Re: VIN # Registry!!!!!! PLEASE READ

From: Walter Felix (walt_felix@hotmail.com)
Date: Thu Oct 28 1999 - 14:13:33 EDT


While I agree with the idea of not letting too much info be available for
security, I think that you need to use the VIN to make this database work.
That's how most everyone who keeps databases on vehicles tracks them. It's
the only number that's really unique the the vehicle. It also gives you
pertinent information for cataloging.

If I wanted your VIN, I can just as easily walk up to your truck in a
parking lot and read it off the dash. I know here in Connecticut, I can go
to DMV and pay the $10 and get a printout that includes a Name, Address, DOB
,SS#, Operators #, Etc.

Maybe you can set up the database where users can select wether or not their
VIN is displayed on the output pages.

>------------------------------
>
>Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 20:01:46 -0400 (EDT)
>From: Jon Steiger <stei0302@cs.fredonia.edu>
>Subject: Re: DML: VIN # Registry!!!!!! PLEASE READ
>
>On Wed, 27 Oct 1999 stevie.o@excite.com wrote:
>[...]
> > please lets try and get this going???
> > please respond to the List, lets hear some noise out there!!!!
>
>
> Ok, lets see if we can nail this down once and for all. It
>sounds like something that could be a good resource (if enough
>people add their info).
>
> Tremain mentioned that the VINs could be used for illicit
>purposes, so maybe it isn't a good idea to have the VINs
>available to everyone.
>
> It seems to me that what we really want to know is, "do trucks
>which were built at the same time as mine have the same problems
>as my truck?"
>
> If that's the case, then probably all we need is a year,
>assembly plant, vehicle line, and build sequence for that line.
>From what I've been able to determine based on decoding VINs, it
>SEEMS like all 4x2's are built on one line, 4x4's on another, so
>there are only 2 lines building Dakotas? Maybe someone familiar
>with DC's assembly plants will be able to tell us for sure.
>
> Anyway, what I'm getting at is perhaps the page could allow
>you to enter your VIN along with the problems you're having, then
>decode the VIN to determine the line, year, plant, and build
>sequence, and store them in the database that way. That way,
>someone could access the information without actually having
>access to the VIN.
>
> So, when someone wanted to check out the database, they
>could enter their own VIN, and the browser would automatically
>take them to the part of the database that has the trucks which
>were built on the same line as theirs, in the same year. It
>would tell them the build sequence of their particular truck,
>and they could scan through the build sequences of the trucks
>in the database to see if any are close to theirs.
>
> Is there any other info that is important for this sort of
>thing? The type of info available via the VIN is:
>
>country of origin (not important)
>make (not important)
>vehicle type (not important)
>GVWR (important or no?)
>vehicle line (important)
>series (doesn't seem to be important)
>body style (important or no?)
>engine (important or no?)
>model year (important)
>assembly plant (important)
>build sequence (important)
>
> I'm not too sure about things like the engine or body style...
>Does DC run trucks of the same configuration down the line all
>at once, or are they interpersed? That is, if they run a
>mess of V8 club cabs then V8 regular cabs, then V6 club cabs, etc.
>then it probably doesn't matter, but if the line looks like "v8
>club cab, I4 regular cab, v6 club cab, R/T club cab, I4 regular cab",
>etc. then it probably is important. (because for engine problems
>for example, your V8 might be experiencing the same problems as
>a truck built 20 trucks away, but it might just be that all of
>the trucks between you two were V6s and I4s, so while you might think
>they are too far away to matter, they were actually right next to
>each other in the sequence, as far as v8s go...)
>
>
> Of course, we could include all that info, but anyone with an idea
>about how VINs work would be able to reconstruct your VIN. It
>would be a lot harder than just reading the VIN out of the database,
>but it would still be possible. Is this an acceptable risk, or
>do we want to be absolutely sure the VIN can't be determined? (really,
>that isn't possible, as someone could use trial and error to guess
>your VIN eventually, its just that the less info they have, the longer
>it would take to do...)
>
>
> -Jon-
>
> .--- stei0302@cs.fredonia.edu ----------------------------------------.
> | Jon Steiger * AOPA, DoD, EAA, MP Race Team, NMA, SPA, USUA * RP-SEL |
> | '96 Dodge Dakota V8, '96 Suzuki Intruder 1400, '96 Kolb FireFly 447 |
> `--------------------------- http://www.cs.fredonia.edu/~stei0302/ ---'
>
>------------------------------

Walt Felix
88½ Dakota Sport 4x4 and 2000 Ram 1500 QuadCab Sport 4x4
Walt@Walt-n-Ingrid.COM
http://WWW.Walt-n-Ingrid.COM

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