US feds want cars conversing by 2017

"Vehicle-to-vehicle technology represents the next generation of auto safety improvements, building on the life-saving achievements we've already seen with safety belts and air bags," said US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx when announcing the decision on Monday.

In these days of a snoop-crazy National Security Agency, however, exactly how well that privacy will be kept secure is, of course, an open question – as is the range of data that the in-car data systems will collect, distribute, or store.