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OEMs aren't just connecting cars for the fun of it; the idea is to actually improve their customers' experience with the cars. But right now, we're still missing an actual killer app—and to be honest, data on how many customers renew those cell contracts for their vehicles. A survey out this week from Solace that polled 1,500 connected car owners found that they still don't really trust the technology.
[...] But the bit of Solace's survey I found most interesting was the widespread ignorance regarding data collection. Only 38 percent of connected car drivers knew that their cars could store personally identifiable information [PII] about them, with 48 percent unaware this was the case. And that's important because that PII is being viewed as a goldmine.
[...] "[The fuel companies] want to offer you more than fuel," [Ben] Volkow said. "Many times, the fuel stations are also interested in anonymized data—why do some people always stop, do they take whatever's available or a specific brand, places to build new stations, and so on."
What's more, unlike selling cars, selling data is a high-margin business—between 80- and 90-percent profit. "A big part of the investment is already done," he said. "The databases are built, SIMs and modems are in the cars; they've crossed the Rubicon."
[...] Volkow thinks that drivers will be happy to share this data, as long as they get some value out of it, like free servicing or micropayments per mile traveled. But he also thinks consumer education is vital. "People tend to be more demanding when it comes to cars; they don't think of them as the same as mobile devices. You have to convince them there's a benefit," he told me.
Source: ArsTechnica
(Score: 3, Insightful) by RS3 on Saturday February 24 2018, @07:24AM
I'm with you, but you'll have great difficulty finding it. If you ever look inside a very small, recent cell phone, you'll realize how small the needed circuitry is, including antenna: strip circuit or ceramic resonator. So it can be hidden anywhere, and it could be integrated onto any auto electronics circuit board. It doesn't need to have great RF linking- as long as it can dump its data when it's in range of a cell tower, it's fine.
You'd want to use a highly directional antenna and RF detector, and even then it's not going to transmit all the time, so you have to catch it in the act.
Better to stick with older cars like I do. It's much cheaper. You just have to be smart about maintenance.