[__fst__]

EVs are topping the list of (imho) useless extras in cars. I'm still cherishing my Honda Fit pre-touchscreen edition. I'm going to drive it until it will fall apart. My next car will be an EV but I have yet to find one that still comes with mechanical features (door handles, knobs/buttons), without a whole battery of surveillance/telemetry tech and (crossing fingers) exchangable batteries. Simple electric propulsion ...

[johnea]

I just bought a used 2023 Nissan Leaf.

Fully EV, real buttons and knobs, and of course the model is cancelled.

The original tracking was 2G cellular, later updated to 3G cellular. 2G is long depricated, and 3G is already shutdown in many places.

This is a great car! Which explains why it's no longer available. It doesn't meet modern american needs, like being at least as large as a small building, or having 0 visibility over the hood, or costing at least $75K. (p.s. I paid $15K for mine, with 18K miles on the odometer and 150 miles of battery range)

But if you're into retro, like buttons and knobs, I highly recommend it...

p.s. I have to wonder if the data breach doesn't affect ICE cars as well? Would they use a separate surveilance system?

[grakker]

I bought a used '14 Leaf in '16. It has been a great car with very little battery degradation. Sure, I'm not going to be taking it on any long trips, but for 90% of my driving it is great. I paid $11k for it. Best car purchase I've made in 30+ years of car ownership.

[dboreham]

That's amazing considering 2023 was only last year.

[steelframe]

I've owned two LEAFs. Fantastic vehicle. I only got rid of it when I realized all the cars around me were only getting bigger and heavier, and I felt I needed to get an SUV to defend myself against that.

[geor9e]

Just to be clear, this breach mostly affects non-EV cars. Even my stick shift, manual window crank car came with a hidden cellular data modem, collecting my GPS location by default.

[Rebelgecko]

In a lot of cars you can pull the fuse that powers the cellular modem without any side effects

[1oooqooq]

you're taking to a bunch of old men shouting (literally) at clouds

[natch]

One person’s useless extra is another person’s collision avoidance system, AC, music system… I like extras when they make sense.

[behnamoh]

I hate touchscreen buttons too and unfortunately all EVs I've seen have adopted that. I wonder if there are EVs with good old fashioned mechanical buttons.

[mhandley]

The Polestar 2 is pretty good in this regard. All the most important things are on the steering wheel stalks, steering wheel buttons, and a few buttons for things like demist, play/pause and volume control on the centre console. There's still a lot on the touchscreen, including climate control, but it seems to hit a pretty good balance for me (and I'm not a fan on car touchscreens).

[wkat4242]

Safety agencies in Europe are already pushing to bring these back: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2024/03/carmakers-must-bring-ba...

[natch]

Many EVs have a sensible amount of buttons, and you generally don’t need the touchscreen for driving or much else for that matter.

I can even keep driving while the whole system is rebooting. Around here (where we have many immigrants and some odd practices) I’ve seen people with a towel hanging over their screen while driving, to protect it like a dust cover I guess.

The one thing you might argue I do need from my screen is the speed, which is very easy to see and usually not needed in the flow of traffic.

The outcry against screens is just misinformed imho. My car has plenty of mechanical buttons.

[Loudergood]

Both my Bolt(RIP) and my Ioniq 5 have mechanical buttons for the most common things(media controls/HVAC)

[nunodonato]

Kia/hyundai, best EVs imho

[prmoustache]

You can convert an old car to EV. There are comoanies speciliazing in this, mostly to convert classics that needed a ton of maintenance.

Expensive yes but might be worth it if you value your privacy.

[geor9e]

How is a complete rebuild of a car your go-to solution to an easily accessible cellular modem powered through the fuse box

[bdangubic]

me thinks anyone with a cell phone in this year of our Lord 2024 should not say they worry about privacy in any context. instead of converting old car to EV I’d start by converting a rotary phone to a portable one :)

[whimsicalism]

only worth it if you really value the environment, your privacy, but not your life