Paul Knightly

The award for creepiest new cars goes to Subaru. All of their new models appear to have a 'driver assist' system called EyeSight built-in, which includes driver monitoring and facial recognition built into the dash, and that you can't disable.

The salesman was gushing over how great it is and when he asked us if we were interested in looking at one more seriously we were upfront and said finding a car that wasn't constantly looking at us and storing biometric data was a non-negotiable.

Mar 14 at 2:12pmWeb
Show threadwhooshMar 14

@paulknightly Fortunately the driver facing camera was not installed with the "EyeSight" cameras on our car. Everything should be optional.

I hope your charging stations have your plug compatibility. The industry's failure (in US anyway) to adopt a plug standard disqualified it from my consideration at the time.

I like the Chinese design to drive into a service station which replaces bottom mounted battery packs with fresh ones in under ten minutes. I suppose one could also "top them off" with a home charger.

Show threadJoseph ElfeltMar 14
@paulknightly Well that sure sucks. I have driven a series of Subaru 4WD/AWD since 1979. Great cars for getting into the Cascades to hike and back country ski. Hope our 2015 'dumb' Forester lasts many more years.
Show threadSerenusMar 14
@paulknightly The base models may not, unless they’ve changed in the past couple of years? The 2024 base Crosstrek I got only had the cameras facing outwards for lane keeping and cruise control, not the ones facing the driver.
Show threadTim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPEMar 14
@paulknightly I'm not sure I'm ever going to buy a new car. Not whilst they appear to have no means to "turn off all features that might wrench the steering wheel out of my hands, so that they stay turned off next time I start the car".
Show threadMaria Langer | 📝🛥️💎Mar 14

@paulknightly That's a real shame. I had been considering a Subaru for my next (and possibly last) new car, but now I can cross it off the list. I'm with you 100%. I do not want AI features in my car, I do not want my car phoning home to share any information about me or the way I drive. If that means I will never have a new car again, so be it.

I think we all need to do what you did, make a point of saying NO to AI. #noAI

Show threadAmbulocetusMar 14
@paulknightly They don't make any new cars I would buy. I buy used cars only. Until they come out with a product I like, I refuse to buy something I don't want.
Show threadMoss WizardMar 14
@paulknightly Thankfully the driver-facing cameras were just an option (that I declined) when I bought mine in 2020.
Show threadRichard W. Woodley ELBOWS UP 🇨🇦🌹🚴‍♂️📷 🗺️Mar 14
@paulknightly
A facial recognition that works as a "key" for turning the car on could be a useful security feature, if it turned off while the vehicle was running, at least for the first year till the pro car thieves figured a way around it.
Show threadCliff'sEsportCornerMar 14
@paulknightly I wonder what happens if you just put tape over the driver facing senors? I assume then the self driving or lane keeping assist won't work.
Show threadMulticlass GeekMar 16

@paulknightly
Our 2015 Subaru Forester blew its head gasket in December 2024, and we had to replace it fast for not much money. We decided to lease a 2025 Forester.

We have decided we do not like it. It's got this huge screen on the dash. It doesn't have the driver monitor system, but the tech that is in there is bad enough. I want knobs and buttons!

I also inherited a 20-year-old minivan recently, and it's much larger than we need, but I do like the "features" it DOESN'T have.