The latest surge in fossil-fuel prices means it is now up to nine times cheaper in the UK to drive an electric vehicle (EV) than a petrol or diesel car, shows Carbon Brief analysis.
Slate is still going to be constantly connected to the internet, feeding data back to Slate…
And it’s backed by Jeff fucking Bezos lol. Yes, it will be a nice little bare bones vehicle, but that’s irrelevant to the brain and network of the thing.
There might be less data to collect, but they’re still going to be collecting and sharing data.
Slate Truck. I mean, the base model is also stripped of basically every luxury that’s been on a vehicle since the 1980s to bring the base price down. It does have airbags. There are no privacy issues because there is no entertainment computer, no GPS radio, no cell radio. Just a mount point for you to provide your own computer.
Designed around a starting price of US$24,950, the vehicle uses a simplified design with fewer parts and omits features such as an infotainment system, speakers, and power windows. All vehicles are to be produced with an unpainted gray plastic exterior and support customization through accessories and vinyl wraps.
The Slate’s base configuration, called the “Blank Slate”, will not include an infotainment system, speakers, or power windows. All units will be produced with the same unpainted gray polypropylene exterior, with vinyl wraps as the only offered way to change the exterior color.[13] A smartphone mount will be standard, and a tablet mount optional. The Blank Slate configuration will have fabric armrests and physical climate control knobs. The company plans to offer a large number of accessories for professional or DIY installation.[14]
There isn’t much there to have privacy implications. I haven’t looked at the (now government-mandated on new cars) tire flat detection system, whether it uses radio to talk to the wheels. Some people are concerned that vehicles that use radio TPSes broadcast a unique ID, and that that facilities ALPR-like logging of vehicles, though I’d guess that for most, that’s a pretty secondary concern to things like manufacturers harvesting data via phone-home.
That being said, it’s got a shorter range than, say, a Tesla Model 3, which could be an issue for some users.
EDIT: And just to be clear, since OP’s article is talking about the UK, I have no idea whether it’s available in the UK. Serial production should be starting in the US shortly, late this year.
EDIT2: NACS-based charging reports a vehicle’s VIN to the charging station when charging, which may be an issue from a privacy standpoint; the Slate can do NACS charging. 240V and 120V charging is a lot slower. It might be possible to do something like an NACS charger linked to a NACS->J1772 adapter linked to a J1772->NACS adapter to isolate the vehicle from the charger at the tradeoff of being limited to J1772 charging rates; I haven’t investigated this. I don’t know if someone makes an NACS->NACS device that doesn’t relay the VIN; again, haven’t investigated.
My vague understanding from past reading is that often cars that are stolen are broken down for parts, and the parts sold, which generally makes it easier to fence the stolen goods. I’d think that that’d defeat that.
Every single car in the last five years is a privacy nightmare, not just EVs. My next car will likely be an economical ICE not because it’s ICE, but because it’ll be old enough to not be a privacy nightmare.
Well yeah getting things tailor made to meet your needs is expensive. It sounds like your going to have a really bad time paying extra for dirty gas options going forward. I hope you can keep finding someone to service your car until you can’t drive anymore.
We thought about it…my wife has a short in-town commute and we considered it…but two things nixed it for us. The Internet-connected car, and the lack of physical door releases. There is no good reason the regular door-handles have to be electric, and it’s inherently unsafe.
Add that to the fact that the Condo association at our house doesn’t allow external chargers to be installed, makes it a non-starter.
There is a relatively simple solution to that problem, you can disconnect the system from the Internet by replacing its antenna connection with SMA terminators. Here’s an example with lots of details about it:
That seems like a lot to go through…though agreed, it makes it doable…and no car manufacturer has ever put a stock stereo in their vehicles that’s worth a dam anyway, so an awesome reason to rip it out.
First thing I did when I got my Mustang was rip the Microsoft Sync system out of it. What an absolute piece of shit that thing is. (of course it is, it’s a Microsoft product)
Agreed. Even without internet connection, there still remains a ton of other stuff I don’t like about modern cars. I find them quite frustrating to drive honestly.
I’m perfectly happy with my -07 Nissan pickup and willing to drive it the next 20 years too if I have to. Just gotta try and stay ahead of all the rust.
That’s all fine, but I’m still not gonna drive one. Nothing connected to the internet will make it to my driveway.
Just get a stellantis EV. Their connectivity is so utterly shit you don’t have to worry.
Aren’t those two separate issues?
Sadly, they’re not. Every single EV is a privacy nightmare.
I’d love a dumb EV, but there is none.
