Originally posted by SystemCrasher
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If the government or GM managed to not only make it illegal to do your own car work but also to enforce these laws, I would refuse to drive their cars. If older cars were banned/subjected to compulsory scrappage, I would refuse to drive at all. As of today, I refuse to drive any registered vehile to any place I have to be able to deny having been due to license plate readers. yes folks, you really DO have the right to keep the locked, DRM'ed, and monetized "internet of things" and all devices that can connect to it entirely out of your life. It's not as easy as installing NoScript and Ghostery in Firefox, but its even more important. Learn to service older hardware! From cars to coffeemakers the "razor and blade" marketing model spits out shit we really do need to boycott. If you have a car new enough to meet modern fuel economy and emissions needs but which has no telemetry and whose computer can be read with a parts store scanner, take care of it, rebuild the engine and transmission when they wear out, and if a crash destroys it get another one like it. Do not use electronic toll roads at all, get rid of your EZ-pass as police can read these even on non toll roads.
If you have a car with a fancy networked entertainment system or especially Onstar, that needs to come out of the car to stop the manufacturer or 3ed party servers from logging where you drive. On cars like the Nissan Leaf, there is a telemetry transmitter to report your position at all times. Probably the car would still work with it removed, if not the antenna could be replaced with a "dummy load" surface-mount resistor on the same kind of connector to fake an antenna and keep the signal from being strong enough for Nissan's surveillance network to receive. It is illegal for Nissan to respond by programming the car not to run if not able to reach their server, at least for now.
Keep in mind, NHTSA had to introduce a regulation explicitly prohibiting carmakers from programming cars to refuse to start if programmed service visits TO THE DEALER were missed or ignored. NHTSA's correct argument was that people would be killed when cars refused to start to escape criminals or natural disasters. Assume, however, that this will not remain the case forever. Never buy any car which is locked to the dealer like an iPhone to iOS, and never drive if these become the only legal cars.
If global warming does not lead to the end of the age of the automobile, Google's self-driving cars might end up compulsory for safety reasons. These will be totally locked and DRM'ed, also for "safety" reasons. Do not be surprised if they serve ads on a telescreen that cannot be turned off! In this situation, you would have to get rid of your car and not replace it, except possibly with a motorcycle, moped, or whatever class of vehicle was exempt on grounds of not being able to cause enough damage to others in a crash. Hell I's rather walk than drive a car with telemetry in it.
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