Highway regulators: Car 'black boxes' can't be secret

Proponents of black boxes in autos say the devices promote safe driving. This General Motors sensing and diagnostic module--part of a car's airbag system--is one type of black box.
Road Safety International's $280 RS-1000 black box is designed to help teen drivers stay out of trouble. The box connects to a car's onboard electronic system and measures the car's speed, as well as its cornering and braking forces. The device emits a noise tone if the driver goes out of bounds.
Vetronix makes a $2,500 tool that can download data from General Motors' and Ford Motors' black-box-equipped cars. Critics of the devices say people's privacy rights could be violated in the absence of regulations governing how the data can be used.
Manufacturers are increasingly turning to high technology to differentiate their products in the hypercompetitive auto market. General Motors' Corvette is among the models that come equipped with a black box.

From Cnet:

The government will not require recorders in autos but said on Monday that carmakers must tell consumers when technology that tracks speed, braking and other measurements is in the new vehicles they buy.