this post was submitted on 16 Sep 2025
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For over a century, the automobile has represented freedom, power, and the thrill of mechanical mastery. The connection between driver, machine, and road defined what it meant to own and love a car. But in today’s digital era, a different trend is unfolding. Cars are no longer just machines designed to take us from point A to point B. Increasingly, they resemble something else entirely: smartphones on wheels.

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[–] iii@mander.xyz 53 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Imagine a car without cellular connectivity

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 2 points 11 hours ago

a 40k-50k USD phone.

[–] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 40 points 1 day ago (1 children)

You mean, like the car that I drive currently? It’s pretty tough to picture, honestly.

[–] TheBat@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Tough to picture? Maybe improve your arts skills.

[–] TheReanuKeeves@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago

No need to improve your art skills. All you need to do now is feed your 2026 Civic some keywords to generate an AI image.

[–] BCOVertigo@lemmy.world 22 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Archive link to an FAQ for the Slate electric trucklette that claims no sim cards and minimum digital bits. No clue if it will be a good vehicle so don't take this as an endorsement. https://archive.ph/PMKpC

Anyone know other options?

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 1 day ago

Fucking sim cards in cars. I hate everything.

[–] DaGeek247@fedia.io 5 points 1 day ago

Find a car that fits your needs and then pull the fuse powering the sim card before it leaves the lot. If it breaks, put the fuse back and don't buy it.

My 2019 corolla lost the right speaker and mic access when I did that. I fixed the right speaker by crossing some wires, and the mic hasn't really been needed enough for me to dig deeper to fix it.

[–] Munkisquisher@lemmy.nz 6 points 1 day ago

Suzuki Jimny, still comes in a very basic electrical system

[–] interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Have they ever made an electric car that didn't have that fucking SHIT ?

[–] Anivia@feddit.org 5 points 1 day ago

Yes, plenty. The pre-faclift Ioniq for example

[–] Giblet2708@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 1 day ago

My 2015 Nissan Leaf asks every few weeks if I want to allow the telematics to phone home. When you say no, it obeys. (I also removed the SIM card anyways.)

[–] sic_semper_tyrannis@lemmy.today 4 points 1 day ago (2 children)

You can convert an older car to electric. As basic as it gets but with a new mode of power

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 7 hours ago (1 children)
[–] sic_semper_tyrannis@lemmy.today 1 points 6 hours ago

Also the price of most new cars.

[–] tabular@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

When I ask car people about that they say (basically) "no, it won't fit".

[–] Giblet2708@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 1 day ago

Yes, there can be challenges about where to put the batteries, and some vehicles are certainly easier than others. But that hasn't stopped a LOT of people from doing it anyways.

30 seconds of internet searching will show plenty of retrofits. One guy retrofitted a 1980s Delorean with a Chevy Bolt electric powertrain, and now it accelerates twice as fast as it ever did with gasoline.