"Modern cars have what it s referred to as Freeze Frame Data. This is logged data that helps us pinpoint what caused the check engine light or airbag light to turn on," Taylor told me. "I had a co-worker of mine with a 2015 BMW M3. He told me he was driving up a hill and the engine just stopped running. I asked him if he had mis-shifted the engine. He said 'no.'"
Yeah, of course he did. A BMW M3 is a $70,000 car, and a mis-shift (shifting to the wrong gear by accident, causing the engine to "redline" and fail) is the kind of mistake a drunk high schooler makes that would completely void the warranty. So Ryan called up BMW and said the engine had failed due to some mechanical flaw and should be covered by them. But once those crafty Germans plugged their computer into the engine, they saw that the engine had failed at 9,152 RPM. "That is over 2,000 RPM above its maximum operating speed."
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Like that, but on fire.
"I call it the high score chart," Ryan continues. "Every single fault, check engine light, or LED message the vehicle has, all the way back to the assembly line, can be accessed on demand." In other words, the Mustang remembers. The Mustang always remembers. And it will whisper its secrets in the Mechanic's ear, like an automotive Wormtongue. And all shall be helpless before its terrible judgment.
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