The Silent Takeover: Reclaiming Our Digital Roads

Key Insights

Modern vehicles are equipped with extensive data collection technologies that monitor driving behavior, location, and vehicle performance.
This data is often shared with third parties, including insurers, advertisers, and tech companies, raising significant privacy concerns.
Usage-based insurance programs leverage driving data to adjust premiums, which can lead to discriminatory practices.
The rise of subscription-based vehicle features creates a new economic model that commoditizes car functionalities.
Legislative efforts, such as the Right to Repair movement, aim to give consumers more control over their vehicle data and maintenance.

References

Allstate. (2022). Drivewise: How it works. https://www.allstate.com/drive-wise/how-it-works.aspx

American Farm Bureau Federation. (2023, January 9). AFBF, John Deere sign right to repair memorandum of understanding [Press release]. https://www.fb.org/news/afbf-john-deere-sign-right-to-repair-memorandum-of-understanding

BMW Group. (2022). BMW “Functions on Demand” now available in South Korea [Press release]. https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/global/article/detail/T0398118EN/bmw-%E2%80%9Cfunctions-on-demand%E2%80%9D-now-available-in-south-korea

Cambridge Mobile Telematics. (2023). The state of driving 2023. https://www.cmtelematics.com/state-of-driving-report/

Consumer Federation of America. (2023). Usage-based auto insurance: A consumer perspective. https://consumerfed.org/reports/usage-based-auto-insurance-a-consumer-perspective/

Consumer Reports. (2022). What does your car know about you? We studied the privacy policies of 15 car brands. https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-safety/what-does-your-car-know-about-you-a1034782797/

Consumer Reports. (2023). Connected cars and privacy: Navigating your vehicle’s data settings. https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/privacy/connected-cars-and-privacy-navigating-your-vehicle-s-data-settings-a8343694825/

Doctorow, C. (2023, January 23). The ’enshittification’ of TikTok. Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-platforms-cory-doctorow/

European Commission. (2023). Right to repair: Commission proposes new consumer rights for easy and attractive repairs. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_1794

General Motors. (2023). OnStar Smart Driver. https://www.onstar.com/us/en/services/smart-driver/

Government Accountability Office. (2021). Vehicle data privacy: Industry and federal efforts under way but NHTSA needs to define its role. GAO-22-104369. https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-22-104369

Imperial College London. (2023). Re-identification of individuals from vehicle telematics data [Technical report]. Department of Computing.

iFixit. (2024). Right to repair. https://www.ifixit.com/Right-to-Repair

LexisNexis Risk Solutions. (2023). LexisNexis telematics data report. https://risk.lexisnexis.com/products/telematics-data-report

Massachusetts General Court. (2020). An act enhancing vehicle data access for independent repair shops (H.4362). https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2020/Chapter358

McKinsey & Company. (2022). Monetizing car data: New service business opportunities. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/automotive-and-assembly/our-insights/monetizing-car-data

McKinsey & Company. (2023). The software-defined vehicle: The next frontier for auto makers. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/automotive-and-assembly/our-insights/the-software-defined-vehicle-the-next-frontier-for-auto-makers

Mozilla Foundation. (2023). Privacy not included: Cars. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/categories/cars/

Otonomo. (2024). The automotive data marketplace. https://otonomo.io/platform/data-marketplace/

Progressive Casualty Insurance Company. (2024). Snapshot: How it works. https://www.progressive.com/auto/snapshot-how-it-works/

Progressive Casualty Insurance Company. (2024). Snapshot: 15 billion miles of driving data [Internal data cited in investor presentation].

Public Interest Research Group (PIRG). (2021). Right to repair: A policy blueprint. https://pirg.org/edfund/resources/right-to-repair-a-policy-blueprint/

Repair Association. (2024). State policy. https://www.repair.org/state-policy

Subaru of America. (2023). Genuine Subaru Tool (GST) program. https://techinfo.subaru.com/

Tesla, Inc. (2024). Tesla insurance. https://www.tesla.com/insurance

Tesla, Inc. (2024). Upgrades: Software. https://www.tesla.com/support/upgrades

Toyota Motor North America. (2023). Remote Connect: Terms of service. https://www.toyota.com/content/embedded/connected-services/remote-connect-terms

U.S. Department of Transportation. (2022). Letter to automotive manufacturers regarding right to repair access. NHTSA-2022-001.

Wejo. (2024). Connected vehicle data for AI and simulation. https://www.wejo.com/solutions/ai-and-simulation

The Silent Takeover - Part 6: Reclaiming the Wheel

The Silent Takeover: Reclaiming Our Digital Roads 1 The Silent Takeover - Part 1: The Dashboard Spy 2 The Silent Takeover - Part 2: Your Digital Driving Score 3 The Silent Takeover - Part 3: The Invisible Passenger Economy 4 The Silent Takeover - Part 4: The War Under the Hood 5 The Silent Takeover - Part 5: The Subscription Garage 6 The Silent Takeover - Part 6: Reclaiming the Wheel ← Series Home You cannot stop the data age. The connected car is now the default. But you do not have to be a passive passenger in your own vehicle. Between surveillance, software locks, and subscriptions, the feeling of powerlessness is real. Yet a toolkit for resistance exists. It combines individual action, collective advocacy, and conscious consumption. The goal is not to smash the modem, but to restore a measure of sovereignty over the machine you own and the life you live within it. The fight is for balanced ownership in a digital world. ...

