I haven't read any articles on the comment by the Ford exec but it is a little disingenuous. Yes, there are many monitoring and telematics systems built into modern vehicles. However, the statement implies that some type of big brother active monitoring of individual driving habits is taking place at all times. I do believe that a bunch of raw data is being collected from things like Intouch, satellite radio, and GPS. However, I seriously doubt this data is aggregated into a useful format unless it is subpoenaed for some reason.
I have seen a fair amount written about what is collected by the on-board sensors in cars. Throttle position, brake force, and speed are just the tip of the iceberg. The only way to avoid this is to drive a car that was built before OBD-II was mandated in 1996. The information stored by various OBD-II systems is pretty interesting. It is also useful to folks such as insurance companies who would like further insight into our driving habits.
I have seen a fair amount written about what is collected by the on-board sensors in cars. Throttle position, brake force, and speed are just the tip of the iceberg. The only way to avoid this is to drive a car that was built before OBD-II was mandated in 1996. The information stored by various OBD-II systems is pretty interesting. It is also useful to folks such as insurance companies who would like further insight into our driving habits.