OBD / Big Brother

[Daniel Ridge]

> Big Brother won't just be watching you,
> He'll be sitting in the passenger seat.

Overly paranoid delusions. All OBD initiatives will be wins for the
end-user (even the hot-rodder)

OBD hardware is not incompatible with high-performance. Nor is it
incompatible with modification -- except to the extent that it deters
tamepring. We're clever people. We'll get around it, and be able reap the
benefits. None of us will never need to be data-poor again! I can imagine
a time when we will be pulling OBD-compatible hardware from junkyards to
install in our cars rather than the other way around.

> bureaucrats to shut your car off at the push of a button via global
> positioning satellites transmitting signals to your car's on-board computer?

As I say, we're clever people. We can build act-alikes that fool
inspectors. (And perhaps it will be illegal, I don't care) 

> The theory behind on-board diagnostics is that by constantly monitoring
> engine performance and signaling the driver when a fault occurs - overall
> emissions levels can be substantially reduced.

Valid theory.

> EPA and other advocates claim pre-OBD vehicles could develop faults that
> generated higher than acceptable emissions levels without causing any
> noticeable change in operating characteristics - so the owner could keep on
> driving for months before the problem is detected during the course of a
> tune-up.

This is true.

> Further, pre-OBD vehicles could be modified with add-on equipment
> (non-factory camshafts, computer chips, etc.) and no one - particularly the
> government - would be the wiser.

Again, true. Post OBD vehicles can also be modified. It will just take
cleverer modifiers. It will be fun.

> The automotive aftermarket - which makes engine components and related parts
> - - could be put out of business by OBD.

The standards OBD enforces will be a boon for the aftermarket business.

After all, this is the DIY_EFI list. We're not supposed to be the type who
get our performance by ripping out that 'tamper-resistant' EFI systems and
replace them with good 'ole carburettors. Nor are we supposed to be the
type who read "Sport & Compact Car" for their sage counsel -- "Umm, I've
chromed all of the obvious pieces of my car, and it still isn't faster. Do
I need larger speakers? Perhaps 45-series tires then? Perhaps if I added
an enourmous wing to the rear end of my front-wheel drive Japanese car ;
would that help? Also, I've read that it may be a good idea to put tinted 
covers over all of my lights and install driving lights instead and drive 
around with them constantly on and aimed at opposing drivers. My question
is - when I do this, will I also need to install matching tinted covers over 
my license plates for optimum performance."

> Even a routine upgrade to a larger wheel and tire combination, for example -
> something many owners of trucks and sports cars do for improved performance

Far too many of these 'routine' modifications (or travesties) that owners
commit against their cars are ill-conceived and their owners should be
tracked down, stripped of their vehicles, and given roller-skates. 

> But OBD III has the potential to be more than inconvenient. It could very
> well outlaw the home mechanic, "hot rodding" and subject the driving public
> to total control by bureaucratic overlords in state and federal agencies.

See above. The home mechanic will need to work with electronics or order 
from people who do in the same way that they used to have to (and
still do, I suppose) either port heads themselves or order from people who
did. What's wrong with new and interesting skills?

> Here's how it would work: You're driving along in your 1998 model car
> equipped with OBD III. Earlier in the day you installed a high performance
> muffler system for quicker acceleration. You drive by a roadside infrared
> emissions monitor (they're commonplace now). It senses you have "modified"
> your vehicle

Does it now? Those meters only know whether your car is within certian
absolute bondaries. If your muffler put you over the top, bad for you.
You're a bad person. It has no idea whether you have a sport muffler.

> about your vehicle to the Department of Motor Vehicles. A DMV minion taps a
> button that sends a signal to global positioning satellites; the GPS bounces
> the signal back to Earth, to your car's OBD III com- puter - a signal that
> tells the engine to shut down.

Oh please. 

> Utililized to its full potential, OBD technology coupled with GPS would make
> it possible for government to automatically monitor the speed of every car
> on the road - sending tickets through the mail to the driver of each and
> every car that exceeds the posted limit.

This doesn't take high-tech. They could do this today on turnpikes. They
could timestamp the ticket you recive on entering and give you your
speeding ticket when you paid your toll at the exit. Yet, this has never
happend to me. I don't see why technology would add the incentive to do
it.

> Or, let's say your registration is a little out of date - or you haven't
> renewed your driver's license. The computer knows all and could immediately
> alert authorities the moment you venture out of your driveway.

What this has to do with OBD, I don't know.

> Many alert car enthusiasts now believe present efforts to get rid of older,
> pre-computerized vehicles via so-called "clunker" laws and "enhanced"
> emissions tests are partly motivated by the realization that such vehicles
> cannot be monitored and controlled as easily as computerized cars.

Heck electronic signatures could be easier to forge than real license
plates, if you're a truly paranoid type. 

> be on to something. Should the government at some point in the future decide
> to impose a "state of emergency," it could shut down almost every car in the
> land at the flick of a switch making it difficult for people to travel
> anywhere.  Only those lucky few with older cars would not be helpless and
> immobile.

They've always been able to do keep people from driving if they need to. 
It's called gas rationing.

Heck, where I live they sometimes even tell you to only wash your car on
even days of the week. Imagine. :) Honestly, the government isn't orbiting
the planet in some mother ship imposing their will on us. 

However, if they were to impose their will on us, I would like for them to
impose a 200% tarrif on Sport Futility Vehicles. Also, make most
non-HOV lanes ROV lanes (Reasonable Occupancy Vehicles) -- if your vehicle
is under 20% full (passengerless minivans) you will be forced to drive on
a meandering goat-path. Passengerless MGBs would be allowed to pass (at
50% ocupancy) 

> Maybe that's why certain folks are so eager to see us all driving
> computer-controlled cars - and why they devote so much energy to removing
> all cars built before the early 1980s from the roads.

Whine, Whine, Whine. I understand about misguided attempts to remove all
older cars from the road. However, it's not so that people can track your
comings and goings. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\___/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Daniel Ridge                      |   USRA  CESDIS
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   tel:   301-286-3062               |   Goddard Space Flight Center
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