Consumers appear leery of intrusive insurance apps – and AMC lives again in book form

By Jim Bray
February 11, 2025

Car insurance, and their related premiums, are a necessary evil in today's society and it always seems as if prices go up and never down.

Yet there is a way to control your insurance premiums at least somewhat, though the solution I'm talking about involves trusting your insurance company and that's not something I – and apparently many others – am comfortable with.

It's the tracking technology, or "telematics" some insurance companies offer that keeps an eye on where and when – and how – you drive.

Can you say Big Brother?

According to a group called AutoInsurance.com, "Telematics, also called usage-based insurance (UBI), tracks your driving behavior using a device installed in your vehicle or a mobile app. Data on your driving habits, such as speed, braking hard, or cell phone usage while driving, is transmitted to your insurer and is used to calculate your risk. This generally results in a discount on your premium if you drive safely, but some companies can also raise your rate if they detect risky driving behaviors."

My question is, do you want to save some money, or be a free person?

It appears that only a minority of those pesky free Americans are embracing what seems to me to be a way for insurance companies to minimize their payouts by getting their customers to submit to their overbearing will. And guess where it started.

"Progressive was the first insurance company to introduce a telematics program in the late 1990's with a plug-in diagnostics device," AutoInsurance reports, "and later pioneered wireless telematics technology with the official launch of its Snapshot program in 2008."

Does it seem ironic that when you see the word "Progressive", whether in business, politics or whatever, that it usually means the folks spouting the word are the most regressive when it comes to personal freedom? It sure does to me.

Then there's this bit: "With the rise of smartphones, the way insurers track driving data has become increasingly invasive from a privacy perspective."

What a surprise!

Anyway, AutoInsurance.com's survey showed some interesting results. They asked "more than 1,200 drivers in the U.S." what they thought about auto insurance telematics (though if it's like most of the surveys I've seen, there's probably limited input the surveyed person can give outside of ticking pre-written boxes). They also looked at "which telematics programs gather the most and least personal data and what they do with it."

Key Findings?

Only 12 per cent of drivers are currently enrolled in an insurance telematics program, but 27 per cent are open to trying one in the future.
Two in three telematics users said they noticed a decrease in their monthly premiums after enrolling, with the median saving pegged at $27 per month ($324 a year).
70 per cent of drivers not currently using telematics would consider doing so if they were guaranteed a discount on their premium, while 56 per cent would consider telematics if they were given a clear explanation of how their data would be used.
Nearly 70 per cent of drivers are concerned about the privacy of personal data tracked through telematics, and 59 per cent are worried that driving data might not be collected accurately.
51 per cent also said that the cost-saving benefits of telematics could potentially outweigh their privacy concerns.

Misuse is a legitimate concern, especially in this era in which it seems that pretty well every institution and organization we've known and trusted over the years turns out to have feet of clay – or worse. And, in fact, AutoInsurance notes that the issue is already the subject of an ongoing GM lawsuit in which they say "a driver claimed that GM tracked his data without his consent and sold it to insurers, making it nearly impossible for him to get coverage."

AutoInsurance is quick to note that the alleged privacy breach was by a car maker and a data broker, not an insurance company, and that so far there don't "seem to be any cases of data misuse by an insurer."

I feel so much better!

Obviously, I'm not on board with this telematics stuff, and I have nothing in particular to hide other than the fact that I was born with a lead foot. But where and how I drive is no one's business as long as I'm not hurting anyone/thing else.

As a free market guy, I have no issue with companies trying to get you to knuckle under, and I can't blame them for trying to maximize their profits by minimizing their "expenses".

But, to channel Yogi Berra, "include me out."

Making American Motors Great Again?

On a more fun note, kind of, there's another new automotive book out, kind of in the vein of the one on John Z. DeLorean I reviewed a couple of columns back. This one deals with another "niche" manufacturer, though one that wasn't too niche back in the day until economics, market forces, and the like, turned it niche and then later it went kaput.

It's "The Complete Book of AMC Cars – American Motors Corporation 1954-1988" and rather than just telling the story of the AMC company, it's an encyclopedic look at the company, its movers and/or shakers, its various brands and various models.

Whereas the DeLorean book was a bit of a ripping yarn, this one is more for wonks.

Written by, according to the blurb, AMC authorities Patrick Foster and Tom Glatch, you get a well-written and copiously illustrated tome that reviews every one of AMC's production cars from its founding until its foundering. These include the Ambassador, AMX/Javelin, Eagles, Gremlin, Hornet, Jeep, Marlin, Matador, Metropolitan, Pacer, Rambler, and Rebel.

You may remember some or all of these cars. I remember most, and I liked quite a few of them. I thought the Javelin/AMX were cool competitors to the muscle cars on offer from the Big Three, and the Marlin was a very cool large fastback that reminded me of – but which predated, if I remember correctly – the Plymouth Barracuda and Dodge Charger.

Then there was the Metropolitan, a nifty little tiny car that I always thought would be at home with Shriners in a parade, and the Gremlin, a small car that looked as if its designers' pens ran out right after they finished the C pillar. Laughable.

On the other hand, a former good friend and business partner had one back in the late 1970's and he not only liked it but it served him well despite the ridicule hurled at him by a former good friend and business partner.

Then there was the Pacer, which I remember being billed as the world's first wide small car. And it certainly was wide! It looked like a goldfish bowl on wheels. Still, its shape was iconic enough that it was chosen as the vehicle of choice for Wayne and Garth in the movie Wayne's World. Who can forget the head bobbing scene when they're driving along listening to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody"?

As it turns out, one of the things I didn't know about AMC was that for quite a while it was run by a guy named George Romney. The book notes that he was a Mormon who spent time in Mexico but came back to the USA and was tapped to helm AMC before, eventually, going on to become Governor of Michigan.

Ah, but perhaps he's most well-known today, or at least most infamous, for having fathered "Pierre Delecto", the failed RINO presidential candidate and weak Senator from Utah nicknamed Mitt.

So, thanks for that, George!

AMC was kind of a phoenix, born from the smouldering ashes of Hudson and Nash, and ended up clutching at straws to keep going, such as buying a flailing Jeep when push was coming to shove. Naturally, there's more to it than that, but this review is a column, not a book.

It's a sad story, but you do learn about all the work, the design, the innovation, that the AMC folks put into it. As I said, it isn't a thrilling yarn – it's basically structured by years and car models, including annual sales and profits, and what changes were made to which models in a particular year – but if you're an AMC fan it might be the greatest thing you've had on your coffee table.

It'll cost you, though: The Complete Book of AMC Cars – which is a lovely and solid book – lists on its back sleeve a retail price in Canada of $65.

That's pre-tariffs, of course!