this post was submitted on 09 Sep 2023
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They’re trying justify it as being able to add on heated seats months or years after vehicle purchase, but they’re ignoring the fact that it’s not an option that you pay one time for but instead a monthly subscription designed to extract money from their customers for the lifetime of the vehicle.
I’m not the biggest fan of including hardware that’s only usable behind a software flag but if it’s a one time payment I can at least rationalize it as a way to simplify production. The spokesperson acting like this was actually meant to be a pro consumer move is bullshit.
Or, maybe just give everyone the feature rather than paywalling it.
Locking it behind a subscription also means they get to sell it to each new owner, so they can capture income from the used market too.
It's 100% anti-consumer. Its why they are still going ahead with it it for driving/parking assist. Other brands have also moved remote start behind software instead of a radio fob for the same reason.
A new income stream made possible by computerization. Expect to have to "hack" your car going forward. Luckily brands like comma.ai are already out there helping with the self driving part.
Yeah a one time fee would kind of be if you get the vehicle for a good price, but a subscription is crazy.
Still, I’m attracted to bmw’s even if I don’t like that selling practice.