[NMNeil]

It had to happen
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62weyp4qqgo
But it does open up some questions.
As the new cars in the UK will soon have the speed limiters activated, what's the point?
If VW can remotely change the performance of the car, can they also shut it down completely, for say non payment of finance, if you report it stolen, or the police are chasing it?
Going to get interesting 😎

[Beelzebub]

A ist says farther down the page, it's "Nothing new".

[NMNeil]

But that refers to getting a bigger ICE engine when you order the car and activating useless gadgets, and the Mercedes speed option is US only. This is different.

[Rolebama]

Back in the early 90s, I attended a seminar where we were told that it was possible for a car to run a self-diagnostic, send the information back to manufacturer, and if deemed necessary contact the user, via dashboard screen, advising them to take the car in for a check. In the event of a breakdown, contact would be made automatically with preferred breakdown service, notifying fault and location. There were other capabilities as well. However, it was decided that all these bells and whistles would not be implemented because they would influence prices at the retail end, and did the motoring public want them. They called it Spy In The Cab Syndrome.

[Santa]

My 2015 car does not call the manufacturer, but like most modern cars, it does do self-diagnosis.

If I were in a collision that triggered the airbags, it would automatically call for assistance.

I doubt that these manufacturer links were not implemented due to some conspiracy theory. It's more likely that they couldn't, or didn't want to, deal with all that information and possible liabilities if they failed to follow up.

[Beelzebub]

Originally Posted by Rolebama

Back in the early 90s, I attended a seminar where we were told that it was possible for a car to run a self-diagnostic, send the information back to manufacturer, and if deemed necessary contact the user, via dashboard screen, advising them to take the car in for a check. In the event of a breakdown, contact would be made automatically with preferred breakdown service, notifying fault and location. There were other capabilities as well. However, it was decided that all these bells and whistles would not be implemented because they would influence prices at the retail end, and did the motoring public want them. They called it Spy In The Cab Syndrome.

I'm not sure how it would have been "possible" to send the data In the early 90s. There was no mobile phone network supporting data transmission, and the few public data-only networks had patchy coverage and were hideously expensive.

[olduser]

Originally Posted by NMNeil

It had to happen
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62weyp4qqgo
But it does open up some questions.
As the new cars in the UK will soon have the speed limiters activated, what's the point?
If VW can remotely change the performance of the car, can they also shut it down completely, for say non payment of finance, if you report it stolen, or the police are chasing it?
Going to get interesting 😎

Stopping a car remotely happened to be one of the assignments on my degree course.
The cars electronics needs to have a means of communication (phone card, internet connection etc) our group decided we would have a radio link.
The source of the signal to be controlled by the police.

Apart from the tech stuff, we had to produce a marketing package, and an assessment of the risk, our risk statement concluded, whilst technically possible, it could be made reliable, and when operated by the police would be safe but hackers would eventually be able to prevent it working, and it would be only a matter of time before the stop signal source got into the wrong hands.

Remote adjustment of anything on the car will add to the cost, (com's link, and adjustable items compared to fixed) the extra cost is still there even if the buyer elects not to use them.
This feels wrong to me, with a product where the buyer probably do's not understand what they are buying, I feel there is a moral duty to not exploit the buyers ignorance.

But then, dragging morals into business would destroy business as we know it.

[Rolebama]

@Beelzebub As you say, it was hideously expensive, and these costs would be added to the retail prices. Hence, it was dropped at that time.

[NMNeil]

Originally Posted by Beelzebub

networks had patchy coverage and were hideously expensive.

So 30 years later and nothing has changed. 😂

[NMNeil]

Originally Posted by olduser

Stopping a car remotely happened to be one of the assignments on my degree course.
The cars electronics needs to have a means of communication (phone card, internet connection etc) our group decided we would have a radio link.
The source of the signal to be controlled by the police.

We use just such a system here.
I can watch the idiots reactions all day long when the engines turned off and the doors lock, but they do breed them dumb here, so dumb that it spawned a TV series.

[Drivingforfun]

Originally Posted by olduser

Stopping a car remotely happened to be one of the assignments on my degree course.

The first thing that came to my mind was incredibly cheeky.... the tech has indeed been around for ages 😏


I think though, selling people stuff they won't use inside an overall package has been done forever

There are bits on my car that I've never used but I didn't get the option to delete, as I'm sure there are with anyone else's. But if they made 10 million bespoke combinations to suit 10 million customers it would cost more per unit than just making 10 million copies with everything included, due to economies of scale and mass production

[Rolebama]

@Drivingforfun I can't help thinking there is a 'chicken and egg' situation involved. It seems that people will settle for whatever is in the showroom because they want their new car now, or at least asap. Manufacturers love this approach. So their approach now seems to be one of 'take it or leave it'. I still remember friends and neighbours showing me the brochures where you 'built' the car you wanted, and it would be ready from 6wks to 6months. This was accepted then. (During the 60s, you could order '3 on the floor', '4 on the floor', '3 on the column', or '4 on the column', from some manufacturers.)

