I think that etcg.com is a family website, so I’ll try to keep this “PG”, even though I normally refuse to censor myself.
-You mean women, not box. Gross.
I remember this topic coming up in class. I think that what the OP refers to here is like the airplane black boxes. All of the plane’s data goes through them, but they only record data that isn’t in the flight plan/program, such as when the plane falls out of the sky into a river.
Only difference here is we’re talking about putting the same thing into a car.
As for the OBDIII that is mentioned here: It is my understanding that the Technology has been ready to roll for a while, however, the right to privacy is holding it back b/c OBDIII will report you if you’re late on an oil change.
I had a GPS for a while, but tossed it out the window one day after me and my buddy decided that “you just can’t be sure that that little thing isn’t reporting us for doing 94mph in a 60 zone….”
It is my understanding that OBDIII will have police tools as well as Diagnostics.
Let us not forget (more importantly, let the Manufacturers and the Gov’t not forget) that On-Board Diagnostics were originally invented to make the Technician’s job possible. Not just easier, but possible. OBD should not be used to report a damn thing to anyone.