What's the biggest threat to automobile enthusiasts

"Kate's Dirty Sister" (KDS) 04/09/2014 at 10:41 • Filed to: True story

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You wake up this morning thinking about everything you think is wrong in the automobile industry, everything that is ruining your driving experience like wrong wheel drive premium cars, autotragic gearboxes on sport cars, electronic nannies in your Corvette, massaging seats in a Ferrari, M SUVs and the ever expanding BMW lineup ?

Look elsewhere kids, because usage-based insurance is what will get you.

Usage-based car insurance has been around for a while, but thanks to ever improving technology, it's gaining momentum. It is still pretty much reserved for young drivers, or drivers with very bad records, but I'm afraid it may become mainstream sooner than we think.

How ?

One day you will receive your insurance renewal and you will be presented two options :

1: Opt in for usage-based insurance, install a device that will monitor your dodgy driving antics and get a 25% rebate.

2: Opt out and pay a 50% premium over your current price.

When this day will come, there will be no reason anymore to drive anything that provide a modicum of pleasure, and we'll all want to get autonomous cars.

As they say on the tubes, money talks, so enjoy the marvelous car era we're living in while you can.

CalzoneGolem > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 10:44

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You'll just need a signal blocker for hooning.

Brian Silvestro > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 10:45

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As a 19 year old enthusiast, this scares the shit out of me. How long will it be before I don't have a choice and I'm forced to drive perfectly?

thebigbossyboss > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 10:47

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Government. The biggest threat is government.

Kate's Dirty Sister > thebigbossyboss 04/09/2014 at 10:48

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Insurances are private companies

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Brian Silvestro 04/09/2014 at 10:49

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get one of these, never worry again:

jlmounce > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 10:50

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Unfortunately I can certainly see that happening. I wonder how companies would deal with people that drive pre-OBDII cars. Insurance and consumer regulations what they are, I don't think they could get away with penalizing you simply because you don't drive a car that is capable of using one of these devices.

thebigbossyboss > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 10:50

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Except when they are owned by the government, like ICBC and whatever Manitoba's insurance is called. But anyways my point, which wasn't well articulated was that government is a bigger threat to car enthusiasts than insurance. Just wait until driverless cars become mandatory for some roads. Joy.

Stef Schrader > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 10:50

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Hopefully there's enough of us who won't put up with this MASSIVE invasion of privacy to keep it from taking over the whole market.

Anyone who suggests this nonsense to me will be politely told to stick that little dongle up their anus where it belongs.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 10:51

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Just wondering here, if I were to get into a wreck at the track, my insurance wouldn't cover it right?

But if I get this gizmo in my car, any risky-seeming-driving resulting from it will be monitored and I will be penalized for it? Even though I went into it full-well knowing I was doing something outside of my insurance coverage? Knowing I'd be responsible for damage if something went wrong?

Brian Silvestro > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 04/09/2014 at 10:51

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*saves picture*

You got it!

I wonder if Morgan 3-Wheelers have that connector...

pdx107 > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 10:53

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Canada is an entirely different situation

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 10:56

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The special detestation I reserve here for certain forms of crony capitalism is that adoption rates by companies are probably as high as they are so far because they foresee being able to lobby it into law in future. That can eat a bag of dicks.

In the meantime, drive ALL the classics.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Brian Silvestro 04/09/2014 at 10:56

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I don't know....

I know there is no way to hook one up to my Montego though! If it became a nanny state I'd make this a daily driver lol

Kate's Dirty Sister > pdx107 04/09/2014 at 10:56

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It is a totally capitalistic move anyway, if they think they it will reduces the amount of claims and increase their profits (or reduce costs), they'll go ahead.

Brian Silvestro > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 04/09/2014 at 10:58

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I'd probably turn towards classic car ownership if that became the case as well.

"What's that? Your guy can't find the connector in my Alfa Romeo? That's just too fucking bad ."

RacecaR > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 10:58

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I would gladly take #2. Because IDGAF.

