Nobody. No cellular device at all. Not only does it not have any NAV or “apps”, it doesn’t even have a clock or thermometer. It’s a thing of pure beauty.
It’s a pre-2000 Honda Civic. On cars from 2000+ my state collects emissions data from the OBD system. Not mine. That “feature” costs me an extra $40 every year since they still need the data and that’s what the shop charges to put in on the dynamometer to collect those data.
I was referring to the US. I wrote “governments,” because it is the responsibility of the states, even though a federal tax is also collected. I recognize that any kind of standard collection of data will probably be federally mandated, though California may do their own thing and the federal government will follow. (It is also largely a response to EVs and probably alternative fuels such as CNG/LNG.)
Thanks. I would be ok if it is just mileage too. Here, the state gets that anyway at registration time. I am more concerned if it is more than that, and my guess is that it will be. I have no argument about others collecting information; I agree with you totally.
Are you in california? If so every car pre 1976 is smog exempt if that bugs you.
Classic car insurance is cheaper aswell.
The authorities here are also talking about leveraging off that functionality with congestion control through time-of-use charges and location-based charges. (For example, driving in the central business district may attract additional EV tax on business days but not on the weekend.) This suggests to me yet more surveillance. It is either more camera surveillance for recognising licence plates or it is implemented directly within the car.
Either way, red flags.
Getting a motorcycle is an option. With the limited space and weight capacity (with touring models an exception) there is less concerns with manufacturers putting in hardware that can spy.
This screams to me “WE’RE GOING TO WATCH YOU!”
Yes. In the US, 1994 is a key year. Cars post-1994 don’t have ethanol vulnerable parts. For cars pre-1994, some cars will have issues (seals, injector seals, etc.) with ethanol. That said, many of them have replacement parts that work with ethanol.
By the way, one can’t buy ethanol-free gas in CA at the gas station. This is a huge issue for small engines that isn’t discussed as much as it should be. You either have to buy oil-pre-mixed gas from the hardware store (at $20/gal) or get good at replacing your carburetor every 2-3 years (Stihl trimmer carb on e-bay is $15-$20; OEM is $50-$60).
That would be some time ago already. Last year I bought a new car (2021 Tacoma).
I replaced the head unit (aka stereo) with another one I like that’s better. Two things I noticed: The GPS antenna is connected directly to the head unit, and that the car will continue to send Toyota the odometer reading and gas reading even when the head unit is completely removed from the car.
Their discrete “spy device” is called the Data Communication Module (DCM) and fortunately, it’s very easy to disable. You just yank the fuse, which is labeled DCM in the engine bay fuse box. After that the “SOS” button quit lighting up (as expected), and I haven’t seen any other ill effects so far.
You will have to check every time it’s serviced to make sure they don’t just put the fuse back, and of course, there’s no guarantee that it isn’t somehow secretly running anyway unless you remove the module itself.
Or just don’t buy a car, don’t get collected and don’t destroy the climate. For most things I’m going by bike and that even improved my life. 
I know, that’s no solution for all people and in fact, I really like electric engines in newer cars. But more than I like this, I hate that collecting data will be even much worse with such cars (so many cameras outside plus AI analysis). Even if you have a car from 1950 you will get tracked more and more in the traffic… and it’s also very easy to track an unique car through cameras of other cars…
Yes, soon there will be no escape.
I wouldn’t mind living without a car, if we had better, more extensive public transport in the U.S, or at least in my specific area(s), or if it were safe to ride a bike here. Or if there were always supermarkets nearby. We generally don’t have very protected bike lanes, but besides that, we U.S. drivers can get a license without much actual training, unlike in Europe. And especially on congested, perpetually-rushed, rage-triggering roads such as in southern California, cyclists run an extremely high risk of getting hit by a car. Even pedestrians in crosswalks frequently get hit and killed here, as stop signs are constantly ignored.
I feel with you. We also have huge problems with public transport (especially in Germany) and location depended also with bike lanes, but I don’t want to trade with your situation.
@amarok, @irvinewade, @ steve,
On the matter of nixing peeps stalking vehicles, I suggest everyone read their vehicle insurance papers and heed anything about re-engineering or the cutting off of anything - including services. Mine reads like a Philadelphia lawyer that swallowed a court library!
I thought Privacy, AUP and ToU policies are only attached to software (Apps, Programs, scripts - whatever it’s called this week). But those peeps are slowly making their way in to “Smart” refrigerators, alarm systems, Smart-TVs, and vehicles. There care a great deal of “smart” ‘devices’ that are capable of SMIRCing.
Most new vehicles will no doubt incorporate software policies into the vehicle use. Agree, or the vehicle won’t start. OK! You skipped the reading and agreed to it all to get it started, but it won’t go anywhere until you upgrade it’s O/S. OK, now ready to go. Oops, breathalyzer first. Now, insert your PII card to pre-pay, based on your Google profile, what your projected road taxes will be today. If you’re over-billed, you may get a credit in next months billing.
You buy a computer/device and MUST agree to the ToU, AUP, and Privacy Policy. The same, IMO, will hold true for vehicles.
You agreed - great - aha! It started all by itself. Bye now - have a nice day. Or else. If you are not happy, the bio-metric (Walmart idea) steering wheel will report you and alert Betty, your personal digital Psychologist will know and may not let you go anywhere until you’re happy again. But don’t worry - Be Happy.
~f
Outrage! 
I could live with a new car if it was like Lazarus Long’s Ford Gadabout. It was a personal air/space vehicle that featured a super-intelligent AI, named Minerva, that was fully-contained in the vehicle and absolutely loyal to Lazarus. They became so close the he built a hyper-realistic gynoid and moved the AI into it (of course, he did!).
This is what I get for reading Heinlein… I have to settle for restoring my 25 year old pickup, which is totally privacy-respecting, but is equipped with neither loyal AI nor gynoid UI. 
Looks interesting. But they have some questionable friends: https://sonomotors.com/en/privacy-policy/
You mean all the big tech listed there, which they use for their social media and advertising? I would not call them their friends over that.
I assume (but confess I did not look into Sono Motors that deep yet) that their car is not connected to the big tech companies we (on this forum) try to avoid.
Hopefully. 
This reminds me of a story that I recently heard. I don’t know if the story is true, or if it’s an urban legend.
So someone bought a salvaged Tesla that had been legally written off as a total loss after being involved in an accident. The new owner restored the Tesla. But it still wouldn’t run. When the car was written off, Tesla had turned it off remotely. Tesla said they would not turn it back on because the license to use all of the built-in software and firmware, expired with the car going in to salvage status. So the new owner pulled out all of the advanced technology and installed a gasoline engine. This is one way to take back control of your car.
It seems to be partially true. Tesla will disable the ability to use Level 3 chargers (Tesla Superchargers or 3rd party fast chargers with CCS adapters) at least according to this. https://electrek.co/2020/02/12/tesla-disables-supercharging-salvaged-vehicles/
Never mind “Who is Collecting Data from Your Car?”…
WHO IS COLLECTING YOUR CAR?!