LOL, here it comes: GM: That Car You Bought? We’re Really The Ones Who Own It.

[Tromatic]

GM: That Car You Bought? We’re Really The Ones Who Own It.

“It is [GM’s] position the software in the vehicle is licensed by the owner of the vehicle.”


GM’s claim is all about copyright and software code, and it’s the same claim John Deere is making about their tractors. The TL;DR version of the argument goes something like this:

• Cars work because software tells all the parts how to operate
• The software that tells all the parts to operate is customized code
• That code is subject to copyright
• GM owns the copyright on that code and that software
• A modern car cannot run without that software; it is integral to all systems
• Therefore, the purchase or use of that car is a licensing agreement
• And since it is subject to a licensing agreement, GM is the owner and can allow/disallow certain uses or access.

[Chad11491]

I doubt this will pass. Still, with that kind of stance I won't buy any GM product, or anything from any company that says I don't own it when it's paid off. Maybe they should make their parts actually work first, and stop having massive amounts of failures before they go claiming that their "optimized" product is unsafe to be messed with. I'm pretty sure the thousands that were effected by their recalls would beg to differ.

[D_Thissen]

Another reason that I will never buy a GM product. My parents are about to pick up their 2015 ATS coupe (V6 AWD) and the lack of customer service exhibited by the dealership is out standing.

It was too much work for them to send pictures after the car arrived, so they went to check it out at the dealership. Once they got there they waited for over an hour before they were told 'keys are locked up and we can't find the car'.

I over heard some of the sales reps calling my FR-S 'a piece of shit import' so I asked them how many recalls their vehicles had. That shut them up quickly lol.

[DriftHappens]

Time to go standalone.

[Quentin]

I'm somewhat conflicted. I can see manufacturers getting pissed that people tune their own car, blow it up, and try to get it covered under warranty (basically any inexpensive sporty car always has threads about people changing cars back to stock mechanically after they've trashed something). This is only going to get worse with turbo engines becoming more common. Plus, you have companies out there selling new tunes. They make a profit off tweaking the OEM's work and potentially cause issues with the engines that the OEM has to pay to repair if they can't prove the tune caused it.

That said, GM needs to get its house in order before they start bringing lawyers into it. GM is notoriously easy to crack into the ECU and start messing with things. It would be like Android all of a sudden trying to make rooting their devices illegal when they've done nothing to prevent it for so many years. Toyota (sans the FR-S, anyway) is notoriously hard to crack these days. If they came out with this legislation, it'd be easier to justify since they've been putting up roadblocks the whole time to prevent the software from being touched.


Sent from Tandy 400

[Chad11491]

Originally Posted by D_Thissen

I over heard some of the sales reps calling my FR-S 'a piece of shit import' so I asked them how many recalls their vehicles had. That shut them up quickly lol.

That always ticks me off. Plus its really unprofessional. Probably just jealous because half the piles they're trying to sell still come with drum brakes.

[Jaden]

Originally Posted by Chad11491

That always ticks me off. Plus its really unprofessional. Probably just jealous because half the piles they're trying to sell still come with drum brakes.

Trying to get you to feel bad about the car so you'll trade it in...

Most salesmen don't care about anything but getting another sale...If they could give you 200% trade in value to get you to buy from them, they would...

Jaden

[D_Thissen]

Originally Posted by Jaden

Trying to get you to feel bad about the car so you'll trade it in...

Most salesmen don't care about anything but getting another sale...If they could give you 200% trade in value to get you to buy from them, they would...

Jaden

More than likely. However for that to work, you need to care what a complete stranger thinks about you and your car lol.

[Jaden]

Originally Posted by D_Thissen

More than likely. However for that to work, you need to care what a complete stranger thinks about you and your car lol.

yeah but like guys who just ask every hot girl they meet to fuck, only 2% have to say yes for them to get some...

Jaden

[DoomsdayJesus]

This has already been smacked down in courts in arguments on rooting androids/jailbreaking iPhones. Once it's yours, it's yours to do with as you please. I'd also love to see how they apply this to tuning shops like Hennessy which undoubtedly increase the prestige of certain platforms like the Corvette, Camaro, and CTS-V. You think they're going to come down on them? Yeah right.

What will ultimately happen is people will simply swap the ECU after companies like GM decide to encrypt the platform to the point it can't be broken. They're wasting their breath.

Unless you actually sign a contract when you buy the car admitting it's all yours but the software is licensed, their argument is completely invalid. Just common corporate saber-rattling and vague legal threats that they have absolutely no standing to follow through on. It's like the clowns who claim those aftermarket tail lights you threw on voided the warranty.

[skye67]

evidently they haven't looked at them numerous failed attempts at stopping hackers from jailbreaking cell phones

[WHITE]

My thoughts are gm is just trying to get its greedy hand into the pocket that is 'aftermarket tuning'.

As it stands aftermarket tuners attract a great deal of customers for gm products becuase of the following events:

-John buys a fancy new Chevy.

-John sees his new Chevy making ####hp on a YouTube video.

-John pays an aftermarket tuner to have his car tuned to make ####hp.

-Mike sees Johns badass hp machine and wants to prove his manhood.

-Mike buys a Chevy.

-REPEAT.


So now gm wants to cut out that "middle man" so to speak and if gm succeeds then they can have a 'monopoly' on the tuning portion, meaning now they're getting all the money. So instead of just capitalizing on the big buck purchase (the vehicle) they're trying to keep the chump change (tuning) to themselves as well.



Thats just my theory though.