Such Ugly Cars
I can't imagine buying a new car. Aside from the stupidity of dozens of computers, cameras that spy on you with a hidden internet connection, they look like total s**t.
I was walking the dog today, and every car parked in the street looks like an ugly sneaker.
Drives like a car, looks like a sneaker.
Apr 16 · 3 weeks ago
22 Comments ↓
👻 darkghost · Apr 16 at 18:06:
But when you do bold designs you get .... the cybertruck, which looks like a dumpster.
The thing is: You rather buy an old one? If so, how old?
Do you mean those god awful looking cybertrucks? I also still don't trust tesla cars too.
As I'm getting older, I'm starting to like older cars, like the volkswagen Beetle for example.
Yeah modern cars are awful. Classic cars were simpler and generally looked better too imho. Dreading when I need to replace the wife's car.
🚀 stack [OP] · Apr 16 at 19:27:
Oh god no, I am not even talking about cybertrucks, designed by Elon on mushrooms (possibly just brain-damage). That is so horrible that I cannot talk about it, except when talking about shoving it up his butt.
No, I mean the rounded SUV-ish no-trunk shoe-shaped abominations, often with some sort of racing stripes.
My current car is 11 years old, and I dread having to buy the next one...
I still hate how brutalist new cars are too. Sorry, I was looking up "shoe car" instead of "sneaker car" online through images, yeah. I rather drive a small battle tank.
🚀 lars_the_bear · Apr 17 at 06:19:
I also dread having to buy a new car, and it's not just because they're ugly. My car is twelve years old, costs next to nothing to run; it doesn't spy on me, or require me to subscribe to anything. And I can do basic servicing myself if I have to, and spare parts are still easy to get.
I'm rather hoping it will outlive me.
👻 darkghost · Apr 17 at 12:55:
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but cars have been spying on us since the 90s. Best you can do is wait until the cell network tech stops being supported.
🚀 lars_the_bear · Apr 18 at 06:24:
@darkghost : I'm sure my car isn't spying on me. It's just not sophisticated enough.
But, bizarrely, I've just learned that my gas boiler _is_ spying on me. I understand that the supplier does this to issue service reminders. Hmm...
🌲 Half_Elf_Monk · Apr 18 at 23:47:
Wouldn't it be great to have these two things in wider circulation?
a) Guides for how to strip your car, that you 100% fully legally own, of invasive tech (like anything that communicates with a cell tower, wifi, or transponders). The guides should make it so that the car is still usable afterwards, but won't report to 'HQ' anymore, not even that the spy tech has been removed. Maybe make it look like it's always parked at home, idk.
b) some sort of free/libre open source software for the computer of a car. I'd love to be able to use bluetooth from my phone to my car speakers (podcasts, audiobooks, and phone calls would benefit), but it's a closed system so... I'd rather not.
Makes me wonder how easily people's security routines could be broken. Yeah, your phone and laptop are ironclad against everything but the worst zero-days, but you don't update you wifi router firmware, you left your front door unlocked, and your car reports your locations just as frequently as your iphone would have.
🚀 lars_the_bear · Apr 19 at 08:48:
@Half_Elf_Monk : "Guides for how to strip your car, that you 100% fully legally own, of invasive tech"
Wouldn't that be nice? But I wonder if it's even possible, let alone practicable. I'd take de-Googling a smartphone as an analogy. it's not easy, and it's only possible because Google et al., have actively supported this kind of thing in the past.
I've always de-Googled my phones, but functionality is limited afterwards, and I'm never 100% sure I can rely on them when I really need to.
What we need is legislation, that simply bans all data collection that isn't expressly authorized by the product owner.
I think removing unwanted tech stuff out of a car would be really tricky. I do agree with the legislation of data collection from people's cars. I do think a "glitch" also shouldn't make a person's car stop working too, it's so damn absurd.
