[rdame]

I have not completely read through the entire thread but I believe I got the gist. This is, in my opinion the first shot across the bow of many more to come by all the major manufacturers. They have for years been trying to pass legislation to prevent modification of vehicles. To date is has not been successful. However we are now on the cusp of the introduction of the self driving cars, automatic brake application, lane shift warnings, pedestrian warnings, and who knows what else. The implications that could occur if an accident happens with one of these vehicles and it is determined it was modded, had a tune, or some other after market device attached are obvious. We don't own the software on our computers, I am not sure if we own (likely not) the firmware in our cars. I do not agree with it, but the more of the automation we allow into our vehicles, the less we will have control over their functional implementation. It is sad, but the time is coming where we will once again be losing control of personal choice and individuality. The auto industry obviously can see this on the horizon and are also using it as warranty leverage. A good example is If you change your seat covers, and they are not stock, will they interfere with airbag operation? Could be. You put a gage pod on you A pillar, did an airbag deployment shatter them? Yet it is perfectly OK for manufacturer's to say "you airbag is a hand grenade" but we cannot change it for 6 months because we don't have any. Forget the fact that they had evidence of failure a continued to use them.

I don't know what the answer is, but I think we need as automobile enthusiasts to begin to envision what that means and how we are going to begin to mobilize to protect our rights.

Just my 2 cents