I know I'm arguing a completely different issue here than what the article/post is about, but if a call is so important that you can't take it after your drive, then maybe the prudent thing would be to halt the car and take the call without sacrificing your own and others' safety due to the loss in focus.

Most people just hit OK on the console when pairing, and the default is auto import messages, email and contacts. You can decline there, but then text reply via console can be limited, since it wont show incoming and previous. And yeah on phone side if you select it you can chose what BT mode to use when paired. But I doubt most people even check it.

I don't know, I haven't purchase a new car. But on the other hand if thry aren't privacy concious to start with then their phone is selling all their data anyway, so not sure why they are shocked by the car selling it too.