Posted on 07/15/2022 8:18:39 AM PDT by grundle
The company has launched a variety of subscription-based services in South Korea. North America has so far been spared
Some BMW owners will now have to pay US$18 per month for the added luxury of heated seats.
The company has launched a variety of subscription-based services in South Korea, Fortune reported. Other add-on features include US$10 per month for a heated steering wheel and a US$8 monthly charge for a driver safety feature. Each monthly feature is available at a discounted rate if drivers opt for a multi-year commitment.
Micro-transactions appear to be garnering popularity among auto manufacturers — although consumers have expressed opposition to the strategy. BMW says the pay-per-feature decision was made “because the majority of drivers opted against purchasing these options and it didn’t want to charge customers for things they didn’t use,” Fortune reported.
Critics say these features should be a permanent part of their car upon purchase. The vehicles already come with the hardware that controls these add-ons, so it seems unnecessary to use a software block to stop them from properly functioning without a monthly fee.
The company has attempted subscription based services in the past. In 2018, they introduced a US$80-per-year or $300 for 20 years charge for Apple CarPlay, however, the decision was quickly reversed following public uproar.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalpost.com ...
When the Hell did cars become like Xbox games?
Ridiculous.
I’ll stick with my 80s and 90s euro cars. Who cares if they are not on par with EPA requirements.
You will rent the car you own. And like it. /s
Can you get just one seat heated for $9 a month?
I have never had need for heated seats or steering wheel even when working on the North Slope.
Gadgets have driven up the cost of cars and caused reliability to plummet. I’d like to be able to buy just a simple vehicle that runs and drives well. No bells and whistles beyond radio, heat and air. The rest of it is useless and unnecessary complication. Moving maps and GPS? Just dumb to me. I somehow managed to find my way to drilling locations all over the nation with just a map and directions.
I’ve read that other electronics like navigation, AppleCarPlay, adaptive cruise control, and adaptive headlights may become “rent” items also. If BMW does this others will follow.
Standardized production runs, and then turn on or off “options” that all were installed with in production.
Sounds sleazy to me.
If a BMW was made to order, modern manufacturing techniques (given what some industries assembly lines are already doing) would know which car was made for which new owner, and its parts, including optional parts, would be computer selected to arrive on the assemply line, only per car as needed.
Monthly subscription of car options is like the old AT&T gambit of “leasing” your indestructible phone that lasted decades.
Biden heats his own
If you say you don’t like it will impact your social credit score and they will shut off your car for a week.
I’m old enough to remember when an AM/FM radio was optional in a new car. Do they think people in my age group are going to pay a subscription for heated seats? I’m guessing this program is targeted towards younger drivers who have never had to endure the “hardship” of non-heated seats and steering wheels.
“If BMW does this, others will follow.”
If BMW successfully does this, others will follow.
If you read the fine print there is a $2.50 surcharge per fart.
Bill Gatesmobiles. And people wonder why he's bought so many farms.
All the German cars are money pits now.
Right to repair!
So, you pay for the hardware in your car, you pay for the fuel that provides the electricity for the hardware and now BMW wants you to pay for the right to use the hardware?
At this point I can guarantee I will never buy a BMW
Tin foil hat...someone at Tesla doesn't like your FB posts, so they cap your mph at 45 and floor your internal temperature at 72 until you tone down that Trumpy stuff. While you're driving to the Trump rally, they display a skull and crossbones on the dashboard an announce your brake service is being cut off due to "credit card charge didn't go through."
/tinfoil hat.
The dirty bastards, and any other automaker, can eat my s***.
Just another reason why not to get a BMW, these people are nuts and money hungry.
Just another reason why not to get a BMW, these people are nuts and money hungry.
Nope! An over-the-road flusher! Let the car behind worry about it!
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