👻 darkghost · Apr 19 at 11:01:
I looked into stripping one of my old cars and it was possible but you lost the radio, music player, gps for built in nav, and Bluetooth for call management. It would be obvious what you did since it would no longer report in
@lars_the_bear I don't fancy your chances of such legislation. I believe that the majority are glad of the Intel and the push for digital ID (and therefore mandatory participation with Google or Apple) is amongst other things because they then have only one of two companies to pressure into providing data on "individuals of interest". Worth noting Google and Apple can how shall we say, "add data" to your device should they be compelled. Sure everyone has noticed too but it's awful funny how enemies of the state are mostly either rapists and/or interested in kids. Both accusations of which are so polarising that pretty much all reason and critical thinking goes out the window.
Given support windows of other tech I believe EVs will rapidly become e-waste and there will be a legislative push to ban software modification or open source replacements that may extend the life of said vehicles on the fictitious grounds of it simply been too dangerous to other road usets to allow such things.
🚀 stack [OP] · Apr 19 at 14:36:
I am not sure a low-end 2013 Ford has a call-home capability. It has no GPS that I know off, and the previous owner replaced the radio with an aftermarket cluster with a Sony screen for some reason. It works with. Google car for 10 min. and disconnects saying no compatible USB device...
Also the battery dies after a day if not disconnected. It's totally ghetto and I like that.
I am not sure a low-end 2013 Ford
My Chevy of that era does via on-star, but I don't think Ford was doing anything like that, GM pioneered it. The 2001 Pontiac minivan I learned to drive in even had on-star.
I don't know what on-star is able to gather from it, but it still has to connect to the cellular network because cellphones have to be able to call 911 without an account.
I wouldn't be terrilby surprised to learn that on-star can get location data from unsubscribed vehicles though. I doubt they have individual cellular contracts for each vehicle that subscribes.
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on the topic of the shoe shape though, are you talking about that style where the car is really wide at the bottom, then gets goes in a couple inches right around where the window is?
It works with. Google car for 10 min. and disconnects saying no compatible USB device...
I don't know how google car is supposed to work, but when I was driving a work vehicle that had it I had a very specific ritual I had to perform for it to work. I think I had to connect to bluetooth first, and then connect the USB cable. I might have had to hit some button in the phone too in between.
🚀 lars_the_bear · Apr 19 at 15:31:
@drh3xx : I agree but, if we do nothing, we have nobody to blame but ourselves when bad shit happens.
The problem, as I've discovered, is not that our elected representatives are acting in bad faith (although I'm sure some are), but that they are incapable of understanding the issues. For some reason, we like to be lead by posh boys whose lips move when they read. Even when they're well-meanig, these aren't people you can have a technical conversation with.
@lars_the_bear I think you have a higher opinion of those who lead than myself. I think though some may enter politics to improve things, by the time they get somewhere they can make a difference they have reoriented to maximise their benefit either naturally or because they owe others that have gotten them there.
I think its time for individuals to do what's right, not what is legal.
🚀 stack [OP] · Apr 19 at 18:18:
@lamb-duh, the sneaker shape I am referring to is the profile...
My Android Auto or whatever it's called requires a USB wire, then for some reason also connects via Bluetooth, then after some minutes (usually at the worst time, when I need to exit freeway in heavy traffic near Chicago with 10 ways of going in the wrong direction) disconnects.
I then gave to unplug and replug it, nearly causing accidents as Google maps simultaneously loses the settings.
I think it's trying to kill me.
I think we need an age limit for elected leaders. I definitely got dumber at 55 or so.
I think we need an age limit for elected leaders. I definitely got dumber at 55 or so.
I think we need an age limit for elected leaders. I definitely got dumber at 55 or so.
🚀 lars_the_bear · Apr 20 at 06:52:
@stack : "I then gave to unplug and replug it, nearly causing accidents as Google maps simultaneously loses the settings."
In the UK, there are still enough areas with no cell coverage that you'd be nuts to use Google Maps for navigation -- although plenty of people try.
Self-contained automotive GPS units are dirt cheap and work, in my experience, better than anything built into a vehicle, and certainly better than any smartphone app. They generally rely on a smartphone app to get live updates, but that puts you into telemetry territory again, so I don't bother.
👻 darkghost · Apr 20 at 12:50:
Huh? Speak up! What's this about a cage limit for refracted cheerleaders?
🚀 lars_the_bear · Apr 20 at 16:54:
Huh? What all this about electric cheerleaders? Where did I put my specs?