Car features locked behind subscription paywall

The Silent Takeover - Part 5: The Subscription Garage

The Silent Takeover: Reclaiming Our Digital Roads 1 The Silent Takeover - Part 1: The Dashboard Spy 2 The Silent Takeover - Part 2: Your Digital Driving Score 3 The Silent Takeover - Part 3: The Invisible Passenger Economy 4 The Silent Takeover - Part 4: The War Under the Hood 5 The Silent Takeover - Part 5: The Subscription Garage 6 The Silent Takeover - Part 6: Reclaiming the Wheel ← Series Home You paid for the heated seats. They are physically installed in your car. To activate them, you must now pay again—every month. This is the subscription garage, where car features become services. The shift from ownership to usership is complete. Capabilities you once bought outright are now licensed, with fees that recur for the life of the vehicle. The car is no longer a product. It is a platform for continuous monetization, turning your dashboard into a point-of-sale terminal. ...

Mechanic with wrench facing digital lock

The Silent Takeover - Part 4: The War Under the Hood

The Silent Takeover: Reclaiming Our Digital Roads 1 The Silent Takeover - Part 1: The Dashboard Spy 2 The Silent Takeover - Part 2: Your Digital Driving Score 3 The Silent Takeover - Part 3: The Invisible Passenger Economy 4 The Silent Takeover - Part 4: The War Under the Hood 5 The Silent Takeover - Part 5: The Subscription Garage 6 The Silent Takeover - Part 6: Reclaiming the Wheel ← Series Home A mechanic can no longer fix your car with just a wrench and a manual. The physical components remain, but their function is now governed by software locks and digital handshakes. This is the war on your right to repair. Manufacturers use proprietary software, encrypted diagnostics, and parts pairing to seal the vehicle’s ecosystem. Their goal is control. The result is that you, the owner, are locked out of the machine you legally own, forced to return to the dealer for service and pay monopoly prices. ...

Data streams flowing from cars to various industries

The Silent Takeover - Part 3: The Invisible Passenger Economy

The Silent Takeover: Reclaiming Our Digital Roads 1 The Silent Takeover - Part 1: The Dashboard Spy 2 The Silent Takeover - Part 2: Your Digital Driving Score 3 The Silent Takeover - Part 3: The Invisible Passenger Economy 4 The Silent Takeover - Part 4: The War Under the Hood 5 The Silent Takeover - Part 5: The Subscription Garage 6 The Silent Takeover - Part 6: Reclaiming the Wheel ← Series Home Every mile you drive has a secondary purpose. The data your car generates serves a hidden economy. Your routes train artificial intelligence models. Your braking habits inform urban planning algorithms. Your daily commute refines targeted advertising profiles. This secondary market operates without your meaningful consent. You are not just a driver. You are an unpaid data laborer, powering industries that will fundamentally reshape your world, often to your own disadvantage. ...

The Silent Takeover - Part 2: Your Digital Driving Score

The Silent Takeover: Reclaiming Our Digital Roads 1 The Silent Takeover - Part 1: The Dashboard Spy 2 The Silent Takeover - Part 2: Your Digital Driving Score 3 The Silent Takeover - Part 3: The Invisible Passenger Economy 4 The Silent Takeover - Part 4: The War Under the Hood 5 The Silent Takeover - Part 5: The Subscription Garage 6 The Silent Takeover - Part 6: Reclaiming the Wheel ← Series Home Good driving habits can now save you hundreds of dollars a year on insurance. This promise fuels the rapid adoption of Usage-Based Insurance (UBI). Companies like Progressive and Allstate offer discounts for sharing your driving data. The trade appears simple: transparency for savings. But this voluntary exchange masks a deeper shift. You are not just getting a discount. You are enrolling in a permanent, real-time audit where your premium becomes a monthly performance review. ...

The Silent Takeover - Part 1: The Dashboard Spy

The Silent Takeover: Reclaiming Our Digital Roads 1 The Silent Takeover - Part 1: The Dashboard Spy 2 The Silent Takeover - Part 2: Your Digital Driving Score 3 The Silent Takeover - Part 3: The Invisible Passenger Economy 4 The Silent Takeover - Part 4: The War Under the Hood 5 The Silent Takeover - Part 5: The Subscription Garage 6 The Silent Takeover - Part 6: Reclaiming the Wheel ← Series Home Your car knows your rhythms. It logs your 7:32 AM weekday departures and your hesitant Saturday braking near the farmer’s market. It notes your preference for podcast volume at 42% and your habitual route to the office. This vehicle, a machine of metal and freedom, has become a rolling data factory. The dashboard is no longer just a control panel. It is a spyglass, and the manufacturer holds the other end. ...

References Allstate. (2022). Drivewise: How it works. https://www.allstate.com/drive-wise/how-it-works.aspx American Farm Bureau Federation. (2023, January 9). AFBF, John Deere sign right to repair memorandum of understanding [Press release]. https://www.fb.org/news/afbf-john-deere-sign-right-to-repair-memorandum-of-understanding BMW Group. (2022). BMW “Functions on Demand” now available in South Korea [Press release]. https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/global/article/detail/T0398118EN/bmw-%E2%80%9Cfunctions-on-demand%E2%80%9D-now-available-in-south-korea Cambridge Mobile Telematics. (2023). The state of driving 2023. https://www.cmtelematics.com/state-of-driving-report/ Consumer Federation of America. (2023). Usage-based auto insurance: A consumer perspective. https://consumerfed.org/reports/usage-based-auto-insurance-a-consumer-perspective/ Consumer Reports. (2022). What does your car know about you? We studied the privacy policies of 15 car brands. https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-safety/what-does-your-car-know-about-you-a1034782797/ ...

Key Insights#

References#

Key Insights

References