This article is about cars with diesel engines....

Air quality is anything but okay. I can't speak for the US, but here in Europe, we have serious problems with it. In China it's so bad in some areas you can actually only register a new car if it's electric - that's actually an important reason why electric cars are getting more attention now.

I also love how this is treated as a new problem ("A new quality of terrorism", as an European politician put it a short while ago), as if there never was an Unabomber, an IRA, a RAF, an ETA or a "top terrorist" Carlos The Jackal. And the fact that a mass shooting totally changes everything because it was political, in contrast to the several hundred other shootings that weren't ;-)

Calling atheists a "religious group"? That made me smile :)

The code was apparently put in by the ECU's supplier, Bosch. They're supplying a large quantity and variety of ECUs to many auto makers. That means that when a large corporation like the VW empire tells them to put in code like that, they'll do it because they're afraid of losing contracts. Apparently, Bosch were afraid of something like this PR fiasco happening and warned VW against actually using this 'test code', probably to shield themselves from any blame later being assigned to them. But it just goes to show just how many individuals, departments and companies knew of this....

Deterence is a function of both expected penalty and the assumed chance of being caught. One does nothing without the other. Example: death penalty for corruption in China. It's rampant, but as long as you don't go out of your way to piss off the wrong people, everybody's looking the other way.

If you believe it is a bomb, evacuate, call the specialists in and denotate that thing. Did that happen? Curiously, no. What does that tell us?

All sex toys save one I've ever seen were for women. How did she come to the conclusion that sex bots would be built for men? Sex bots for women are much more likely and, I dare say, almost exist already.

Maybe they should just build an unisex fuckbot with industry-standard extension slots which can be fitted with either a dildo or a fleshlight? Then everybody could objectify in peace and equality! Of course there's a very real danger that the fuckbots would just pair off with each others and give us the finger ;)

Sorry to have to be the one to break it to you, but apparently you've been living under a rock for at least ten years. This practice, how despicable it may be, is now commonplace. I run a small fan website for a video game, and I've been sent offers to write positive reviews of gaming-related products (for instance some 3D goggles) for compensation without any hint or notice that, for all intents and purposes, this would've been an advertizement.I declined, but I'm betting most people in my situation wouldn't have. Journalists in particular often earn so little and don't have actual jobs but are forced to working freelance that the offer is just too tempting.

Good luck figuring out all the relevant CAN IDs for all the models you want to sell your gizmo for :)

The corvette wasn't hacked, they hacked an OBD-2 dongle that was stuck connected to it - entirely different thing. And electronic access systems for opening your car with an RC have apparently all been hacked or are less than safe. Keyless Go cars can be opened with a proxy attack. So where does that leave you?

If you buy an old car, the thief can just open it and steal it the old fashioned way. So pick the car you want and stop thinking about stuff like this, it's useless anyway. If someone wants to steal your car, they'll do it. Either electronically or mechanically.

What the hell difference would that make? It's still wrong.

I'm sure your friend was conducting a scientific experiment. After all, that is why the Japanese are hunting whales. Right? RIGHT?

Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos!

Are you sure about that? Sounds pretty unlikely.

Well, maybe the way to fix this is... to fix it? Allow more cabs, but keep requirements for insurances and other measures intended to keep drivers and passengers safe intact? Just because this weird "medallion" system is broken in many parts of the world doesn't mean uber's model is much better, it just replaces one drawback with many others.