Records reviewed by WIRED show law enforcement agencies are eager to take advantage of the data trails generated by a flood of new internet-connected vehicle features.
When I wrote the previous comment I was thinking that “electronic lock” was referring to a fob-activated lock that you used in place of a key-activated lock. The things that are constantly blasting their honks and beeps throughout the neighborhood when we used to have just quiet. Bad enough, but it sounds from your comment that it’s much, much worse than that.
It sounds like you’re describing a lock that the vehicle is in control of! No, my cars have no such things. I didn’t realize they existed. I’ve rented a few cars, incl. one “good” (meaning, one that people might envy me for owning, thus increasing my feelings of prestige) European car within the past 10 yrs and didn’t notice the car deciding to lock the doors w/o my consent. If this was happening it must have been a silent anti-feature, or at least very quiet.
I can’t imagine needing or wanting the car to decide when to lock/unlock the doors. I only lock them when I’m parked, and sometimes not even then (not really paranoid about break-ins … I’ve left the Miata top-down on my street overnight before, and the horrific end result was … a dead leaf or two on the seats, maybe an insect visitor as well, a little extra dust). Locking and unlocking the doors is a simple as putting a mechanical key into a slot or pushing/pulling a lever on the inside. Nothing could be easier, and it’s not a decision I’m about to cede to the car (and its manufacturer) for no good reason.
When I wrote the previous comment I was thinking that “electronic lock” was referring to a fob-activated lock that you used in place of a key-activated lock. The things that are constantly blasting their honks and beeps throughout the neighborhood when we used to have just quiet. Bad enough, but it sounds from your comment that it’s much, much worse than that.
It sounds like you’re describing a lock that the vehicle is in control of! No, my cars have no such things. I didn’t realize they existed. I’ve rented a few cars, incl. one “good” (meaning, one that people might envy me for owning, thus increasing my feelings of prestige) European car within the past 10 yrs and didn’t notice the car deciding to lock the doors w/o my consent. If this was happening it must have been a silent anti-feature, or at least very quiet.
I can’t imagine needing or wanting the car to decide when to lock/unlock the doors. I only lock them when I’m parked, and sometimes not even then (not really paranoid about break-ins … I’ve left the Miata top-down on my street overnight before, and the horrific end result was … a dead leaf or two on the seats, maybe an insect visitor as well, a little extra dust). Locking and unlocking the doors is a simple as putting a mechanical key into a slot or pushing/pulling a lever on the inside. Nothing could be easier, and it’s not a decision I’m about to cede to the car (and its manufacturer) for no good reason.