Boston Whaler Founder: Dick Fisher Founded: 1958 Location: Edgewater, Florida Representative products: “Unsinkable” boats like the 150 Montauk, 130 Super Sport, and the 220 Dauntless. At a glance: Offers fishing boats, cruising boats, and tender boats, as well as runabouts, cruisers, and center console boats. Trusted by navies around the world, including Navy SEALs and the U.S. Coast Guard. Has been building boats for more than 60 years. After graduating from Harvard, founder Dick Fisher revolutionized the hull-making process by using polyurethane foam injection. Boats range in size from 13 feet to 42 feet. Purchased by marine manufacturing giant Brunswick Corporation in 1996. Two Boston Whaler Conquest models won Innovation Awards at the 2024 Miami International Boat Show. Has also won best in Fiberglass Outboard Boats category at the NMMA Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Awards for 16 years in a row. In their own words: Ron Berman, VP of Product Development and Engineering We are very focused on what is important to the customer. There is a lot of information you learn from surveys, but you learn by actually spending time with boat owners. When you do, you find your answers. People want to feel like they are in something big and roomy. Maximize comfort. Every seat should have a good view and be comfortable. And you should feel secure. They want a boat that has very predictable performance and handling. They want a boat that allows you to maintain visibility, meaning when you get on plane you don’t lose visibility. They want a boat that doesn’t do anything erratic in rough water. Making people feel safer and more comfortable in their boats is something we’ve done through technology. Take, for instance, our Dynamic Running Surface — an automatic trim adjustment system that makes boating more predicable. Also, we have Quiet Ride, which does a great job of keeping noise down on the boat. And with any type of twin-engine boat, you can get joystick control — inboards, outboards, I/Os, you name it. We also just introduced something called the Command View camera system on our yachts, which gives you a view all around the boat so people feel more confident docking because they can see the side and stern in one image. These are all aimed at making people feel safer and more confident in their boats. I love to reinvent things. A new boat should not be a warmed-over version of the last boat you had. I like being able to take an idea and create something that has never been done or take an existing boat and find a way to reinvent it so it’s new and fresh and gets people really excited. I like to figure out what the boater wants and come up with a way to create it and use it on the boat.

At least eight carmakers in the U.S. have admitted they would backtrack on a voluntary privacy agreement and turn over personal customer data to government and police, prompting calls for an investigation. Automotive News reports 19 carmakers had voluntarily signed up for the Consumer Privacy Protection Principles in 2014 — standards that would require U.S government agencies (including police) to obtain a warrant or court order to access customer location data. However, eight automakers misled customers about giving driver data to police, and now U.S. lawmakers are raising questions about whether automakers can be held to account for departing from promises made about user privacy. So who is giving your information to others? Toyota, Nissan, Subaru, Volkswagen, BMW, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, and Kia would turn over the data if a subpoena was produced — in violation of the standards they signed up for. More smoke and mirrors when it comes to your privacy. These car companies are following the agreement they signed: General Motors, Honda, Ford, Stellantis, and Tesla require a warrant for location data, unless it is an emergency or customer consent was provided. Tesla is also the only brand to notify its customers of legal demands. This has not only raised concerns about what other privacy promises carmakers have made that they won’t keep but has led two U.S. senators to call for the companies to be investigated by the Federal Trade Commission. “Automakers have not only kept consumers in the dark regarding their actual practices, but multiple companies misled consumers for over a decade by failing to honor the industry’s own voluntary privacy principles,” said Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.) in a letter to the FTC. “Vehicle location data can be used to identify Americans who have travelled to seek an abortion in another state, attended protests, support groups for alcohol, drug, and other types of addiction, or identify those of particular faiths, as revealed through trips to places of worship.” Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, and Kia all defended their practices, while the Alliance for Automotive Innovation — a lobby group for the car industry — claimed government agencies only request location information when there is clear danger to an individual. “Vehicle location information is only provided to law enforcement under specific and limited circumstances, such as when the automaker is provided a warrant or court order or in situations where there is an imminent threat of serious bodily harm or death to an individual,” an AAI spokesperson told Automotive News. The calls for an investigation into the data-sharing habits of carmakers comes after General Motors ended its partnerships with two major data brokers, following accusations of sharing information on drivers without their consent. In March, the New York Times published an in-depth investigation about a Chevrolet Bolt owner who had been quoted a significantly higher insurance renewal premium, later discovering his driving data was being sold to insurance firms by data broker LexisNexis. This was followed by a second report, detailing a proposed class action lawsuit put forward by a Cadillac XT6 owner who claimed he was denied insurance by seven companies on account of his LexisNexis driving report provided to the firms without his knowledge. Both of the vehicles were equipped with OnStar, GM’s connected services brand, which gathered data used by LexisNexis. In the wake of the reports, General Motors subsequently ended its partnership with both LexisNexis and Verisk, a similar company that also sold driving data to insurance companies. According to the New York Times, an internal document circulated within General Motors showed more than 8 million vehicles were actively supplying data through OnStar’s Smart Driver program as of 2022. Here's how to find out what your car is revealing about you: See the data your car is capable of collecting with this tool. Check your connected car app, if you use one, to see if you are enrolled in one of these programs. Do an online search for “privacy request form” alongside the name of your vehicle’s manufacturer. There should be instructions on how to request information your car company has about you. Request your LexisNexis report. Request your Verisk report. Remember, you own your data, not these companies. Just because they make the software doesn’t mean they get to control what happens to your information. The problem is that you sign away your ownership when you use the systems. Keep an eye out for opt-out options and support government bills that protect your privacy.

Esteban, York and James Beckwourth charted the American frontier between the 16th and 19th centuries

We Need to Take a Closer Look at Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and His Presidential Fitness

Jill Biden Treats Joe Like a Child in Sad and Infuriating Remarks After Debate

Ukraine has spent years trying to build a Western-style democracy, although not without some bumps along the way as it shed habits from its Soviet past.

A ship traveling through the Red Sea came under repeated missile fire Friday in a likely attack launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels, authorities said, the latest targeting the crucial maritime route.

Donald Trump made it appear obvious to America: President Joe Biden cannot stand next to him on a debate stage without a "disaster," Democrats and leftist media sources were forced to admit Thursday night after the earliest debate in presidential history.

Russia's Defense Minister ordered officials to prepare a "response" to U.S. drone flights over the Black Sea, the ministry said Friday, in an apparent warning that Moscow may take forceful action to ward off the American reconnaissance aircraft.

While the first U.S. presidential debate of the 2024 race dwelled little on foreign policy, a shaky performance by President Joe Biden will have America's allies steeling for the return of Donald Trump, analysts say.