I would end up driving "spiritedly" with that damn thing plugged in anyway, and end up paying more than if I would have just opted out and took the increase.

revrseat70 > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 11:01

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We'll just have to do some trickery with the edit. That's all

Agrajag > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 11:01

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I have a friend who got one of these because his insurance was offering discounts.

"That's how it all starts," I told him.

Coty > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 11:04

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Thank god all my shit is too old for OBDII

jkm7680 > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 11:05

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Self driving cars!

Don't want those at all

shpuker > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 11:05

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Fun fact. With OBD2 senders if it's unplugged it simply registers as the vehicle being turned off. AKA if you were to say, unplug it and go for a drive up the mountains, or down at the track, and then say, plug it back in after. They'd never know the difference from it being in your garage.

Just don't crash it on a track. That'd be hard to explain.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 11:06

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You're both right - so-called crony capitalism only thrives when there are significant regulatory forces to be bought. The pissing-down-one's-back-and-saying-it's-raining of offering these devices is inherently risky unless dealing with people used to close-coupled regulation and in an environment when you can probably buy said device into a mandate. Very California. The manner in which it is risky is that if you expect customers bridling at such an intrusion, you *must* expect a competitor to sell based on its absence - writing more pricey policies to underwrite correctly, maybe, but for less than your asking rate - and people will pay a small premium for that, particularly when they realize the most arbitrary things on such a device will be used to throw claims.

McLarry > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 11:11

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If they make you install a box, it's only a matter of time until somebody makes another box that fools that box.

Kate's Dirty Sister > McLarry 04/09/2014 at 11:13

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Dealing with all this shit will be a bitch.

ddavidn > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 11:14

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I'll keep my ODBI computer forever. Try and plug into that.

Agrajag > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 04/09/2014 at 11:16

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They'll probably make it so these are more to insure than a modern car without that gizmo.

It's a "Porch-uh" > thebigbossyboss 04/09/2014 at 11:16

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Not to get all anti-government, but the requirement for backup cameras in 2018 is the latest in a long line of NHTSA mandated BS that has slowly made cars more heavier and more expensive over the years.

The only thing I agree with is emissions requirements, because who wants to be sucking in nasty, sooty air? Though they have gone overboard with the rules (looking at you CARB), the basic premise is good.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 11:16

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But government mandates insurance before you're allowed to drive. It's a captive market.

I think it'd be a colossally bad idea to revoke that, but it's got some nasty side-effects.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 11:16

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You do know that device is only put on your car for a month or so to get the discount, right? And that if you have a system like On-star, they already know as much or more than that device could possibly capture. AND that device is dependent on being sent back at some point. To my knowledge, progressive does not use one that is a magical wireless transmitter. Maybe another has been developed?

E30Joe drives a Subaru > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 11:19

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Solution: Buy car without OBDII Port.

Mattbob > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 11:22

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when that day comes, I will buy a miata or some other such slow fun car. There's nothing like driving a slow car fast around corners.

Mattbob > McLarry 04/09/2014 at 11:23

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This^ I will hack that box so fast if they make me use it.

Mattbob > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 11:24

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The answer is drive a pre-obd-II car. Aww yeah.

vdub_nut: scooter snob > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 11:26

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You guys realize you only keep these plugged in for a month or so, right? Unless they've changed, one of the car clubs I used to run with had several members get these, drive like saints for a month, then handed them back in and got charged less, without changing their habits.

Kate's Dirty Sister > vdub_nut: scooter snob 04/09/2014 at 11:30

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Coworker's daughter have one, it is permanent and installed in the dash board, not accessible unless you open it.

vdub_nut: scooter snob > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 11:31

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Oh, wow..... I would definitely not want that. Is that optional, or mandatory?

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 11:32

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Agreed. I think insurance in general is a big barrier to young people getting excited about cars. It's tricky to become a car enthusiast if you're forced to pay £2000 a year for the first few years for the crummiest of boring hatchbacks.

