By The Craig Bushon Show Media Team
The debate over in-car technology is about to reshape the relationship between automakers, Big Tech, and everyday drivers. What started as a question of “Which system looks better on the dashboard?” is now about something much bigger: Who owns your data, and who profits from it.
General Motors has announced it will remove Apple CarPlay and Android Auto from its vehicles over the next few years — not just electric vehicles but gas-powered models as well. By 2028, GM expects its entire lineup to run exclusively on its proprietary infotainment software.
The company calls it a step toward a “more integrated experience.” And to be fair, there are legitimate technical advantages to automaker-controlled platforms. But those benefits tell only half the story. The other half is about data, profit, and control.
Why Automakers Say They’re Doing This
Automakers argue that proprietary systems allow for tighter integration with vehicle hardware. They’re not wrong. With direct control over the software stack, carmakers can:
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Improve battery management and energy efficiency in electric vehicles.
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Deliver real-time safety and performance updates through over-the-air software.
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Integrate voice controls with advanced driver-assistance systems.
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Tailor navigation, diagnostics, and maintenance alerts to the exact make and model of the vehicle.
These features can make cars more capable and potentially safer. But they also give the automaker unprecedented visibility and control over your driving behavior.
The Real Story: Turning Your Car Into a Data Engine
Proprietary systems like Ultifi aren’t just infotainment platforms. They are data-harvesting engines. Unlike CarPlay or Android Auto, which limit how much information automakers can see, Ultifi can access deep telematics directly from the vehicle and its driver.
This includes:
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GPS routes and real-time location tracking
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Speed, acceleration, and braking patterns
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Driving habits over time, including route preferences
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Voice commands and in-cabin interactions
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Vehicle system health and performance behavior
This data isn’t anonymized in any practical sense. It’s tied to your VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) and often your personal driver profile. This creates a rich, individualized behavioral profile of how, when, and where you drive.
And that’s where the business model comes into focus.
The Data Pipeline: From You to the Broker to the Insurer
Once collected, this data doesn’t stay with the automaker. It can be shared or sold to data brokers like LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Verisk Analytics. These companies specialize in aggregating personal information to create risk profiles used by insurance companies and other industries.
Your driving behavior — how hard you brake, how fast you accelerate, what routes you take — can influence:
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Your insurance premiums and eligibility
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Your credit or risk assessments
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The types of products and services marketed to you
This isn’t theoretical. Drivers across the U.S. have discovered insurance rate hikes tied to driving behavior they didn’t even know was being recorded. In many cases, there is no meaningful way to opt out of this data collection.
And because this data is collected directly by the automaker’s platform — not Apple or Google — it’s harder for consumers to control or even see what’s happening behind the scenes.
Apple and Google Aren’t Innocent Either
It’s important to be clear: Apple and Google are not privacy saints.
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Apple uses CarPlay to keep consumers deeply tied to the iPhone ecosystem, shaping how users navigate, communicate, and consume media.
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Google leverages Android Auto and its mapping infrastructure to gather location and behavioral data, which feeds its advertising and analytics empire.
Neither company gives automakers full access to this data — and that’s precisely why automakers want them out. But both Big Tech and car companies are competing for the same prize: your personal mobility data.
The difference is this: Apple and Google act as data middlemen with their own privacy controls and business incentives. Automakers now want to own the entire pipeline, cutting out those middlemen entirely.
A Massive Privacy Gap in the U.S.
This would be less alarming if consumers had strong legal protections. But they don’t.
A 2023 report by the Mozilla Foundation found that 84% of car brands share or sell driver data with third parties, often without clear or informed consent. That data can include location history, driving behavior, biometrics, and even voice interactions.
And here’s the kicker: unlike Europe, which has strict privacy protections through the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the United States has no comprehensive federal law governing vehicle data. This means:
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Automakers can collect and monetize your data with minimal disclosure.
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Third parties can buy and sell this data in secondary markets.
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Consumers have few, if any, meaningful rights to control or delete their driving data.
Your car isn’t just a vehicle anymore. It’s a rolling surveillance device — and you’re not the one in charge of it.
Beyond Automakers: The Broader Data Ecosystem
The telematics data collected by proprietary systems doesn’t just stay between you and the car company. It feeds into a much larger ecosystem involving:
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Insurance companies that use risk scores to determine rates.
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Government agencies that can request or access vehicle data through legal channels or partnerships.
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Data brokers who resell mobility insights to marketers, credit firms, and others.
Many of these transactions happen without your knowledge. And because the United States lacks strong legal guardrails, this is all perfectly legal.
The Integration Argument: Real but Overshadowed
Automakers like GM say their approach creates a better, safer, and more seamless driving experience. To some degree, they’re right.
Tighter software-hardware integration can:
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Provide faster, model-specific emergency responses.
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Optimize battery performance in EVs.
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Enable predictive safety features unique to each vehicle.
But these benefits don’t erase the core problem: drivers are being locked into closed ecosystems where their data is quietly harvested and monetized.
A “better experience” is being used as cover for a massive shift in data ownership.
The Two Competing Models
We’re seeing a split in the auto industry between two models:
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Open Integration Model (CarPlay/Android Auto)
Companies like Ford Motor Company, Toyota Motor Corporation, and Hyundai Motor Company continue to support smartphone projection. Consumers get more flexibility, and automakers get limited but useful telemetry data. -
Closed Ecosystem Model (Tesla, GM, and others)
Tesla, Inc. pioneered this model. GM is now following. Other automakers are expected to join. In this system, the automaker owns the interface, the data, and the revenue streams.
The second model is more profitable for car companies — but it also gives them unprecedented power over consumers.
The Regulatory Gap
Europe has GDPR. The U.S. has almost nothing.
Without federal legislation:
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Drivers can’t meaningfully control their own vehicle data.
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Automakers and brokers can legally trade behavioral data.
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Government and insurance access remains largely unregulated.
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Consumers are often unaware it’s happening at all.
Real reform would require:
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Defining vehicle data ownership at the federal level.
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Enforcing clear, informed consent rules.
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Regulating data brokers.
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Requiring transparency and giving drivers the right to opt out.
This Isn’t Just About Cars — It’s About Freedom
For more than a century, cars have symbolized independence. But today, that independence is being quietly eroded — not by steering wheels or batteries, but by data pipelines.
Automakers are building systems that don’t just move you. They monitor you. They score you. They sell you.
If left unchecked, a future where every trip, every stop, every acceleration is logged, packaged, and sold will become the default.
This isn’t a tech upgrade. It’s a power grab.
Final Word
There are legitimate benefits to proprietary vehicle software. Tighter integration can improve safety, performance, and efficiency. But those benefits don’t justify unchecked surveillance or the transfer of consumer data rights to corporations.
Both automakers and Big Tech are competing to own your driving data. Without strong privacy protections, the consumer is the one who loses.
The only real firewall left isn’t Apple CarPlay or Android Auto anymore. It’s public awareness, consumer pushback, and policy reform. Because the road to your freedom is increasingly paved with your data.
The Craig Bushon Show will continue to shine a light on the forces shaping America’s technological future — especially when that future is being quietly taken out of your hands.
Disclaimer: This op-ed reflects the opinion of The Craig Bushon Show Media Team. It is based on publicly available information from credible media and industry sources, including The Verge, InsideEVs, Car and Driver, Android Authority, Mozilla Foundation reports, and documented data broker practices involving LexisNexis and Verisk. All data and analysis are current as of late 2025. The content is intended for public discussion, analysis, and commentary and does not constitute legal or investment advice.
