Proposed by: @seanpm2001

About: Nobody really puts that much effort into logos anymore, so even though this is a minimal design, it isn't too minimal compared to most logos.
The GNU head is centered on the steering wheel
I put some ice gradient on the GNU text, I didn't know what else to put.
The texture for the word car is a fabric texture. I didn't realize this until after I created the image, but the fabric evokes the feeling of an older vacation car, a tropical vibe. I am not too experienced with automobile history, so if someone can help me pinpoint the decade(s) of this trend, that would be nice.

Legal disclaimer: As it currently stands, this project is not endorsed by, or affiliated with the GNU project or the Free Software Foundation, but I would really like it to be, and I will donate this project to them upon their request, provided they can care for and advance the project and eventually achieve the goal.

All current electric cars are powered by non-free software. I want a car that does not have any Google, Apple, Tesla, or other proprietary bits in it. I want a completely GNU car, made up entirely of free, libre, and open source software. This is the biggest barrier for why I can't start driving yet.

As of 2023, Saturday, February 18th, there is not a single car on the market that meets this goal.

• The software design of the car MUST follow the GNU Philosophy there cannot be a single bit and/or byte of proprietary software in the cars system.

GNU prerequisites

• No proprietary blobs or pieces
• No permissive licensing
• No DRM/TPM
• User must be able to access every byte of source code freely AND
• User must be free to redistribute and modify the operating system in any way they want, as long as it doesn't violate the GPL license

• The car must be licensed under one or more of the following licenses: AGPL2, AGPL3, GPL2, GPL3, LGPL2, or LGPL3. No other licenses are permitted.

• The software must be efficient, the operating system should require no more than 512 megabytes of RAM to run idle, even if the car it is being designed for has multiple gigabytes of RAM. Performance is key.

Operating system candidates include:

• Trisquel Linux (A certified GNU/Linux operating system)
• Other (list one here)

Note There can be more than 1 operating system that adheres to the GNU car specification. I encourage there to be a choice of more than 1 system

But there already are cars with open source software. Doesn't Linux mean open source?

Currently, yes, there are some cars with operating systems based on Linux. However, just because the kernel is Linux doesn't mean the entire car software suite is open source. Tesla uses Linux in their cars, but their cars contain proprietary software bits and blobs, and also some malicious telemetry.

Isn't Android open source?

Android is a freemium operating system that has a variant known as Android auto that runs on cars. Android is based on Linux, but has become proprietary software with strict trademark and usage rules that make it freemium, including major proprietary bits like GMS (Google Mobile Services) and Google Play. Remember that Freemium isn't free.

GNU/Linux usage

Most people refer to Linux as just Linux. I am using GNU/Linux here to differentiate it from Linux with proprietary bits (Android, TeslaOS, ChromeOS, ChromiumOS, etc.) The GNU is an assertion that the software follows the Free Software Foundations vision of truly free software.

Note This list is incomplete.

• More transparency on the inner working of the car
• Encourages the right to repair
• Promotes both free and open source software

• No known cons to list

The following names were rejected:

• GNU Mobile - Reason: Sounds like a mobile operating system project, rather than an automobile system project.
• No other rejected names

A logo was created for the project on 2023, Thursday, February 16th. It can be changed in the future when needed.

The logo is of the GNU mascot overlaying a steering wheel. It has 2 variants: one with a wordmark, and one without a wordmark. Both images are transparent, 1024x1024, and were made in GIMP 2.10.30.

Wordmark	No wordmark

I cannot personally develop the car myself, I have a rule where I can't develop my own automobile software, as I already have too many projects I am working on, and I left this open for others. I can still contribute to existing automobile software, however.

The hardware this software will run on is still a major decision that needs to be made. Flashing an existing car may not be feasible, and producing new hardware may prove to be difficult.

A non-exhaustive list of competitors to this project.

• Google LLC§Android Auto
• Tesla Inc.
• Other/unlisted

Note None of the listed competitors are producing GNU systems in their vehicles.

This idea has been in development for over a year. I finally published it on 2023, Thursday, February 16th, once I came up with a good identifying name (GNU Car) it may not seem like much, but this was an idea that took a lot of time (on and off) to develop. I am hoping that it will expand and grow.