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Comment by kavalg | Hacker News Reader

I wonder if any private keys used for signing genuine MB parts have leaked as well. Auto makers seem obsessed with controlling the spare part market and leaking the keys used to authenticate spare parts would make it possible for other vendors to produce compatible parts in the future.

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> Auto makers seem obsessed with controlling the spare part market

It is a major source of revenue and allows for markups to be optimized for brand.

A lot of parts are shared across lines within a manufacturer and across manufacturers.

MB wants their customers buying MB parts with an MB markup. Even if it's a Bosch part that is identical in a Ford.

Indeed. Ironically I had a porsche 928 which used an air actuator from Mercedes, and it was a fraction of the price from them. Parts guy at merc was a little sniffy, but it saved me £100!

Lots of German car components are generic Bosch, just with different markup depending on whether you're looking at Skoda, VW, AUDI, BMW, MB or Porsche in that order.

Mercedes used to be insanely good at parts - I could order brand new stock parts for a 25 year old 240D with no issues and at quite reasonable prices.

Those old cars were clearly designed by engineers who cared; the hood had simple latches on the hinges that when opened would let it open to vertical.

https://www.classiccarstodayonline.com/2022/04/22/mercedes-1...

The 123s and first generation 124s were little jewels. So much brilliant engineering.

November 1975 to January 1986 - that's the kind of duration of a body line we need to encourage.

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