I have two bones to pick on this subject:
In May, Nissan announced that it would be selling LEAF data to app developers: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/14/nissan-plans-to-make-leaf-data-available-to-app-developers/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.
My insurance renewal for the Leaf came yesterday (reminding me we're coming up on two years). It included a flyer letting me know I could qualify for yet another discount if I had an onboard telematic system (OnStar, InDrive and Sync) and agreed to authorize the service to share the data with the insurance company. This jibes with what Nissan announced last May.
I think this has nothing to do with our privacy (OAuth can take care of that), and everything to do with monetizing our data. If the API is open and free, and anyone can get data, they can't sell it. This appears to be another instance of Nissan telling us a story to avoid the truth.
In addition to being cut off from remote access (I am a Windows Phone user who relied on a third party app in the absence of an official one), I also take strong issue with Nissan's bullying attitude:
1. As instructed in the "newsletter" email, I tweeted my concerns to @NissanSupport. At the time there were a half-dozen similar tweets on their page. Within the hour, they locked down their page to show only threads with responses. No responses to our tweets=they never happened.
2. I sent an email to the support address, and got a canned response that everyone else who wrote got, telling me to download the "official" app. They clearly didn't read my email where I noted there is no official app. I responded that the website takes 6 minutes to connect to my car, but have had no response in over 24 hours.
3. One FB group member reported that he called the support line and asked for contact information of the person responsible for the app team. They put him on hold and then dropped the call.
As a Windows Phone user, this affects how I can use my car; but this is not just about me: it's about an open platform that had generated a lot of interest--witness the number of third-party apps that improved on Nissan's "official" app. To squelch that enthusiasm, and then to further suppress people talking about it in public, is a massively stupid PR move for any company. Especially when you consider how many of us have EVangelized and sent sales their way.
If any of you have any sway/ear at Nissan, I suggest you let them know they need to backpedal. Now.