Honestly, try getting insurance on anything with more than 100bhp and a 5* safety rating if you're a teenager in the UK. Even for me, 23 with 3 years no claims, it's still ~£1500 a year for anything most Americans would consider 'reasonably quick'.

Apparently it gets a lot cheaper when you hit 25, but that's a little late for a good number of people.

Looking a bit further outward, I'd say the biggest problem is energy shortages. As we wean ourselves off fossil fuels, there will be a massive period of upheaval. I'd even go so far as to say that we'll get energy rationing within our lifetimes. Electric cars won't be immune to this, as they run on electricity generated elsewhere, which may well be in very short supply. Certainly not abundant enough to justify its use for something as frivalously unnecessary as a car.

We'll either get through that and continue on as normal (similar to how we recovered after the World Wars, or the Wall St crash), civilisation will die and people will forget what those hunking lumps of metal rusting in the prairies even were, or humanity as a species will die out, car enthusiasts among them.

Kate's Dirty Sister > vdub_nut: scooter snob 04/09/2014 at 11:33

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Though question, shes 17 with her first car, it's 1000$ with it or 3000$ without.

I'm would call this mandatory.

vdub_nut: scooter snob > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 11:36

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Holy. Shit. You're in Canadia, right? Or at least Not-murrica?

Kate's Dirty Sister > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 04/09/2014 at 11:39

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Sounds like a movie scenario.

It start with a kid that struggle to get insurance, then it degenerated until his demise years later, in a scrapyard in the French countryside.

We're going to the Oscars.

Kate's Dirty Sister > vdub_nut: scooter snob 04/09/2014 at 11:40

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Can't lie, I'm from the Dominion of Canada.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 11:52

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Hah :) in your face Leonardo Di Caprio. Some dudes on the internet are getting an Oscar before you are :)

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Agrajag 04/09/2014 at 11:57

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thats fine, at least they won't be able to track me!

AthomSfere > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 12:09

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Of course, the obvious question is...

Why not use it for the measuring then unplug it...?

davedave1111 > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 15:13

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I don't see the problem with these. The more data insurance companies can collect, the more specifically tailored to your driving your premium will be - in theory, at least, because someone will want the moderate profit from your business at the best price, in a competitive market. That means that unless you're complaining that other people will no longer be subsidising you driving like an idiot, you ought to be all in favour of it.

Sure, to start with it'll just be used in a very broad-brush way, where driving fast, braking and accelerating aggressively and so-on will be penalised. But as it matures, things will get more nuanced. Some hypothetical examples: speeding on empty dry roads in the middle of the night won't be penalised as much as driving stupidly past a primary school at chucking-out time; consistently driving like a hoon and not crashing won't incur as much of a penalty as continually driving like a distracted, uninterested driver at slow speeds and crashing frequently.

deadlypixels > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/09/2014 at 20:05

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Im going to go with "black boxes" from insurers, environmental legislation regarding emissions, certain "safety laws" (I heard Ford had to stop making the GT because the headlights were "too low"). I know manuals are slowly dying but we have older cars which have them so not the end of the world there. Fuel prices may be expensive but as long as they still let me drive my car where and how I want I can deal with that.

cuts_off_prius > Kate's Dirty Sister 04/13/2014 at 20:45

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I think the absurd American demand for SUVs and "rugedness" is our biggest threat. Combine that with loopholes, tax breaks, and fuel efficiency skirting/run-arounds for SUVs with our CAFE standards and we're f*cked. I'm afraid car manufacturers will only offer SUVs/crossovers and jacked up hatchbacks and wagons with body cladding. Nothing honest and lower to the ground would be offered, worst case scenario. Matter of fact, how many honest wagons are currently being offered? Like 4? 3er wagon, E-class wagon, Volvo V60, and VW Sportwagon. We are also currently less safe on the road, ESPECIALLY our classic cars, because of SUVs and full size pickups dominating our roads, no matter how urban and narrow roads get.

deekster_caddy > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 04/14/2014 at 07:45

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I would hope they could use GPS to figure out you aren't on a public road at the time.