Once a customer bought a car, that software could stay locked in a box and never need to be updated unless something was wrong (and then it was a trip to a dealership). That strategy worked great right up until cars became rolling data centers on wheels. Now automakers are starting to stare down the reality of what complex hardware and connected software really meanboth the advantages and disadvantages. And the consensus? Maybe platform sharing and open-source software was the right idea all along.