Technology

I believe with Chevy evs at least there are guides to remove the modem/OnStar and even guides out there for Teslas

All you guys worried about privacy in your car pull out the batteries on your phones while driving? It's all the same data.

Every single car in the last five years is a privacy nightmare, not just EVs. My next car will likely be an economical ICE not because it’s ICE, but because it’ll be old enough to not be a privacy nightmare.

https://www.slate.auto/en

What dumb ICE cars are there?

Every single EV is a privacy nightmare.

I’d love a dumb EV, but there is none.

Slate Truck. I mean, the base model is also stripped of basically every luxury that's been on a vehicle since the 1980s to bring the base price down. It does have airbags. There are no privacy issues because there is no entertainment computer, no GPS radio, no cell radio. Just a mount point for you to provide your own computer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slate_(vehicle)

Designed around a starting price of US$24,950, the vehicle uses a simplified design with fewer parts and omits features such as an infotainment system, speakers, and power windows. All vehicles are to be produced with an unpainted gray plastic exterior and support customization through accessories and vinyl wraps.

The Slate's base configuration, called the "Blank Slate", will not include an infotainment system, speakers, or power windows. All units will be produced with the same unpainted gray polypropylene exterior, with vinyl wraps as the only offered way to change the exterior color.[13] A smartphone mount will be standard, and a tablet mount optional. The Blank Slate configuration will have fabric armrests and physical climate control knobs. The company plans to offer a large number of accessories for professional or DIY installation.[14]

There isn't much there to have privacy implications. I haven't looked at the (now government-mandated on new cars) tire flat detection system, whether it uses radio to talk to the wheels. Some people are concerned that vehicles that use radio TPSes broadcast a unique ID, and that that facilities ALPR-like logging of vehicles, though I'd guess that for most, that's a pretty secondary concern to things like manufacturers harvesting data via phone-home.

That being said, it's got a shorter range than, say, a Tesla Model 3, which could be an issue for some users.

https://www.slate.auto/

EDIT: And just to be clear, since OP's article is talking about the UK, I have no idea whether it's available in the UK. Serial production should be starting in the US shortly, late this year.

EDIT2: NACS-based charging reports a vehicle's VIN to the charging station when charging, which may be an issue from a privacy standpoint; the Slate can do NACS charging. 240V and 120V charging is a lot slower. It might be possible to do something like an NACS charger linked to a NACS->J1772 adapter linked to a J1772->NACS adapter to isolate the vehicle from the charger at the tradeoff of being limited to J1772 charging rates; I haven't investigated this. I don't know if someone makes an NACS->NACS device that doesn't relay the VIN; again, haven't investigated.

Retrofitting classic cars is a thing. Have you looked into that? I agree it seems you are letting a different problem lock you into inaction.