[onewhippedpuppy]

Suprising they defied a court order. Before going back to college I spent some time as a tech for Detroit Diesel (semi engine maker), we had several cases where our ECUs were subpoenaed for court cases. Our ECUs logged data for the truck for an extended period of time, and not just engine data. Average speed, max speed, throttle position, brake usage, etc. All was logged against time. So truck owners could have us link to the computer, and find out how fast their drivers were going at any given point in time. Cool, but scary technology. We were specifically told that we were not to release the information, unless it was the owner of the truck, or a court order.

GM has also been involved in similar cases, where data from their "black box" onboard the car has been used in court. Seems like the GM box only records a set small time period, in a constant loop. Still, somewhat scary, big brother type stuff.