This is what the GPL was meant to fight against. Having boxes running software that is still under the control of the manufacturer.
Instead people complained that it was hard to use the code at work. YES. THAT'S THE POINT.
this post was submitted on 27 Jul 2026
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I have yet to own a vehicle made in the 21st century.
I'm terrified of having to get a vehicle that requires software updates that eventually will stop receiving support. I'm also terrified of getting a vehicle with just generally shitty software. My gf's car has awful software and there's nothing she can do about it.
Just give me 90s era cars again. They last forever and they're easy to repair on your own.
There's lot to be said for physical safety features like side and curtain airbags, or better crumple zones that don't crush your feet, but those were pretty much standard by 2012 so you can have those without all the computer nightmares.
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I wonder how much cheaper a car without any crap in it could be today if they still manufactured them at scale
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vehicle … cloud
Flying cars sure turned out differently than we imagined in sci-fi.
In a sane world, there would be a law that forces certain types of features to always work.
Cloud connectivity can have benefits but honestly, 95+% of a car’s feature does not need the internet
We need a Stop Killing Cars movement
A lot of people don't realise SKG is a foothold in exactly that fight. If you establish precedent on something as "frivolous" as video games you can use it on much higher value thing too.
I still don't understand why people call the biggest entrataiment industry "frivolous" especially when some stories are better than many films i saw
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Most cars throughout history have had zero need for the internet. I just hope it does not end up like video games, where they can sell an unfinished product and patch it later. Though there are benefits to that model, but recalls exist for a reason.
I just hope it does not end up like video games, where they can sell an unfinished product and patch it later
Tesla has been selling a "full self driving" subscription for years.
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I just hope it does not end up like video games, where they can sell an unfinished product and patch it later.
Too late. This is already the case, I don't know of a single EV that wasn't buggy on release and still buggy a year or two afterwards as the manufacturer hunts bugs in a leisurely pace. It already is like in the gaming industry. Don't buy an EV that isn't at least one year old on the market or you will become their free of charge beta tester...
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You buy a new one so the c level can buy another yacht
The cloud? I've owned many a vehicle who's company doesn't exist anymore XD No car should be tied to any cloud or connectivity crap for use
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We must create some legalisation on this else a buch of smart cars are going to turn into dumb bricks.
In contrary to what many are saying I don't think going back to plain cars is the solution. I think an open standard would be the solution here to provide an option to self-host or connect to provider.
Doesn't even need a technical solution. Could just be some law that in order to sell a vehicle:
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A company has to maintain any cloud support for at least 20 years.
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They have to put up a bond that will allow such services to continue even if they go belly up before those 20 years are through.
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All vehicle features where cloud connections are not essential to their function must be operable without any cloud connection. So it's fine if after 20 years you can't pull the contacts from your google account to display on the car's screen, or if GPS map updates no longer work. But the door locks or seat heaters better not be cloud connected.
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I'll never buy a vehicle that requires cloud connectivity for anything. Not a problem!
Well, most cars don't REQUIRE it, but most cars lose features if it doesn't have network connectivity.
Good luck finding a car made after 2020 that doesn't have at least one or two features that require the Internet to function.
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In response to some customer concerns of a dead battery resulting from the DCM continually trying to access the 3G cellular network, which is no longer available
https://www.theautopian.com/why-subaru-batteries-are-dying-all-across-the-country/
WOW... we were trying to hunt down why my buddy's forestor's battery kept dying....
We even disconnected the wire that tells the alternator to stop charging the battery...
Affected Forester
2016-2018 Forester 2.5i Premium 2016-2018 Forester 2.5i Limited 2016-2018 Forester 2.5i Touring 2016-2018 Forester 2.0XT Premium 2016-2018 Forester 2.0XT Touring
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Yup, lost a battery to that (2019 Impreza). Pulled the fuse for the modem, and it's been fine ever since. I never used (or wanted) any of those features anyway.
So you'd also get screwed if you routinely are parked somewhere without any cellular access? Nice design.
Just picture it - You drive your Subaru, the off-road adventure car company, to a camp site in a remote area. You wake up after a few days of hiking and camping to return to your car.
The battery is dead. If you camp too close to the car, the key fob being close to the car will leave it in a "standby" mode which drains the battery on top of the car pinging the server for updates.
Yep. My toddler hit the starlink button recently. Absolutely killed my outback.
Crazy the bull shit I had to do to start it again.
Is this article presuming that this isn't part of the plan? Auto manufacturers think our brains work like "oh no, my connected service was end-of-lifed. Guess I gotta buy a new car."
With OTA updates eventually they could FORCE you into buying a new one.
I hate the privacy nightmare cars are turning into.
People already have been brainwashed on "how many years of security updates does this smartphone model have?", and being paranoid about older-than-a-few-years devices, so you're not far off.
(Not trying to diminish the necessity of software security updates, but at the same time I could not find any Android exploits that do not involve users installing malicious apps, supply chain attacks, or state actors)
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You just throw it out and buy a new one. Duh.
In my opinion it should be illegal to shutdown as long as they have cars. I would not buy any device that requires internet access to work with basic functionality.
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I never owned a car but if and when I do my FIRST choice is 'was this car made with telemetry? If yes, are there clear instructions on how to airgap it'
Also I would want to check the laws regarding the paint on the cars so if it is possible to give it a dazzle or AI confusing pattern. I cannot shield it from ALPRs, but I want as little visiblility against other cameras as possible... Of course doing that pattern makes the car stick out.
Slate Auto: "Cloud? Oh, you mean that completely optional telematics thingy that's intended more for business fleets! Yeah, that's excluded by default on our vehicle."
"Don't be evil..." - Google
Y'all don't learn.
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It's crazy that "local first" has to apply to cars now.
My '96 vehicle has no cloud and will continue to.outlive many modern ones.
Ive got over 350k on my 05' Toyota. I dread trying to buy a newer car.
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