I had a 3GB hard drive in a P75 in my 1971 Skylarks trunk once...

February 6, 2005 11:10 PM

A hard drive in your car? Why would someone want to do that? The real question is, why wouldn't they. From geek to chic, platters of glass are paving the way towards a better car. One that can record every engine start, every missed oil change, every timing error and sensor alarm. One that could hold every book you've read, one that could save every song in your collection. Of course, DIY'ers started this whole damn thing, so everyone else can pay attention to the companies.
posted by Dean Keaton (12 comments total)

Riocar - aka empeg ltd before the buyout, was started by DIY'ers. The guy designed and built an ARM motherboard, chasis, and software system from scratch. I've got a Mark II player in my car and I love it. It's been years since they came out and nothing has topped them yet.
posted by klaruz at 11:21 PM on February 6, 2005

Platters of glass? I thought hard drive platters were metallic.
posted by randomstriker at 12:31 AM on February 7, 2005

There's an insurance company doing a pilot project here that allows them to record how you drive. As long as you don't speed too much and don't do too many things that appear stupid, your insurance rate is discounted. I'm worried about the slippery slope between your insurance is discounted for good driving and your insurance is cancelled for bad driving, especially where bad driving is determined only by remote sensors that have no idea what else is going on on the road.

While I could see having an in-dash mp3 player (though I wonder how I'd transfer files to it) as an interesting plus, I'm not sure I want to give my car the ability to tattle tale on my driving habits.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:37 AM on February 7, 2005

If every driver took their time and drove better, everybody would be a lot safer. Although I value my liberties very much, I think I would be more than happy to have recording systems installed in private vehicles for the purpose of keeping tabs on everybody's driving habits. I would give up my "liberty" to drive in a risky fashion if it would increase my liberty to be safe from more danger on the roads.
posted by crazy finger at 6:03 AM on February 7, 2005

I believe that hard disk platters can be made of glass coated with magnetic material. Look at this press release on mini Hitachi hard disks. It clearly says "1/2 glass disk platter(s)".
posted by breath at 8:32 AM on February 7, 2005

i'm not sure about the moral issues but damn if it doesn't seem like a good idea for the health of one's vehicle and the many other cool options having mobile digital storage could offer.
posted by freudianslipper at 8:55 AM on February 7, 2005

literally (auto)mobile digital storage that is. hmmm...
posted by freudianslipper at 8:57 AM on February 7, 2005

I would not, though, ever consider allowing my insurance company to do the same.

Perhaps not the insurance company... but do you really feel like driving a car however you please is an inalienable human right? If my insurance company would give me a better rate, truly based upon my driving habits, I would gladly allow them to put a monitor in my commuter car if it could work with a GPS to verify that I am driving safely, as I do.
posted by crazy finger at 9:04 AM on February 7, 2005

I wonder if this means I could get a Tivo-like application for car audio. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to rewind something (especially on NPR) or record certain events when I'm not in the car for later listening.
posted by TeamBilly at 9:07 AM on February 7, 2005

I thought hard drive platters were metallic

They used to be, but since very smooth surfaces and lower thermal expansion ratios are easier to obtain with glass, most manufacturers seem to have migrated to glass and ceramic substrates in recent years.
posted by azazello at 10:02 AM on February 7, 2005

My problem is with the definition of safely. I drive to work every day on the 401 in Toronto. During the morning rush hour, there are spots of the road where anyone doing 60 is a maniac who is going to get someone killed. During my late evening drive home, if I try to merge into the express lanes doing less than 115, I'll most likely get creamed by a semi. Same highway, same spot, different direction and completely, unbelievably different driving conditions. How is my insurance company's GPS going to know that I'm a psycho when I'm doing 20 under the limit in rush hour and just trying to stay alive when I'm doing 15 over it at night?
posted by jacquilynne at 10:05 AM on February 7, 2005

All it needs to be able to do is tell if you are on your cellphone while driving. And if you are, raise your premium by eleventy-million dollars for each hour per week that you drive while on your phone.

And if it's greater than 2 hours/week, take your car away.

And if that car is an SUV, to take you to the side of the road and shoot you.
posted by Human Stain at 10:28 AM on February 7, 2005