This came up on my Facebook feed, it's for the USA (possibly) but how long before car manufacturers try it on over here? With the VW issues I wonder

Here's the article

Automakers are trying to ban people from working on their own cars at home, saying modern vehicles are “too complicated” for home mechanics to fix.

The Association of Global Automakers, which is a lobbying firm for 12 car manufacturers, has asked the U.S. Copyright Office to stop vehicle owners from accessing “computer programs that control the functioning of a motorized land vehicle, including personal automobiles, commercial motor vehicles, and agricultural machinery,*for purposes of lawful diagnosis and repair, or aftermarket personalization, modification, or other improvement.”

“In order to modify automotive software for the purpose of ‘diagnosis and repair, or aftermarket personalization, modification, or other improvement,’ the modifier must use a substantial amount of the copyrighted software – copying the software is at issue after all, not wholly replacing it,” the AGA claimed, according to*Infowars. “Because the ‘heart,’ if not the entirety, of the copyrighted work will remain in the modified copy, the amount and substantiality of the portion copied strongly indicates that the proposed uses are not fair.”

Auto Alliance, another firm that represents 12 manufacturers, is also asking the AGA to abolish exemptions to the*Digital Millennium Copyright Act that allow home mechanics to modify and their own cars.

“Allowing vehicle owners to add and remove [electronic control] programs at whim is highly likely to take vehicles out of compliance with [federal] requirements, rendering the operation or re-sale of the vehicle legally problematic,” Auto Alliance said in a*statement. “The decision to employ access controls to hinder unauthorized ‘tinkering’ with these vital computer programs is necessary in order to protect the safety and security of drivers and passengers and to reduce the level of non-compliance with regulatory standards.”

Car enthusiasts across America are now outraged, as home mechanics have been working on their own vehicles since cars were invented.

“It’s not a new thing to be able to repair and modify cars,”*a staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Kit Walsh, said. “It’s actually a new thing to keep people from doing it.”

“The biggest threat to our hobby is those people in powerful situations who’s idea of a great day out in their car is to spend it riding in the back seat while someone else handles the driving ‘chore’ for them,” a hot rodder*said on the subject. “These are the same people who will ban ‘old junk’ from the roads, enforce ’50 miles per gallon’ standards on new, and then older vehicles, and eventually force everyone to drive ‘standardized’ cars that will fit precisely in parking spaces, take up the minimum space on public roads, and follow all the ‘environmentally friendly’ buzz words while boring real car drivers like us to death.

What do you think?

 

US Boll*cks.

 

Hope so

 

heard that ooooo 5 years ago + total rubbish and no way to regulate it.

plus what about cars on aftermarket ecu's, alot of which are far more capable than the standard units.

It was sugested in europe about 24 months ago and got rejected due to unworkable to check at mot

 

The people who want these regs aren't clever enough to come up with a economically viable way of policing it. So until then it'll just be the usual hot air.


What is interesting is when I was on a top-up course, there was a discussion on manufactures talking of putting vehicles into limp home mode when a bulb fails! Now that'll be fun LOL; Won't make much difference out on the road though; most numptys these days that drive around with blown bulbs don't even know how to operate the light switch anyway.

 

Sure Nissan said that about the r35 Gtr before it came out! Lol
Anyway if the ecu can't be mapped pull it out and put one in that can, Simple!