We all know automakers want to keep tabs on their cars. Stolen vehicle tracking? Sure. Fleet management? Fine. Microphone eavesdropping to serve more ads? Hate it, but OK, that’s a thing. Hold onto your tin-foil hats: Ford just filed a patent for something that takes vehicle tracking into full-blown Twilight Zone territory. Always-On Tracking… In Your Car, or Somebody Else’s.
Smart.
I think that’s why Ford is patenting this specific tech. It prevents you from being able to turn off the tracking, by leveraging every Ford that has NOT turned off tracking to spot the vehicle that is “running dark.”