Land Rover design director vows to put third-party tuners out of business

mpinco

Expedition Leader
If Land Rover follows John Deere and GM down the path of "it's our vehicle, you're only driving it", it would be the last newer LR I would buy.

Tractor Hack: Farmers are harnessing hacked software for John Deere repairs

".......FARMERS FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT TO REPAIR THEIR OWN TRACTORS

That’s when your new best friend may turn out to be a shadowy software hacker living in the Ukraine.

As reported in Motherboard, a thriving crop of black-market hackers in Europe is creating and selling software hacks to John Deere software, which local mechanics in America’s breadbasket are downloading and using to repair the company’s tractors.

“When crunch time comes and we break down, chances are we don’t have time to wait for a dealership employee to show up and fix it,” Danny Kluthe, a hog farmer in Nebraska, told his state legislature earlier this month. “Most all the new equipment [requires] a download [to fix].”

But farmers who buy new John Deere equipment must sign a license agreement that forbids nearly all “unauthorized” repair and modification to the company’s machines that contain embedded software. You can tinker under the hood, but don’t mess with the software.....

.....“You want to replace a transmission and you take it to an independent mechanic — he can put in the new transmission, but the tractor can’t drive out of the shop,” Kevin Kenney, a farmer in Nebraska, told Motherboard. “Deere charges $230, plus $130 an hour, for a technician to drive out and plug a connector into their USB port to authorize the part.”[FONT=&quot]......[/FONT]"

Note: John Deere sales have declined. There are now 1000's of layoffs. Why would someone even consider a John Deere or GM product if you can't fix it?
 

DiscoDavis

Explorer
Or, LR could be planning to go the way of John Deer and becoming a stringent enforcer of DCRM and micro chipping every part so that it has to be re-paired to the computer when it is replaced, requiring special factory software to pair the part and a special factory tech to come out and perform the pairing at $200 per hr. and stating in the purchase contract that when you purchase the equipment, you are merely paying for the right to use and operate the equipment and are not the "owner" of said equipment and that LR reserves the right to reposes or disable equipment that is believed to have been tampered with, ala John Deer. In this day and age, honestly wouldn't surprise me.

I believe different consumer protection laws apply with regards to say a LR versus a product for commercial use, IE a tractor. Hopefully...

That said I bet you they've thought about it. You could always do what I heard a Russian man do when applying for a credit card. He took the contract agreement, added his own clause saying he never had to pay interest and his LOC was unlimited. Allegedly a court sided in his favor? (this may be a snopes - urban legend thing.
 

mpinco

Expedition Leader
I believe different consumer protection laws apply with regards to say a LR versus a product for commercial use, IE a tractor. Hopefully........

General Motors, John Deere want to make tinkering, self-repair illegal

"The ability to modify a vehicle you've purchased is, in many ways, a fundamental part of America's car culture — and, to some extent, embedded in our culture, period. From the Fast & Furious saga to Han Solo's “She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid. I've made a lot of special modifications,” we value the right to tinker. More practically, that right can be critically important when it comes to fixing heavy farm equipment. That's why it's significant that companies like John Deere and General Motors have joined forces to argue that no, you don't actually own the equipment you purchase at all......"
 

DiscoDavis

Explorer
General Motors, John Deere want to make tinkering, self-repair illegal

"The ability to modify a vehicle you've purchased is, in many ways, a fundamental part of America's car culture — and, to some extent, embedded in our culture, period. From the Fast & Furious saga to Han Solo's “She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid. I've made a lot of special modifications,” we value the right to tinker. More practically, that right can be critically important when it comes to fixing heavy farm equipment. That's why it's significant that companies like John Deere and General Motors have joined forces to argue that no, you don't actually own the equipment you purchase at all......"

I see they're still using the 'you can pirate stuff with cars entertainment systems' argument. Man, I can barely navigate to grandma's house with it!
 

zelatore

Explorer
How 'bout this - you keep the infotainment crap and just sell me the bloody truck? Mkay?

As for on-board nav, I'm done with it and don't plan to order it any any vehicle at this point. I've had it in a few rigs from my '07 LR3 to my '13 NV200 and I'd still rather use my phone any day of the week. If I'm going somewhere far enough off the beaten path to not have cell service I'll be using my tablet with Gaia installed.
 

Lmwong

New member
Imagine having a Land Rover built (or modified) by Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations! How awesome would that be, it's like having a camel trophy defender! Or a BMW M-something (before they made M-sport a package that basically gave you an M logo and a three-spoke steering wheel). Or... oh... wait, I've seen this before. Fast forward to the Discovery 7 SVO, complete with plastic steering guards, ruggedized door sills embossed with "SVO" and yeah ok nevermind.

Don't have to wait for Disco 7. It's coming to the Disco 5. Discovery SVO off-road build "...in between Paris Dakar and Camel Trophy".

http://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/87...y-to-get-an-off-road-svo-version?iid=sr-link7
 

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