Enlarge / Your car's maker can collect data on you from many different sources. (credit: Getty Images)

Today, the Mozilla Foundation published its analysis of how well automakers handle the privacy of data collected by their connected cars, and the results will be unlikely to surprise any regular reader of Ars Technica. The researchers were horrified by their findings , stating that "cars are the worst product category we have ever reviewed for privacy."

Mozilla looked at 25 car brands and found that all of them collected too much personal data, and from multiple sources—monitoring not just which buttons you push or what you do in any of the infotainment system's apps but also data from other sources like satellite radio or third-party maps. Or even when you connect your phone—remember that prompt asking you if you wanted to share all your contacts and notes with your car when you connected it via Bluetooth?

While some gathered data seems innocuous or even helpful—feedback to improve cabin ergonomics and UIs, for example—some data is decidedly not.

Enlarge / The Renault Zoe (left) and Nissan Leaf (right) were two early mass-market EVs. (credit: Nissan)

Nissan has agreed to invest $663 million (600 million euros) in Ampere, Renault's electric vehicle operation, the two companies announced today. It's a sign of a renewed alliance between the two automakers that have been in a partnership since 1999, but relations have strained following the 2019 arrest of Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn .

"With the finalization of the definitive agreements, we have entered the next phase of collaboration with Renault and Mitsubishi Motors in mutually beneficial areas of innovations," said Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida. "This will create additional value through initiatives aligned to Nissan's Ambition 2030 and electrification strategy. The investment opportunity in Ampere complements and strengthens Nissan’s ongoing electric push in Europe and will deliver numerous synergies, including cost efficiencies, regulatory compliance, and a broader range of EV products and powertrains."

Both Nissan and Renault have been early entrants into the EV market, with more than a million Nissan EVs sold since 2010 and about 300,000 Renault Zoes delivered since that car went on sale in 2012.

Enlarge / Ars drove an early front-wheel drive Ariya last year, but now the all-wheel drive version is finally ready for these shores. (credit: Stephen Edelstein)

Nissan provided flights from New York to San Francisco and back, plus two nights in a hotel so we could drive the Ariya. Ars does not accept paid editorial content.

The 2023 Nissan Ariya was meant to be Nissan's EV comeback, regaining ground the automaker lost after delaying a follow-up to the pioneering Leaf by expanding into the popular crossover SUV segment. But Nissan has left what may be the Ariya's key feature on the table until now.

When US Ariya deliveries began in late 2022, Nissan only shipped front-wheel drive models , leaving the launch of its new e-4ORCE dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrain until a later date. Now the Ariya e-4ORCE is finally here, with cars scheduled to reach dealerships in the coming weeks. It's billed as not only providing the all-wheel drive option important to any crossover, but also a greater focus on handling quality than most rivals.

Adding a second motor powering the rear axle in addition to the standard front motor—both motors are of identical design—the Ariya e-4ORCE is rated at 389 hp (290 kW) and 442 lb-ft (600 Nm) of torque, compared to 238 hp (177 kW) and 221 lb-ft (300 Nm) in the front-wheel drive Ariya.