If you had a suspicion your modern car is spying on you, you’re probably right. Vehicles these days are connected to the Internet of Things, able to feed data back to the cloud in real time. Once it’s there, what happens next may not be something you explicitly agreed to. Now the tide is starting…

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[–] 59 points 1 week ago (5 children)

that $220M is pennies compared to what they got from selling that data

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  • [–] 13 points 1 week ago (3 children)

    General Motors reported a net income attributable to stockholders of $2.7 billion for the year 2025, which was a significant decline from $6 billion in 2024.

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  • [–] 21 points 1 week ago (11 children)

    Just one more reason to never buy garbage american cars. I learned my lesson after my first. Never trust american companies, ever.

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  • [–] 13 points 1 week ago (9 children)

    Serious question, what new car can I buy that won't spy on me and send all my data to the manufacturer? I'll be in the market for a new car in a couple of years, and I've had a hard time finding anything where this wasn't an issue.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    I genuinely don't know. I drive a 2017 Japanese car that I don't believe collects telemetry or data of any kind. I plan to drive this car until the wheels fall off.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 week ago

    You might be surprised. I have a 2017 chevy and it definitely does report data back to GM. I have a close friend that works there and was able to confirm this. I thought there was no way since it was old, and it has no internet access of any kind that I can see. But it uses the cell network to report back data. I suspect it reports alot less interesting data than new cars. But for sure, it is sending data back to GM over the cell network.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    Become a old car enthusiasts. Mid 2000's to 2013 was probably some of the best years in vehicles.

    Going to save yourself a arm and a leg too fixing it yourself. Cost like 4 grand to get a electric windshield motor replaced these days on a modern car, when it should cost 50 dollars and a long afternoon for what should be a quick fix.

    Only downside is you better have multiple cars. I've had to leave mine on the jacks for a day because I couldnt reach a bolt/nut or needed to get a different part because I broke a sensor. If you're an idiot like me working off YouTube guides and Googling forum posts from nearly 20 years ago then you can't start betting on your ability to finish the job on time.

    At the end though you can feel proud and confident that you can fix it again next time. I haven't gotten into anything too serious yet but i've replaced all the rubbers, changed all the fluids, done the cat converter, replaced all sensors, spark plugs, breaks, break pads, etc. Most I've spent on any given part was 600 for the 3 part cat converter. All the breaks where up there too but I did it in pairs. YouTube has everything you need, and I surprise myself given how dumb I am. Also helps to have a friend to ping things off of, especially if they have a car lift. The car lift changes everything and abuse that privledge as much as you can.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 week ago

    Thanks! I think this is really great advice. My religious watching of Vice Grip Garage has helped me out a few times over the years. I have an old boat, and I do wrench on it now and then out of necessity, since it's so hard to find good marine mechanics. Maybe the next car purchase should be an old square body Chevy.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 week ago

    The only new car I'm aware of that should not monitor you would be the Slate pickup. Early in their development they mentioned this as a feature, but they haven't brought it up in a while. So something to double check.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 week ago

    I’ll anxiously wait for my 2$ settlement in the mail!

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  • 9 comments in c/privacy@lemmy.ca view that post
    [–] 14 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    That amount is still too low. Cost of doing business. No lessons will be learned.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 week ago

    It was obvious when they turned away from Android auto/car play

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  • [–] 7 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    new business model:

    disregard legal consequences so long as the fines can be eaten by the profit.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago

    "We must protect property and business" is what America is founded on. That's real American values. That's why Americans believe businesses can be too big to fail. That's why being a "successful businessman" is lauded. The system is designed to make people think these greedy sons of bitches are good for everyone and everything when in reality capitalists are parasitic leeches that take from everyone else. A businessman is a bitch ass punk in my mind.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 week ago

    Surprised it doesn't include California. Was going to send the article to my buddy who has two Chevy Bolts.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 week ago

    Good thing we bailed these fuckers out!

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