Jacob Sutton/Getty Images © 2026 Blaze Media LLC. All rights reserved. When software controls repairs, owning your car doesn't mean what it used to. When President Trump emerged from a recent meeting with automotive executives and said he found it strange that some industry leaders oppose Americans repairing their own vehicles, most coverage focused on the politics. I was more interested in what happened afterward. If manufacturers truly support independent repairs, why remove provisions governing the very data modern repairs increasingly depend upon? Because the deeper you dig into the latest right-to-repair fight, the more one question keeps surfacing: Why are automakers fighting so hard to control information generated by vehicles consumers already own? Follow the money Follow the money, and the picture becomes much clearer. The U.S. automotive service market generates roughly $200 billion annually. Service departments are among the industry's most reliable profit centers. As vehicles become more software-driven and connected, automakers have discovered that selling the car no longer has to end the customer relationship. Software subscriptions, connected services, maintenance plans, warranty work, and dealership repairs all create recurring revenue long after the vehicle leaves the showroom. There's nothing wrong with companies pursuing new revenue streams. The problem begins when protecting those revenue streams limits consumer choice. That's why the latest legislative fight deserves attention. Stripped for parts The debate centers on H.R. 7389, the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act of 2026. Supporters describe it as a way to modernize regulations while preserving independent repair access. On the surface, that sounds like good news for consumers. Then something interesting happened. One of the most important parts of the broader right-to-repair debate disappeared. Language covering telematics — the wireless vehicle data increasingly needed for diagnostics, calibrations, software updates, and repairs — was stripped from the bill before it advanced