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What driving data is Android Auto collecting from us?

In-car solutions like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto make using your smartphone while driving increasingly easy, by replicating most of the gadget's functions on a vehicle's infotainment screen. In fact, they rank among the favorite automotive features available today by Autoblog editors. While there's certainly added convenience, Motor Trend claims Google is collecting a huge array of data during trips, as well. Although, that might not actually be the case. In a rundown of the upgrades for the newly refreshed Porsche 911, Motor Trend asserts that the iconic coupe doesn't have Android Auto because of alleged privacy concerns. Reportedly, Porsche elected to only include CarPlay because the Google tech collected info on a vehicle's speed and other data. The German company didn't want to share all of that vital info with another corporation. Google opposes the allegations, though. "We take privacy very seriously and do not collect the data the Motor Trend article claims such as throttle position, oil temp and coolant temp," the company said in a portion of a statement to TechCrunch. Android Auto does use a vehicle's GPS system for location info, and checks whether it's in Park or Drive to enable some features. Also, users must opt-in to sharing the first time that they connect their phone. There might be an explanation for this confusion, according to TechCrunch. Allegedly before Android Auto launched, Google did want more vehicle data, but the company eventually changed course. Porsche may have based its decision on this earlier version. This case just shines a light on the growing question of automotive privacy and Google's potential role. The government has been unhappy with how automakers have handled this responsibility, so far, though.

2015 Porsche 918 Spyder: Touring the factory

Willy Wonka granted just five lucky Golden Ticket holders access to his incredible chocolate factory, yet we consider ourselves just as fortunate, as Porsche invited us to be among the first of just four American journalists to see behind the closed doors of its 918 Spyder assembly plant in Zuffenhausen, Germany. Of course, there were no Oompa Loompas or flowing chocolate rivers, but the vast white hall tasked with producing only 918 examples of the automaker's limited-production flagship revealed details that make Wonka's Golden Egg sorting room seem rather mundane in comparison. Unlike a traditional automobile manufacturing plant, which often encompass all processes of making a vehicle (e.g., stamping steel panels, welding components and painting), the 918 Spyder is built in an assembly plant. This means that hundreds of already manufactured parts, each crafted by Porsche offsite suppliers, are brought under one roof to be assembled into a perfectly finished product that is much sweeter – and far more expensive – than any candy delicacy. Our tour guide was Michael Drolshagen, Porsche's Director of Production, Logistics and Quality - a walking encyclopedia when it comes to the engineering and assembly of the 918 Spyder. Drolshagen generously offered us unrestricted access to walk among the factory's 110 workers – and a couple-dozen vehicles in process – to photograph everything. This is a story best told with pictures, so we've put together a raft of our best images in a high-resolution gallery and captioned each with a detailed description. If you've still got questions, please voice them in Comments section and we'll do our best to answer.

Watch 1,208 Porsche 911s collect at Silverstone for world record

Porsche has been spending the majority of 2013 celebrating the 50th birthday of the 911, with its latest stunt taking the German brand to the home of British motorsports, Silverstone. To celebrate, Porsche invited enthusiasts to take their personal 911s on a lap of the former airfield, and boy, did the Porschephiles show up. 1,208 911s took part in the lap around the Grand Prix circuit, making it the largest-ever gathering of the iconic, rear-engined cars.
This wasn't just a celebration of 50 years for the 911, though. Funds raised were channeled towards Hope For Tomorrow, a cancer charity that works with the United Kingdom's National Health Service in operating mobile chemothereapy units that make life just a little bit easier on cancer patients.
Take a look at the long video below, and enjoy the passing of what are likely examples of every 911 model ever built.