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Comment by nozzlegear | Hacker News Reader

> GM’s move to restrict access to CarPlay and Android Auto […] will help the automaker capture more data on its customers’ driving, listening, and charging habits. It could also help inform future subscription products, as automakers across the board are seeking to generate more revenue beyond just selling cars.

Yeah no thanks. I have a 2023 Chevy Bolt EUV that I absolutely love, but I will not be buying another GM vehicle if this is what they’re going to be doing.

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Yeah, one of the major perks of the EUV is the wireless Carplay.

your 2023 chevy bolt euv is already streaming all of your driving parameters to GM via onstar.

the "help" they are referring to is offloading the transmission of these parameters to your wireless device vs their built-in wireless device ($$$)

> your 2023 chevy bolt euv is already streaming all of your driving parameters to GM via onstar.

Is it? I’ve already turned off the Chevrolet Smart Driver or whatever it’s called, I know about that one sending data back to GM. And I canceled OnStar as soon as I purchased the vehicle, but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn if it’s still siphoning data anyway.

Still, the situation would get worse for me because at least right now using CarPlay they aren’t getting all the data about which books or music I’m listening to.

yes it is, i am intimately aware of that project :) onstar is always connected to the car, you cannot disable it.

That’s disappointing to hear, thanks for the info!

What happens if you disconnect the antenna? I recognize that they could be made integral to some other components, but at least in phones where I've removed radios and cameras, that has never been the case.

Do the cars have some sort of spite-brick functionality built in if the cars can't phone home? This is purely curiosity; I doubt that I would ever buy a GM car.

Currently there's a dedicated fuse for the OnStar system. You can pull that and the consumer facing OnStar functionality stops working (remote monitoring, etc). I assume it's really actually fully disabled by the fuse, but I can't guarantee it.

There were how to guides for older models explaining where GM hid the antenna so you could cut the leads. That might be necessary on some models.

It's clear what happens next:

1. GM cars suddenly sell for $2-3k less than competition

2. Competition scrambles to catch up, implements similar shenanigans to monetize the car computer

3. No more unrestricted CarPlay

My understanding is that CarPlay costs nothing other than implementation costs for car makers and head unit makers. Do you hav proof otherwise? This cost delta seems unlikely based just on CarPlay and Android Auto.

i think they mean that because of the "subscription revenue" potential of forcing people onto their propriety OS GM will be able to sell the car at a discount. Not that carplay costs more in of itself.

And then when they don't see the revenues, they dump Android Auto and get bailed out by the people again.

The OP is suggesting that the data/subscription revenue from GM’s NotCarplay system will allow them to sell the car at a relative loss.

Chevy Bolt is already cheaper than most of their competitors.

2. Competition offers car without carplay for $2K less. Both of the competitor's models monetize the car computer without google's help

(or they just stick a $20 google crapware box in the engine compartment between the battery and the motors, then call it good.)

Either way the competitor gets to charge a $2K markup for screen mirroring software.

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