It’s hard to know who or what to believe when it comes to the auto industry eventually going all-electric.
Lots of other media outlets, political pundits and EV detractors alike will say that EV sales have completely nose-dives, and the whole attempt at a zero-emission transition was a waste of time. Others say that EV sales are better than ever; a fact backed up with data. A recent study from J.D Power affirms the latter rather than the former—EV sales are definitely up. But interest in, and adoption of, the technology are both slower than expected.
Re: the spyware.
Before you buy a new car, you could just check to see if the manufacturer will let you not activate first complementary years / months of the car’s cellular plan. Or you could buy a used car where the complimentary connectivity stuff already expired.
A lot of ICE and EV cars operate just fine without that subscription service. I wouldn’t be surprised if most people opt not to pay for it if they have CarPlay or Android Auto. The most compelling reason to active the cellular connection is for streaming apps and traffic, which you can get from your phone.
Buy an old ICE car. LS-swap or compact-engine swap it.
Modify with Fuel-Cells, CNG/LPG/BioGas and hybrid combustion-electric drivetrains.
Everything should be disconnected and only locally available on the CAN-bus.
All-EV is also an option, but I think that there might not be that many garages to do a full-EV conversion.