I believe with Chevy evs at least there are guides to remove the modem/OnStar and even guides out there for Teslas
All you guys worried about privacy in your car pull out the batteries on your phones while driving? It’s all the same data.
https://www.slate.auto/en
Slate is still going to be constantly connected to the internet, feeding data back to Slate…
And it’s backed by Jeff fucking Bezos lol. Yes, it will be a nice little bare bones vehicle, but that’s irrelevant to the brain and network of the thing.
There might be less data to collect, but they’re still going to be collecting and sharing data.
No, it’s not. It doesn’t even have a cell radio.
It’s bluetooth only, no modem.
Slate Truck. I mean, the base model is also stripped of basically every luxury that’s been on a vehicle since the 1980s to bring the base price down. It does have airbags. There are no privacy issues because there is no entertainment computer, no GPS radio, no cell radio. Just a mount point for you to provide your own computer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slate_(vehicle)
There isn’t much there to have privacy implications. I haven’t looked at the (now government-mandated on new cars) tire flat detection system, whether it uses radio to talk to the wheels. Some people are concerned that vehicles that use radio TPSes broadcast a unique ID, and that that facilities ALPR-like logging of vehicles, though I’d guess that for most, that’s a pretty secondary concern to things like manufacturers harvesting data via phone-home.
That being said, it’s got a shorter range than, say, a Tesla Model 3, which could be an issue for some users.
https://www.slate.auto/
EDIT: And just to be clear, since OP’s article is talking about the UK, I have no idea whether it’s available in the UK. Serial production should be starting in the US shortly, late this year.
EDIT2: NACS-based charging reports a vehicle’s VIN to the charging station when charging, which may be an issue from a privacy standpoint; the Slate can do NACS charging. 240V and 120V charging is a lot slower. It might be possible to do something like an NACS charger linked to a NACS->J1772 adapter linked to a J1772->NACS adapter to isolate the vehicle from the charger at the tradeoff of being limited to J1772 charging rates; I haven’t investigated this. I don’t know if someone makes an NACS->NACS device that doesn’t relay the VIN; again, haven’t investigated.
NACS charging is why no one steals EVs.
considers
My vague understanding from past reading is that often cars that are stolen are broken down for parts, and the parts sold, which generally makes it easier to fence the stolen goods. I’d think that that’d defeat that.
Every single car in the last five years is a privacy nightmare, not just EVs. My next car will likely be an economical ICE not because it’s ICE, but because it’ll be old enough to not be a privacy nightmare.
Retrofitting classic cars is a thing. Have you looked into that? I agree it seems you are letting a different problem lock you into inaction.
It’s very expensive and you get a car no one can service.
Well yeah getting things tailor made to meet your needs is expensive. It sounds like your going to have a really bad time paying extra for dirty gas options going forward. I hope you can keep finding someone to service your car until you can’t drive anymore.
What dumb ICE cars are there?
Looks like you aren’t driving any car made after 2018, so why say you aren’t driving an EV?
We thought about it…my wife has a short in-town commute and we considered it…but two things nixed it for us. The Internet-connected car, and the lack of physical door releases. There is no good reason the regular door-handles have to be electric, and it’s inherently unsafe.
Add that to the fact that the Condo association at our house doesn’t allow external chargers to be installed, makes it a non-starter.
My wife’s 2019 Acura isn’t internet ready…
I drive a 2014 and probably will until the end. This need to buy a new car every few years baffles me.
I love my V8, manual transmission mustang and will drive it until the end.
Acura has been putting mobile data connection and collection devices in their cars since 2014. They call it their subscription service AcuraLink.
It was even installed on their lowest end car in 2014, the ILX:
There is a relatively simple solution to that problem, you can disconnect the system from the Internet by replacing its antenna connection with SMA terminators. Here’s an example with lots of details about it:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/simpler-solution-for-disabling-the-dcm-telematics-silencing-antennas.821649/
That seems like a lot to go through…though agreed, it makes it doable…and no car manufacturer has ever put a stock stereo in their vehicles that’s worth a dam anyway, so an awesome reason to rip it out.
First thing I did when I got my Mustang was rip the Microsoft Sync system out of it. What an absolute piece of shit that thing is. (of course it is, it’s a Microsoft product)
Some cars you just need to pull a specific fuse too.
My Nissan leaf doesn’t have an internet connection
The rare exception. Keep it as long as you can.
Agreed. Even without internet connection, there still remains a ton of other stuff I don’t like about modern cars. I find them quite frustrating to drive honestly.
I’m perfectly happy with my -07 Nissan pickup and willing to drive it the next 20 years too if I have to. Just gotta try and stay ahead of all the rust.
Pretty soon insurance will require black boxes
How does that matter now?
Because it is pointless to try to buy an offline car.
Especially when everyone is online through their phones.
Honestly aside from Lemmy, this is not an issue to most.