I recognize what you're
I recognize what you're saying and appreciate the input. I personally have looked at and experienced personally every angle of the word "Hacker" including its role as a family name dating back hundreds of years.
"Hacking" has a long history of dual meanings. One meaning is the criminal meaning you're referring to. The other meaning is those whose love for technology leads them to take things apart, put them together, play with the technology, and create amazing things.
The negative version of "Hacker" came from some irresponsible journalistic coverage of an earlier era of technology.
The press release issued by Ford explicitly used the word "Hackers".