[s-cars] US-MA legislative alert: Right To Repair bill

Sun Feb 14 09:15:51 PST 2010

The Volvo thing must be a Hertz quirk or a euro thing- you can change
language in the us version without vadis. BTW if you think Massachusetts is
libertarian, you need to go to a truly free state like new Hampshire or
Maine. Pennsylvania is far freer than Massachusetts by a mile.

Taka

On Feb 14, 2010 10:56 AM, "JC" <jc at j2c3.com> wrote:

Cody - Thanks for clarifying... man too much hatin' these days. Brian trust
me we got plenty of good BBQ (OK lobsters too), beer, guns, dogs, whisky and
all other good stuff up here.  Yeah so you need a permit for the handgun,
not the end of the world.  Legislatively MA may not be Texas but it is
actually hardly CA aka constant kooky referendum laws being passed on both
ends of the political spectrum... In fact our real legislative problem has
more in common with Chicago than CA - aka garden-variety on-the-take
corruption and the pols general uselessness and inability to do Jack$h!t.
Brian lemme know next time you're up here and we'll go grab a few beers with
some of the billion angry conservative democrats in MA that you find in most
any bar/pub.  Woops, now we really ARE well off-topic.

Cody - just an anecdote on the scan-tool restriction thing, I had a rented
Volvo C70 converto for a month in Europe this summer - because it was in
Switzerland the panel language was all in German making about 75% of the
interior features (including iPod integration and lots of other stuff)
completely useless to me. Car constantly giving me messages I couldn't
understand.  I figured "OK easy fix, must be some easy secret keypress to
change languages..."
Turns out it would cost 200-250EUR to change the language and dealer ONLY
(which of course not even an option because it was a rented car and Hertz
would have never signed off on it).  Same true for my parents recent Jeep
products - all the config options seem to be "pay the dealer if you want to
change" - aka things like 5MPH door locking, 'security' locking (i.e. only
drivers door opens by remote), horn-honk on lock, etc...
All completely irritating and unnecessary, except ensuring the mfr creates a
lock-in and revenue stream for it's dealers...

OK gotta go, gonna be late for my Massachusetts legally-mandated combined
Communist+Al-Qaeda meeting this morning so we can plot socialism and the
general overthrow of Western civilization. Cause that's just how we roll in
Mass. ;^)

> -----Original Message-----
> From: s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com
> [mailto:s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com] On Behalf Of Cody Forbes
> Sent: Sunday, February 14, 2010 10:08 AM
> To: Brian K. Ullrich
> Cc: <s-car-list at audifans.com>; <quattro at audifans.com>;
> 200q20V mailing list
> Subject: Re: [s-cars] US-MA legislative alert: Right To Repair bill
>
> I believe you have this backwards. They are fighting for the
> OEMs to STOP preventing you from working on your own car.
>
> Like Brett said, our own Audi has been developing electronic
> locking fasteners that would require the Audi factory tool to
> send a signal telling the bolt to unlock. They had been
> justifying it following the rash of Audi HID headlight
> thefts. You think they'd sell the unlocking tool at a price
> you could afford? I doubt it. Others restrict scan tool and
> repair manual availibility.
>
> -Cody (mobile)
>
> On Feb 13, 2010, at 8:43 PM, "Brian K. Ullrich"
> <bullrich at ullrichsys.com> wrote:
>
> > Freakin' MA. Why am I not surprised? In one sense, they are ALL for
> > the diversity and liberty of any person, yet in another,
> they actually
> > consider restricting the ability of their own constituency
> to repair
> > their own vehicles in a cost effective manner.
> >
> > You know, now that I think about it, there is just so much
> wrong with
> > this.
> > How exactly would the manufacturer enforce it? Create "MA" cars?
> > That works
> > in limited capacity, where changes are minor, universal, and the
> > market is large enough to justify it (a la "CA" emissions cars). I
> > don't see how that would work with what is being discussed here.
> >
> > Besides, doesn't buying the automobile give you a de facto
> license to
> > repair it? Or shouldn't it?
> >
> > This whole thing is disgusting to me. But then again, I'm
> from Texas.
> >
> > OK...off my soapbox. I'm sure I've overspoken, or worn out
> my welcome
> > on this topic, but it just irks me that there are some states whose
> > political climate is so polarized as to even consider such a thing.
> >
> > OK...now I'm really done. I'm retreating into my den filled with
> > hunting trophies, life-sized wax figures of LBJ and Sam Rayburn,
> > smelling of Lone Star Beer brewed with pure Artesian water, and
> > mesquite-smoked BBQ.
> > I'll be
> > hugging my guns, my dog, and my Audis. And remembering the
> day of the
> > Conservative Democrat.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Brett Dikeman [mailto:brett.dikeman at gmail.com]
> > Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 2010 6:17 PM
> > To: 200q20V mailing list; quattro at audifans.com; s-car-
> > list at audifans.com
> > Subject: US-MA legislative alert: Right To Repair bill
> >
> > http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/house/186/ht00/ht00282.htm
> > http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2010/02/right_to_repair.html
> >
> > It just cleared committee- and moves to voting/discussion
> THURSDAY in
> > the MA Senate.
> >
> > If you live in MA, PLEASE WRITE YOUR STATE SENATOR NOW.
> Fax, email,
> > call, whatever (actual written notes tend to impress the
> most.)  Call
> > 'em too, even if you write.  Get your local independent
> mechanic to do
> > the same.
> >
> > As someone who owns a (non-Audi) vehicle which suffers from pretty
> > horrendous manufacturer lock-in on diagnostics, repair info- even
> > firmware (a problem when modules/parts bought from the manufacturer
> > have no firmware, and firmware is coded to individual
> vehicles!) this
> > IS A PROBLEM.
> >
> > Manufacturers are doing everything in their power to lock out (or
> > 'tax') both owners and indie shops and non-dealer service
> chains.  A
> > couple years ago Audi was working on piezo-electric bolts for
> > assemblies...which would only operate with tools that authenticated
> > themselves to the BOLT!  Some day you may not even be able to take
> > apart your car without paying a license fee.  They are fighting the
> > 'right to repair' movement tooth and nail, claiming it would expose
> > trade secrets and (horrors!) allow other companies to MAKE PARTS and
> > COMPETE!   I can hear your screams of horror now at the thought of
> > facing CHOICE when buying parts...
> >
> > There's a large coalition of parts/service/small business
> associations
> > and chains behind this push, and we can only benefit as
> owners (I hate
> > the word "consumer") and DIY'ers. Check in your state to see if
> > there's a similar bill afoot.  More info on the coalition:
> > http://www.righttorepair.org/
> >
> >
> > -Brett
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