Hardly seems surprising that Renault / Dacia is the least worst since it is a European car company that doesn't sell in the US. I should point out though that Dacia holds the record for the absolute worst NCAP safety ratings at this time and some Renault cars aren't far behind. So swings and roundabouts.

Merkel years ago: " ... to decide, who the cars data belongs to: the manufacturer or the provider"

Freely translated from memory (it was about the cell providers), but the point is; the user was never in consideration.

Do humans listen to what we say in our cars? Can I scar someone for life by describing kinks I find on the internet or saying stuff like "babe, pull over...the mechanical pencil lead just broke off in my penis"

On a more serious note, perhaps I will cover the tracking camera in my car. Didn't want it, but it came with the stupid trim level of my car (makes sure you aren't falling asleep on the road/distracted.)

Oh good, a petition.

Wish I had the money to even be able to drive one of these nightmare cars in the first place. Yay for being poor I guess!

Well that was depressing.

I have not read it yet, but do they have any countermeasures people can take?

Any idea around what model year this started to take off? I drive a 2000 so I'm not worried now, but thinking of upgrading to something slightly newer.

There are EV conversion kits available, so it is possible to turn an old car electric. They won't have the storage capacity of a natively electric car, but it is an option.

So at what point do we just decide "Fuck companies, fuck revenue, fuck anybody who has, say, a million bucks to their name in cash and assets. No more money making unless you do it without screwing people. If you can't, you fail. Good day. "

Tax the every living fuck out of the rich, destroy data even being collectable or sellable at all in any form.

Boom, 100,000% better world to live in immediately.

Obviously pipe dream, but I think this is really the mindset to take if humans are gonna be around and have anything resembling happy lives in say, 100 years.

Maybe a dumb question, but if all of the vehicle's bells and whistles are meticulously recording my every move... how do those data get back to the auto manufacturer anyhow? I read the article and the "how that works" link, and sure it mentioned phone connectivity, but if I don't connect my phone, then my car presumably has no way to communicate what it collects... or are there a bunch of extra radios that phone home (satellite, cellular...)?