Your Car: Copyright 2015

"Justin Hughes" (justinhughes54)
04/21/2015 at 11:48 • Filed to: Car wrenching

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! is a proud tradition dating back to the birth of the automobile itself. But now the automotive industry is trying to prevent us from doing our own wrenching by citing, of all things, copyright law.

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According to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , automakers and lobbyists are citing the Digital Millenium Copyright Act ( !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ), which was originally created to stop you from sharing Metallica, Top Gear , and the Fast and Furious movies online (we know how well that worked). They claim that the software that has infiltrated practically every area of the modern car is the manufacturer’s intellectual property, and accessing or modifying that software is, or should be, illegal. They also claim that cars are now so sophisticated that the shadetree mechanic is basically too dumb to understand them. How convenient, if not rude.

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Gone are the days of taking your car to the dealer for a “check engine” light and paying them $90 to plug it in, turn the light off, and say “uh, I dunno.” I recently bought a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for less than $20, and the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for my iPhone for another $10. Diagnosing and clearing my own codes is just a tiny fraction of what I can do now. I can add gauges, monitor tons of engine data in real time, optimize my fuel economy, record 1/4 mile runs, or even record my laps around a race track and analyze them later. This is all by just reading OBD2 data, and using some of the phone’s built-in functions, like accelerometers and GPS. I’m not even writing any data, though that’s easy enough to do, too. An ECU reflash to cure !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ’s infamous midrange torque dip is just an online order away from numerous sources.

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But all that could go away if the automakers get what they want. Read the full article !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

DISCUSSION (14)

EL_ULY > Justin Hughes
04/21/2015 at 11:52

with Volvo’s new full internet based VIDA diagnosis software/Tool, we will be able to override any aftermarket software installed in current and future Volvo cars. NO more OBDII FTW!!!! Awesome for me, sucks for you mere mortals lol :]

rb1971 ARGQF+CayenneTurbo+E9+328GTS+R90S > Justin Hughes
04/21/2015 at 11:59

I’ve been looking at ODBII scanners for a little while. Do you mind if I ask why you picked the linked one? I haven’t had time to do independent research.

Also does it work fine over BT with your iPhone and Dashcommand?

Justin Hughes > rb1971 ARGQF+CayenneTurbo+E9+328GTS+R90S
04/21/2015 at 12:09

I picked that one because it’s common, cheap, and widely used. I’ve had no issues with it at all.

No, it will NOT work on Bluetooth with an iPhone! None of these will, from what I learned in my research. You have to get the wifi version, then connect your phone to its network before running the software. But once that’s done, it works fine.

Justin Hughes > Justin Hughes
04/21/2015 at 12:19

That’s funny. Torchinsky published his FP article within minutes of mine. I'll be putting on my tin foil hat now.

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > EL_ULY
04/21/2015 at 12:33

Talking with the wife this morning about attractive sedans and mid-sized cars and the only ones we found attractive that are new are Volvos. However the primary item preventing us from buying one is oddly not money, but solely based on the fact that they are Chinese owned.

Sam > R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
04/21/2015 at 12:49

Hah. That’s pretty xenophobic of you. The quality is identical since the Chinese bought them. The cars are still built in Gothenburg by Swedes.

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > Sam
04/21/2015 at 12:58

....but the profit of the sale of the car goes to a Chinese government owned corporation, right? I would rather my money go to the Swedish government than to China. I would rather buy a LR and the money go to India than to China.

Isn’t xenophobia more about being exclusionary of all cultures or nations besides your own? What does the concept of not wanting to financially assist a country that doesn’t play by the environmental and labor guidelines that other countries follow as dictated by law?

I view China as an entirely unethical zone of environmental and human right violation. Which really sucks because the V60 Polestar and R-Design have both the nicest exterior lines (minus the high beltline at the rear quarter panel) and the most efficiently elegant interior.

EL_ULY > R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
04/21/2015 at 13:03

so is America lol. Volvo from new XC90 onward are 100% Swedish. By 2018, the new XC90 will be the oldest car in the Volvo line.

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > EL_ULY
04/21/2015 at 13:13

America doesn;t play by the rules becuase we are permitted to outsource vast swaths of production and manufacturing to a country with largely no rules to govern unethical practices. Also, money —-> politics is worse than fanatics —-> into religion

EL_ULY > R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
04/21/2015 at 13:19

the world can never have good thing unless someone is suffering. Don’t think so hard about it. You are not a commie if you buy a Volvo. If it bothers you so much, throw away everything you own :]

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > EL_ULY
04/21/2015 at 13:26

It really does bother me. Especially in cases like the mass suicides at Foxconn brought upon by poor working conditions, repulsive wages, and alleged kidnapping and coercion by plant supervisors to get the employees back to work.

I would have already bought a Volvo were it not for the Geely ownership

EL_ULY > R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
04/21/2015 at 13:41

history of the world sir

Iheartmy365kHonda - Car enthusiasts do like FWD > Justin Hughes
04/21/2015 at 20:51

Older cars... will they be affected?

Justin Hughes > Iheartmy365kHonda - Car enthusiasts do like FWD
04/21/2015 at 21:44

That depends on whether manufacturers claim intellectual property rights on their older cars or not. Best bet would be to buy an old car that doesn’t have any computers!