I am quite keen on the idea of an electric car.
-
@neil@mastodon.neilzone.co.uk Then I can recommend Stellantis. Seems safe to assume that their spyware will be poorly-designed, buggy and unreliable.
@kim cynic

-
I am quite keen on the idea of an electric car.
I am less keen on the idea of a car which spies on me.
@neil are you in or near any car sharing catchment areas?
Do you have a car already, just not an electric one?
-
@neil understood! Just trying to work out where you're coming from.
We have no car and do sometimes think about getting a runaround - but every time we seriously run the numbers, summing the insurance and either lease/hire-purchase payments or maintenance costs of an older car make us go 'oof'.
Even if we wanted to rent one every other weekend, and the most local car sharing service (Miles) feels expensive per session, it still ends up cheaper in all. So we still never get one of our own.
-
@neil understood! Just trying to work out where you're coming from.
We have no car and do sometimes think about getting a runaround - but every time we seriously run the numbers, summing the insurance and either lease/hire-purchase payments or maintenance costs of an older car make us go 'oof'.
Even if we wanted to rent one every other weekend, and the most local car sharing service (Miles) feels expensive per session, it still ends up cheaper in all. So we still never get one of our own.
@neil but it's very different if you already have a car and a lifestyle which assumes easy access and regular use of one.
Not disparaging that at all - it makes more sense to go for an EV then. I hope you find one that isn't constantly calling home. A neighbour is selling their VW E-Up - I do wonder if that is also a spy, or is early enough not to be.
(Also they remind me of Yorkshire)
-
@neil oh yeah. Lots of UK towns are just the wrong size for a decent metro or even reliable bus network, so you're kind of stuck with a car. Even bigger not-london places like Bristol are doable without a car but you still struggle without access to one.
-
I am quite keen on the idea of an electric car.
I am less keen on the idea of a car which spies on me.
@neil Let me know if you find one. I am looking to buy a non-spying small EV just large enough for two persons and he weekly shopping in about a year from now. -
@steve Well, you can have a standalone auxiliary heating/venting system for Diesel vehicles. I have got one. It doesn't talk to any server, I just pre-program and/or remote control it. (This is not meant to denigrate EV's, I just wanted to chime in on the fact that preheating is not a unique EV feature).
-
@neil Let me know if you find one. I am looking to buy a non-spying small EV just large enough for two persons and he weekly shopping in about a year from now.
-
@neil and the price of an electric car that would replace my current diesel is a huge reason I won't be able to change right now.
-
I am quite keen on the idea of an electric car.
I am less keen on the idea of a car which spies on me.
@neil I do wonder if any of them let you change the SIM/eSIM that they use for gathering that data.
-
I am quite keen on the idea of an electric car.
I am less keen on the idea of a car which spies on me.
@neil A few months ago we bought a low milage 2020 Kia Soul. I haven't activated the Kia app so it isn't spying on me. It could still be logging and reporting its location and performance details but it isn't linked to me. Or not directly. Does it collect data from my phone? Possibly but that's registered with a fake name Gmail address I don't use for anything else. Does Kia collect and link data from their dealer who serviced it?

-
@artfulrobot @sborrill Mostly eSIMs these days, I think.
@neil @artfulrobot @sborrill So your car actually does need a tinfoil hat faraday cage ?
-
@neil A few months ago we bought a low milage 2020 Kia Soul. I haven't activated the Kia app so it isn't spying on me. It could still be logging and reporting its location and performance details but it isn't linked to me. Or not directly. Does it collect data from my phone? Possibly but that's registered with a fake name Gmail address I don't use for anything else. Does Kia collect and link data from their dealer who serviced it?

@pthane I will take a look. Thank you!
-
I am quite keen on the idea of an electric car.
I am less keen on the idea of a car which spies on me.
@neil what about the basic ones like dacia?
-
@neil@mastodon.neilzone.co.uk @ratcatcher@beige.party I kind of want a first or second generation BMW i3 but the range is just a little too short without a battery upgrade, and then the price point isn't fantastic anymore. Also dreaming of the Slate truck despite its rumored ties to Bezos/Amazon. Amish EV for me.
-
-
@neil what about the basic ones like dacia?
@f4grx I didn't know that Dacia even had an EV (perhaps because I have been looking second hand?)!
-
I am not a car person.
I drive, but I don't enjoy driving particularly. It is a means to an end for me.
I much prefer to take a train but, sometimes, is either not possible, or else does not make sense (generally, time or money-wise).
@neil I have a hybrid, but I also have a driveway and my own charger, I think a key factor for me is being able to charge it on my own tariff rather than pay the much higher amount for a public one. I think it costs me 60p to charge it all the way, well okay its range is 20 miles for that but that ticks off most of my journeys here.
-
@f4grx I didn't know that Dacia even had an EV (perhaps because I have been looking second hand?)!
-
@neil I have a hybrid, but I also have a driveway and my own charger, I think a key factor for me is being able to charge it on my own tariff rather than pay the much higher amount for a public one. I think it costs me 60p to charge it all the way, well okay its range is 20 miles for that but that ticks off most of my journeys here.
@RobeeShepherd Great!
