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Will Your Driving Be "Googled" by Your Ford Vehicle?

Posted by freedomforall 3 years, 9 months ago to Business
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Excerpt:
"CEO Jim Farley made the announcement recently that Ford will be using Google tech already built into all of its new cars to “provide new revenue opportunities” – which translates as monetize the data streamed by the vehicle.

This can take many forms and includes the obvious – such as how and where the vehicle is driven, which data can be used to keep track of commercially driven vehicles and commercial drivers (so much for the being on your own that used to be one of the perks of being a commercial driver).

And of course, the same can be applied to privately owned vehicles as well, to keep track of how and where they are driven as well. The insurance mafia is very interested in that data since it presents a revenue opportunity to mulct drivers who never file claims or have them filed against them but do sometimes “speed” and commit various technical foul infractions, such as making a right on red or not coming to a complete stop at every stop sign . . . which routinely go unpunished because – up to now – they mostly go unnoticed.

An interaction with an armed government worker being necessary for it to go “on record.”"
SOURCE URL: https://www.ericpetersautos.com/2021/03/17/googled-by-ford/


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  • Posted by Flootus5 3 years, 9 months ago
    Ten + years ago I worked for a large global gold mining company that decided it wanted to track all of its company vehicles. As a nice perc as a supervisor I had a company vehicle to commute with and go to any job related function.

    The device in the cab (truck) would talk to you and reprimand you if you were too slow or too fast, braked too heavily, accelerated too aggressively, etc. The technology was called InThink, better known as InStink to employees.

    One day, I was coming home and was about a half mile from the house. A 25 mph zone. Another vehicle (probably private and with no InStink) was coming the other way. A kitten was in the road. The kitten completely lucked out and was located in between the wheel spacing. He/she/it came spinning out from behind the vehicle, literally blown around by the vehicle wind and in total confusion. It ran right in front of me. Immediately lost sight of it because of the hood. I slammed the brakes on to a screeching stop and waited. Meanwhile, InStink is yelling at me that I made a far too aggressive driving maneuver. I saw the kitten in the passenger rear view mirror make it to the side of the road and zoom off into a yard. Totally safe. I gave the InStink device the finger. But the " aggressive driving incident" went off into the cloud and I got written up for it, by company "discipline". Yes. Brave New World.
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  • Posted by mccannon01 3 years, 9 months ago
    Good article. It provides a reason to own a vintage car - as long as the government allows you to.

    So, it looks like our cars are going to be like our houses. We can pretend to own them and even hold a deed or title, but we really don't. Miss that royal rent payment and the true owners will emerge.
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    • Posted by 3 years, 9 months ago
      My rent is about $800/yr for govt mandated insurance, $0.45/gallon govt tax, $20/yr govt tag, and +- $5/yr govt license.
      While I get stuck paying these taxes, the looting scum in DC pays law breaking illegal aliens to get them to vote and steal more from me, pays bankers for gambling and losing funds they created from nothing, pays Big Pharma to poison me, pays Wall St extra bonuses for cheating everyone (except politicians.)
      If DC sinks into the earth taking everyone with it, I will be overjoyed.
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    • Posted by GaryL 3 years, 9 months ago
      Some years back I thought long and hard about buying a car of my vintage, the kind that had carbs and no computers and the kind I could easily work on myself. That turned out to be an effort in futility. So your car doesn't have a tracker computer in it until you jump in with your SmartPhone, tape the EZ pass to the windshield and put license plates on it for the readers to capture. One insurance company I refuse to use has some sort of Safe Driver gadget that determines if you drive safely. My Garmin Nuvi knows what the speed limit is wherever I am driving and I am being tracked whether I like it or not.
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    • Posted by $ blarman 3 years, 9 months ago
      That was part of the push in Cash for Clunkers: they wanted to 1) boost revenue of union-run companies for political kickbacks, 2) force collection of data from auto retailers in the program, and 3) retire older - but perfectly serviceable - vehicles from the roads. While I like the standardized troubleshooting systems built into many cars, you can bet that if I get a car which has this kind of crap it's going to get disabled.
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    • Posted by AmericanWoman 3 years, 9 months ago
      Not so much in a hurry to get rid of my 2003 Accord either does not have all the bells and whistles but it saves gas money (especially now) no GPS can not find me either on my cell its off all google services are off and deleted as much as possible!
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  • Posted by $ Olduglycarl 3 years, 9 months ago
    Another reason I will not buy a new car or truck!
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    • Posted by $ blarman 3 years, 9 months ago
      You mean aside from the ridiculous price tag?
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      • Posted by $ Olduglycarl 3 years, 9 months ago
        Yea but pre computer cars aren't cheap either.
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        • Posted by $ blarman 3 years, 9 months ago
          I must be lucky then. Price of new cars is $40K+. Trucks are running $60K-$80K. I can get a used car or truck for $5K.
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          • Posted by $ Olduglycarl 3 years, 9 months ago
            I'm talking cars/trucks of the 70s era...although, not sure it's real or still avail. but saw a 73 datsun 240Z for a little less than 3 grand...was a calif car and had been garaged in NY for the past 5 years...the wife gave me a frown when I mentioned it. They usually go for 15K plus. Picks looked perfect.

            The wife doesn't understand that her new car and my 07 ranger will not survive a really bad sunspot nor a humanoid made EMP.
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            • Posted by $ blarman 3 years, 9 months ago
              Ah. You need to come up where I am. My uncle was an airline mechanic for 40+ years and can fix just about anything mechanical. I've been toying with the idea of getting one of those older trucks and overhauling it. He said that he'd be happy to take me around and find one and recommended that we just go around to farmers and ask to buy one of the dead ones they always have around and tow it off for $500. Yeah, we plan on having to put several thousand dollars in repairs but in the end we'll have something that runs great and looks like a piece of junk - just what I'm aiming for.
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              • Posted by $ Olduglycarl 3 years, 9 months ago
                I used to race the 240Zs, I can fix most anything on them. Perfect car to go back and forth to work...OUICKLY!
                I am still looking for an 85/86 ford ranger like the first one I bought...hard to find just the right one.
                Not looking for a 4Wheel drive quite yet and that seems to be what people preserved and rebuilt.
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    • Posted by bobsprinkle 3 years, 9 months ago
      Well I'll be darned. All this time I was so sad I couldn't afford a new vehicle. Now it seems I am lucky to still be driving the (paid for) 2000 Nissan Frontier p/u....who knew???
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  • Posted by $ Markus_Katabri 3 years, 9 months ago
    My 15 year old truck will be lasting me a lot longer than I planned. My next Vehicle will be a refurbished mid eighties CUCV. The money spent would be well worth it.
    Those Ford Rangers just go and go and go.
    The F150s with the 4.9 are darn near bullet proof also. You could rebuild the motor while sitting on the wheel well.
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