http://www.autoblog.com/2015/04/20/automakers-gearheads-car-repairs/
Read this article this morning. It seems to imply that GM and Ford are both behind this movement. This all but guarantees I never buy a product from them again.
People want more openness and more ease of doing things. When will these idiot companies learn to stop trying to abuse copywrite law?
just another reason to only own vehicles older than about the year 2000 or so.
Carburetors don't give a E36 M3 about copyright law.
Paging SEMA action network
From a products liability standpoint access to proprietary programming information could raise some concerns. It is odd these concerns are coming from the same company who arguably killed 80+ people by not understanding its own product's performance, and skated on liability because they were too bankrupt to pay damages.
http://wot.motortrend.com/1412_ford_racing_launching_ecu_tune_for_ecoboost_i_4_engines.html
they're talking out of the side of their mouths a bit regarding Ford. I don't see an issue for ECU tuners, the purchaser of an aftermarket tune isn't paying you for the factory tune content, as they already are in possession of it, the tuner isn't reselling them that benefit, they're selling the change and perceived benefit of the aftermarket tune.
Not a new thing for automakers to also want the monopoly on service and maintenance too, that's why there are laws that say third party service does not invalidate warranties. I see the real people being hit are the 'third parties' if this kind of thing is successful. Hard to prevent all the individuals from doing their own thing, but much easier to target the shop selling the parts.
Huge copyright and patent problems with software though, as software has been one of the hardest things for our legal IP system to handle of all time. And when cars become more about the software than the hardware (we're getting awful close) the legal IP system will be put through its paces.
My guess is that automakers know all of this quite well, and are arming themselves accordingly.
In reply to kanaric:
"These idiot companies" are trying to protect their business model. They don't want to give away all their hard earned R&D/safety/performance & emissions work to an unlicensed outfit. They want to control who gets the technical info to repair your car (dealer w/factory trained Techs).
This is an extension of the "right to repair" dispute that's been going on for years. I can see both sides of the argument & believe it'll get worked out over time with plenty of lawyers & lobbying in between.
they would help their cause if the dealerships were worth going to for repairs (after warranty) … in manyMANY cases they're more rip off than helpful … though not all fall into this category
and yes many indy's do also … but I can shop around for the Indy I like, I can't shop around for a dealership I like (depending on city size) … the nearest Chevy store is 20 and 22 miles … the next nearest are pushing 50 .. and folks in smaller towns would find it even tougher
wbjones wrote: they would help their cause if the dealerships were worth going to for repairs (after warranty)
If you can't compete on service/price (value), then just lobby for a law so that you don't have to. Duh.
After all the parts stores and repair shops are out of business you take your car to the dealer for everything. Once it's 10 years old all parts are 'obsolete' and repairs cannot be made. Please see our showroom to buy a new car.
That's what they want, but it's not going to happen. Similar things have been tried and failed. There is a slippery slope in here someplace, not sure where.
About the ECU, it's illegal to modify it anyway, covered by emissions anti tampering laws.
Also, I have patents that are in there, and don't want to just give them out. The OEM have license exchanges to deal with that.
In the end, it's not just gm and ford who would want to prevent it, all of them would.
Montune is factory-authorized, so I am good.
Something will change before we can buy self driving cars. I think that's the real issue here. The intellectual property associated with THOSE will be a much bigger deal than anything they're dealing with now.
I think there is is legitimate concern to messing about with self driving car software, and I can see a world where anyone wants the latest software update that has their car speeding just a bit and shaving 5 minutes off their commute. I don't want to drive like an shiny happy person, but I'm ok (sort of) when a cab driver does it when I'm in the back.
The only reason for modifying your car would be to break the law. Soon all cars will be autonomous, leaving us one less thing to worry about. Unless you are a criminal this won't bother you......
this sort of mindset is spreading......and it's scary. 
kanaric wrote: People want more openness and more ease of doing things. When will these idiot companies learn to stop trying to abuse copywrite law?
No, people want an appliance that Just Works. Many people made the same mistake with smartphones, and now the only factory-supported hackable smartphone is being made by a tiny German company and will be madly expensive due to the small production run...
love my 83 Corolla.... 
You notice John Deere is mentioned - they're the worst here, they've been actively working to make repairing their equipment difficult and there's a big hacking scene around breaking into John Deere electronics to allow DIYers to work on them.
Self driving cars? No thank you. You can have my '75 Datsun when you pry the steering wheel from my cold, dead hands.
So GM doesn't want you to modify your car? Then why do they offer this?
http://www.chevrolet.com/performance/camaro-parts/1le-zl1.html
Joe Gearin wrote: The only reason for modifying your car would be to break the law. Soon all cars will be autonomous, leaving us one less thing to worry about. Unless you are a criminal this won't bother you...... this sort of mindset is spreading......and it's scary.
Yep, that mindset is pervading in a number of different issues.
So the software web service equivalent is that you start subscribing to an automaker. A basic subscription gets you a fiesta. A plus gets you a fusion and a premium gets you a lincoln. You never own it, just subscribe.
This has nothing do with self-driving, a car can be locked-down and illegal to work on whether it's a self-driving beigemobile or a simple track toy that isn't even street legal.
Joe Gearin wrote: The only reason for modifying your car would be to break the law. Soon all cars will be autonomous, leaving us one less thing to worry about. Unless you are a criminal this won't bother you...... this sort of mindset is spreading......and it's scary.
Depends.
Technically, emissions hardware was never legally allowed to be modified- and while you think it's your right to do what you want, it's also your neighbors right to breathe clean air.
And that can be extended to a lot of other items.
Which is applicable for most of the driving public.
When going racing, the rights and needs change, as does the application. Which is why there's an exception made for off road vehicles. It's why you have a non DOT harness that's more allowed than a DOT legal belt. Or why you tune the engine to do something different.
Lastly- it's great that there IS a very responsible element out there who do care about themselves and their neighbors. Sadly, the number of people who don't make it really hard to allow the good ones to do their work.
Let alone the whole liability issue- right now when you retune your ABS, when there is an accident- who is liable? And if you cause injury, will your insurance company cover that if you modified that? This is why the IIHS even exists.
As far as I know, all of this is even more strict in other countries. Where you can be dropped from insurance from not telling them that you just changed the steering wheel.
GameboyRMH wrote:kanaric wrote: People want more openness and more ease of doing things. When will these idiot companies learn to stop trying to abuse copywrite law?No, people want an appliance that Just Works. Many people made the same mistake with smartphones, and now the only factory-supported hackable smartphone is being made by a tiny German company and will be madly expensive due to the small production run...
It's easy to show the other side- one of the most popular phones is also one of the most restricted for apps- the apple. The iPhone is the tan Camry of the phone world.
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