…well, not really.
by Mike Gulett –
Disappointment can come at unexpected times and from surprising sources. When an admired corporate icon does something unethical and so blatantly wrong it is very disappointing.
According to an article in the New York Times General Motors has been selling their customer’s driving data, which they have collected directly from their internet-connected vehicles with their OnStar system. For many years GM has provided driving information about braking, acceleration, mileage and speed for all trips made by their cars to LexisNexis Risk Solution and Verisk, who then create driver risk profiles and sell them to insurance companies. The insurance companies then use these driver risk profiles to set car insurance rates for these GM customers even though many of the customers did not know this was happening.
Not long after this NY Times article was published GM decided to stop this practice and released this statement,
“OnStar Smart Driver customer data is no longer being shared with LexisNexis or Verisk,” a G.M. spokeswoman, Malorie Lucich, said in an emailed statement. “Customer trust is a priority for us, and we are actively evaluating our privacy processes and policies.”
Hmmm…, I am not sure I believe that “customer trust is a priority” for GM because they were spying on their customers and selling the data for profit and only stopped when they were caught. Clearly the profit motive prevailed over customer trust.
I would be even more upset with General Motors right now if I were a customer. But I have not bought a GM vehicle since 1978. That was long before wireless internet connection capability and the interest of car companies to use their computers on wheels to keep tabs on all of us.
They could also report speeding and other traffic violations to the police if they wanted to. It is very likely they have considered this but the risk seems high for them because customers would find out as soon as they received a speeding ticket in the mail.
It is not just Chinese car makers that could spy on us. We all must take responsibility to protect our own privacy and be aware that other car companies could also share our private data and likely are doing so now. At least until they too are caught.
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
Wow!! This
Please complete Don Meluzio’s comment.
…SUCKS!
…can’t be true.
Now you know why all of those people in the other Communist country to the south of us, Cuba, all drive ’49 Buicks.
That’s quite the “restomod bumper”.
That’s terrible and unethical, especially so that GM customers had no idea that information on their driving habits was being sold to insurance companies.
Yet another example of how our electronic devices that we have all become so addicted to are spying on us… Not sure what the answer is here, but we at least all need to be aware that it is going on…
What about Chinese cars spying on us all ?
Wayne,
With the Chinese we know they are bad guys as Wallace Wyss pointed out in a recent article.
But with GM? – I still think – “Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet.” – but not any more.
This is really sad. At one time I was actually considered to be a GM retiree, having worked for Hughes Aircraft when we were owned for a time by GM. My second car was a ’57 Chevy, followed by a ’56 Corvette and another couple of fifties and sixties Chevys, a ’66 Pontiac Sprint and currently an ’09 Pontiac G8 GT and an old 454 Chevy 4X4. So I’m kind of a GM guy except for my current POS VW GTI.
Imagine Chevy selling you a Z06 or E-Ray Corvette and then reporting you to your insurance company when you actually use their performance.
Any time some dictatorship behavior comes to the light I remember the book 1984 by George Orwell. This is probably the best story about what is happening on civil rights and freedom on many countries, USA, Brazil, and so and so.
I have been a loyal GM customer for as long as I can remember, but I gave up OnStar with my 2011 Cadillac SRX. The service is expensive and is easily surpassed by Waze or Google. With all the pressure being applied by this radical left administration to produce electric cars, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if they were applying intense pressure to car manufacturers to share data with the federal government that can be used against anyone operating a gasoline powered car to achieve their goals of zero emissions. We already know for a fact its happening with Chinese cars. Who’s next? Will it be you?
Hence in my earlier ’49 Buick comment, I said, “the other Communist country….”