Perhaps a more accurate title would be "Automakers want to make working on your car's electronic control systems illegal."

Don't get me wrong. I disagree with a lot of the restrictions that they want to place and I definitely disagree with them doing so through the DMCA. To give you an idea of what I mean: any modifications must reflect the various regulations that cover automobiles. The DMCA does not reflect that, it should not cover modifications that are not covered by those automobile regulations, and it should not cover acquiring data from the onboard electronics.

On the other hand, I am a bit concerned about those other modifications. In the past, you had to understand the mechanics of a vehicle in order to make modifications. If you didn't, there was a good chance it wouldn't work. With software someone can download the modification from the Internet and upload it to the onboard computers, with no real understanding of what is going on.

At any rate, there is a definite hysteria to the articles. Some of that hysteria is justified, but a lot of it is misplaced.