive personal information, including driver’s license number, national or state identification number, citizenship status, immigration status, race, national origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation, sexual activity, precise geolocation, health diagnosis data, and genetic information.”

“Nissan does not knowingly collect or disclose consumer information on sexual activity or sexual orientation,” a company spokesperson told The Post.

“Some state laws require us to account for inadvertent data collection or information that could be inferred from other data, such as geolocation.”

Commercial vehicles are still fine if you can tolerate it. Might be the best option in 15 years if nothing else. I have a '19 transit van and it has no way of phoning home, the only infotainment is the one I installed. I haven't researched too deeply but I assume the transit connect line is similar and if it is I'm considering making one my next personal vehicle.

Yep. I’m stuck driving cars from the mid-2000s at the latest because it’s a deal-breaker for me.

There are still a bunch, but ultimately, that supply is going to dwindle as wear and tear and such takes effect.

On some cars, you can disconnect the power to the cell radio module. I've read some posts about people doing that on newer Toyota Corollas.

kagis

Not the post I'm thinking of, but an example:

https://old.reddit.com/r/GRCorolla/comments/1f1vl94/for_those_of_you_looking_to_disable_the_dcm_and/

I remember they said that you used to be able to just pull out a single fuse in the fuse box to kill power to the telematics module, but with newer models there's some second fuse-box that's not very user-accessible in the guts of the car that controls it, and getting power away from the module on those is a more-elaborate task.

Also, I've read that on multiple Corollas -- someone else in this thread mentions this also applying to Subarus -- one of the speakers and the microphone is routed through that module to provide it access to the microphone and the sound system, so if you disconnect them without additional work, you're going to lose one of your speakers and the car's built-in microphone.

EDIT: I also have no idea how firmware updates get pushed to your car. It might be that updating firmware is part of the regular service, or it might be that they rely on over-the-air access to your car's cell modem. But either way, I could imagine pulling the thing meaning that they can't update your car's firmware, which could be a cost.