[NMNeil]

@Rolebama Read up on my posting about the Slate in the EV section😉

[Beelzebub]

Originally Posted by NMNeil

So 30 years later and nothing has changed. 😂

Well, nothing apart from vastly better coverage, and data comms available at prices within the reach of almost everyone. I currently pay £4.70 a month for unlimited calls in the UK and EU, and enough data for my needs.

[NMNeil]

@Beelzebub That may be true of the UK but the US is vast, and some areas actually prohibit cellphone towers.
I wanted to get a smartphone but when I went to the store they would only sell it with a data plan. no matter how many times I told them I just wanted a phone to make calls so I don't need a data plan they just looked at me blankly and told me I 'had' to have a data plan.
I now have a prepaid phone which costs $19.95 (just under 15 quid) for 3 months service for calls and text, and no chance of being caught by one of the many smartphone scams going on. 😏

[Beelzebub]

Originally Posted by NMNeil

@Beelzebub That may be true of the UK but the US is vast, and some areas actually prohibit cellphone towers.

Indeed. But this is not a US forum.

[Rolebama]

@NMNeil I did read the post, and I think they are heading in the right direction. I have always been a fan of 'modding', but am now too old/frail/fragile to DIY.

[Rolebama]

As to the phone issue, a few years ago on his programme, Jonathan Ross told the story of his trials and tribulations trying to get hold of a phone for his daughter. How he went from shop to shop explaining that he didn't want data, or games, or any thing other than the ability to make and receive calls and texts. I have the same problem with my wife. I had to find her a replacement when her PAYG provider stopped supporting 3G.

[olduser]

Originally Posted by Beelzebub

Indeed. But this is not a US forum.

Now, I thought this forum was inclusive, I for one find it interesting to compare different national solutions to common problems.

[NMNeil]

@Beelzebub My point was that if you live on a smallish island getting nationwide phone coverage is easy, but when you live on a vast continent, not so easy. Just to put it in perspective New Mexico where I live is bigger than the UK.
UK 243,610 sq Km
New Mexico 314,915 sq Km
https://www.mylifeelsewhere.com/coun...united-kingdom

[Beelzebub]

Originally Posted by NMNeil

@Beelzebub My point was that if you live on a smallish island getting nationwide phone coverage is easy, but when you live on a vast continent, not so easy. Just to put it in perspective New Mexico where I live is bigger than the UK.
UK 243,610 sq Km
New Mexico 314,915 sq Km
https://www.mylifeelsewhere.com/coun...united-kingdom

Fair enough.
But even in the US coverage must be vastly better, and prices lower, than 30 years ago?

[NMNeil]

Originally Posted by Beelzebub

Fair enough.
But even in the US coverage must be vastly better, and prices lower, than 30 years ago?

I can only speak from experience, but the big towns and cities coverage is fine, but when you venture into the boonies it's patchy or non existent. As for cost it's not the actual cost but the added taxes, fees and compulsory charities that make it expensive.
I know is a business cell phone but you get the idea.

[olduser]

In the UK the distribution systems are privately owned and they levy a charge on customers.
In the past this charge was a fixed charge paid if the energy is connected to your building (Standing Charge). Meaning, if you don't actually use any energy you still pay for the connection.
Some feel this is unfair, the alternative being considered is the cost should be related to usage, resulting in high users paying more and low users paying less.

The distribution system is out of date, it was designed to connect local power stations to cities with interconnectors to enable sharing of power as required, this is the high voltage system.

With power generation being more distributed, the system needs to be reconfigured. At present we have the situation where wind generators are paid to be idle (they are paid for what they might have generated) because the nearby grid cannot take the load, the replacement power is generated in power stations.*
But like the water industry, grid owners want the users to pay for the update, they are careful not to mention, in updating, the value of their assets increase.

The loss of energy in the electrical distribution system is about 20% (which we pay for) and they have no incentive to improve on that.

*
A few wind farms are installing or running battery storage so while being paid not to generate they do and store the energy in the batteries, to be sold to the grid at peek times, getting paid twice for the electricity but it's not a problem because we pay for all of it in the end.

[NMNeil]

I installed my DIY solar system with LiFePo4 batteries 3 or 4 years ago so my electricity bill each month is $0.
I'm smug, but I also pity those who keep seeing their electricity costs rising with no end in sight.