
Enlarge / The 2024 Ford Mustang mightiness beryllium much resistant to modding than immoderate Mustang successful the past. The culprit? Modern-day cybersecurity protections.
Ford
People person been tinkering with and modifying vehicles since not agelong aft the invention of the automobile. As an activity, it exploded successful the aftermath of World War II, arsenic surplus machinery mixed with bored young radical with a spot of mechanical know-how looking for a spot of a thrill. From blistery rods and godforsaken velocity racers to the import-tuning country astatine the crook of the century, being capable to crockery up one's thrust has been a halfway facet of car enthusiasm. But that whitethorn beryllium a happening of the past, if the adjacent Ford Mustang is immoderate indication.
Ford debuted its 2024 Mustang successful September. The seventh-generation car doesn't deviate overmuch from the look that made the people's pony car specified a large deed each these years: a two-door assemblage that's recognizable arsenic a Mustang and a prime of gasoline engines up beforehand that thrust the wheels astatine the back. There's nary hybrid oregon electrified version—other than the Mustang Mach-E, of course, but that'll conscionable commencement a occurrence warfare successful the comments.
But arsenic you mightiness expect of a car being unveiled successful 2022, nary erstwhile Mustang has been rather arsenic integer arsenic the incoming model. Advanced operator assists abound, there's a afloat integer cockpit, and among its connected features is Amazon Alexa integration.
To beryllium capable to bash each that, the adjacent Mustang volition usage Ford's latest electrical architecture, called FNV (fully networked vehicle), besides seen successful different caller Fords similar the aforementioned Mustang Mach-E oregon the F-150 Lighting. As you mightiness hope, this includes layered extortion against cybersecurity threats, and if anomalies are detected—say, an motor with much turbo unit oregon a antithetic ECU—things are going to halt working.
In fact, the Mustang's main engineer, Ed Krenz, told Ford Authority that tuning the adjacent Mustang would beryllium "much much difficult." The OEM says it's unfastened to moving with tuners connected third-party enhancements for some the EcoBoost and V8 engines, and I'm inclined to judge it; different Ford merchandise lines openly clasp the aftermarket, similar the Bronco and its myriad add-ons, arsenic good arsenic the DIY shaper crowd, as the Maverick pickup motortruck proves. But tons of added effort usually means plentifulness of other cost.
It is unfortunate that the request to support vehicles from atrocious actors with an Internet transportation is being met with trouble moving connected oregon modifying them extracurricular of an authoritative repair web oregon beyond mill specifications. But it's not the archetypal clip that has happened.
In 2020 Massachusetts voted overwhelmingly to widen an existing "right to repair" instrumentality that required OEMs to merchantability proprietary diagnostics and tools to 3rd parties similar autarkic repair shops truthful that the instrumentality besides covered connected cars. But it was written successful specified a mode that it requires connected cars oregon telematics systems to usage a standardized unfastened information platform arsenic a mode of accessing their online features, with precise abbreviated notice.
That's antithetical to the thought of cybersecurity, said a conjugation of automakers, arsenic good arsenic the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and presently the effect is that automakers similar Subaru and Kia have simply chopped disconnected Massachusetts-registered connected cars from their platforms. Here's hoping that successful the aboriginal we tin find a mode for integer information to coexist with modability.