Ford’s self-repossessing car patent is a nightmare of the connected-car future | Hacker News Reader

Ford’s self-repossessing car patent is a nightmare of the connected-car future

theverge.com

16 pointsmfiguiere14 comments

>An owner’s rights in this situation depend on what state they live in and what’s in their loan agreement.

A good starting point would be to define ownership. Do you still own your car? Yes, you pay for it. Like in the case of a popular car manufacturer offering ventilated seats only if you pay them ARR, or another one offering a better turning radius if you are on an annual contract. What it always comes down to is ownership.

Click-bait.

Companies file patents all the time. Doesn't mean they are ever planning on implementing this. If some auto-loan company decides to implement this in the form of software that goes inside the cars, using its autonomous sensors, or whatever else, Ford gets money.

Did you read the article?

This exact point was addressed..

> “We submit patents on new inventions as a normal course of business, but they aren’t necessarily an indication of new business or product plans,” Ford said in a statement.

> Even if you take Ford at face value there, this kind of thing absolutely can be done. In a world where automakers are actively fighting your ability to fix your own car.

Nightmare as opposed to what I wonder. Ended up reading "how to ruin your credit score" and realized I didn't know half the rules of this mini game.

> you have a card with a $15,000 limit and you're carrying a $2,000 balance on a card with a $5,000 limit, you have $20,000 of available credit and your ratio is a comfortable 10%. If you close the $15,000 card, your available credit plummets to $5,000 and your ratio skyrockets to 40%.

Maybe it is more fun of a game if they just give you the keys, you make payments, eventually you own the vehicle. Or you don't pay and they won't let you drive their vehicle... Or should other people be made to pay for it?

> If you stop using credit altogether, you'll eventually cease to be scored.

the "self repossessing" thing might help with the credit score - if you don't have any.

What happens if somebody just puts the car up on some blocks?

It would be hilarious to imagine it rolling itself off the blocks onto the ground, but it seems like the solution should already exist with TPMS functionality since the 2000s. I wonder if Tesla autopilot stops driving if it detects 0 or no psi?

The psi in the tire is set by the amount of air inside and the volume. It does not change significantly if the car is picked up (as you can see by the shape of the tire staying nearly the same).

I think “on blocks” means a car’s brakes/axles are resting on cinder blocks and the wheels are removed?

Though I could also imagine a scenario where the vehicle is on 4 jack stands with the wheels still on and if the autopilot came on it could injur or kill someone trying to work on it.

Ford has found a way to get poor people to discriminate against themselves. Why buy a car from the if you have any fear at all that it might get repossessed?

Malfunctions, hackers, rogue actors, human error, safety concerns, ethics, privacy concerns, collateral impact (can't get to work, get fired, you're unable to pay bills now).

The list goes on. This is some "why do you care about privacy of you have nothing to hide" level logic.

Because you need to get to and from work and it’s the only one you can afford.

If you are in a business of stealing cars, this patent is a promise of easy times to steal a car given to you by naïve OEM manufactures

Like have they actually demonstrated this in a city block for them to receive a patent on the mere idea?

Each step in this direction is another nail in the coffin of new car sales.

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