A privacy policy for cars: What automakers know about you and what they’re doing with it

Two of the automotive industry's biggest trade groups, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of Global Automakers, settled on a series of privacy commitments designed to make Americans more comfortable with next-generation vehicles.

The agreement will take effect Jan. 2, 2016 -- in time for the 2017 model year. It outlines basic steps, such as updating owners' manuals, that each manufacturer will take to inform car buyers of the data their vehicles will be collecting. Think of it as a privacy policy for your Passat. With little more than a year until the self-imposed deadline, the auto industry is moving speedily to implement the agreement.