On Saturday, May 20, 2023 at 4:20:21 PM UTC-5, 26B.X958 wrote:
Good news - automobile dealerships have finally
built up some inventory again.
Bad news - the prices are ridiculous and loans are
now too expensive for many.
Thanks Joe.
Automakers Are Making Basic Car Functions A Costly Subscription Service… Whether You Like It Or Not
https://www.techdirt.com/2023/05/18/automakers-are-making-basic-car-functions-a-costly-subscription-service-whether-you-like-it-or-not/
Automakers are increasingly obsessed with turning everything into a subscription service in a bid to boost quarterly returns. We’ve noted how BMW has embraced making heated seats and other features already in your car a subscription service, and
Mercedes has been making better gas and EV engine performance something you have to pay extra for — even if your existing engine already technically supports it.
There are several problems here. One, most of the tech they want to charge a recurring fee to use is already embedded in the car you own. And its cost is already rolled into the retail cost you’ve paid. They’re effectively disabling technology you
already own, then charging you a recurring additional monthly fee just to re-enable it. It’s a Cory Doctorow nightmare dressed up as innovation.
The other problem: absolutely nobody wants this shit. Surveys have already shown how consumers widely despise paying their car maker a subscription fee for pretty much anything, whether that’s an in-car 5G hotspot or movie rentals via your car’s
screen. Now another new study indicates that consumers are unsurprisingly opposed to this new effort to expand subscription features:
A new study from Cox Automotive this week found that 75% of respondents agreed with the statement that “features on demand will allow automakers to make more money.” And 69% of respondents said that if certain features were available only via
subscription for a particular brand, they would likely shop elsewhere.
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