Why does it have to track your bloody location all the time though? Why not make it so it just logs in to the server every 5 minutes and asks. "Have I been stolen?" and if the answer is yes it activates. Better yet, mandate all software like this is open source so no manufacturer can claim one thing and do another.
And before anyone says "but the thief can swap the ECU before it calls home and if it was continously reporting at least there would be a trail where he did it" it is silly. Let's say there indeed is a gps trail leading from in front of your house to some alleyway or a forest. Do you think the car is still there? Nope.
It is a common fallacy. The manufacturer wants to steal your privacy and gives you a useful feature tied to it. Oh, do you want to be able to switch the car off remotely when it's stolen or not? If so we need to know where you drive for next 20 years. And if you ever drove over 80mph we're using this to decline your warranty BTW. I
And before anyone says "but the thief can swap the ECU before it calls home and if it was continously reporting at least there would be a trail where he did it" it is silly. Let's say there indeed is a gps trail leading from in front of your house to some alleyway or a forest. Do you think the car is still there? Nope.
It is a common fallacy. The manufacturer wants to steal your privacy and gives you a useful feature tied to it. Oh, do you want to be able to switch the car off remotely when it's stolen or not? If so we need to know where you drive for next 20 years. And if you ever drove over 80mph we're using this to decline your warranty BTW. I