Posted on 02/06/2022 9:39:03 AM PST by yesthatjallen
How would you feel about paying $5 each month for the ability to lock and unlock your car from a distance through an app? What about a $25-per-month charge for advanced cruise control or $10 to access heated seats? What if those charges continued long after your car was paid off?
As vehicles become increasingly connected to the internet, car companies aim to rake in billions by having customers pay monthly or annual subscriptions to access certain features. Not content with the relatively low-margin business of building and selling cars, automakers are eager to pull down Silicon Valley-style profits. But unlike with Netflix, you won't be able to use your ex-girlfriend's uncle's login in your new BMW.
For automakers, the advantage of this model is clear. Not only do they get a stream of recurring revenue for years after an initial purchase, they can hope to maintain a longer-term relationship with the customer and build brand loyalty, said Kristin Kolodge, an analyst at JD Power.
This approach can also allow carmakers to streamline manufacturing by building cars to more uniform specifications, Mark Wakefield, who runs the automotive and industrial practice at the consulting firm AlixPartners, told Insider. Down the line, owners can add on the features they want à la carte.
It's all made possible by the advent of over-the-air software updates, which were pioneered by Tesla around a decade ago and are now entering the mainstream. Today's vehicles are more internet-connected and computerized than ever before, meaning car companies can reach deep inside a vehicle to add new capabilities and tweak things from a distance.
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(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
The only way I would even consider this arrangement is if I’m leasing the car. Otherwise, I wouldn’t pay a nickel to maintain or upgrade the functionality of a single feature on the car after I drove it off the dealership lot.
I have another dumb question: Can cars being sold today be disconnected from the internet permanently?
This business model came into vogue about a decade ago. It’s a means to easy money, and every industry seems to be seeking a piece of the action.
I could see paying a monthly support fee for updates to automated driving technology, but not for heated seats.
It’s a choice, like anything. If you want the extras you’ll pay for them. Why does anyone else care?
It gives folks great motivation to keep those older vehicles properly maintained and on the road as long as possible—so it is good to know.
Custom car culture looks better every day.
Most likely not.
Everything is moving to a subscription model. Also, many taxing authorities want to tax you based on whatever you do in their areas. A nearby town decided to tax people for the things they sold on eBay and Craigslist. (It caused such a huge problem when they ended the attempt they had to take out a billboard advertising that they’d stopped doing so.) But the point is, if it can be done, it will be done.
This is the kind of stuff that triggers Revolutions.
I predict new car sales will fall drasticly.
“There’s a sucker born every minute!”
If you drive a car, I’ll tax the street,
If you try to sit, I’ll tax your seat.
If you get too cold I’ll tax the heat,
If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet.
Yeah, but there's a monthly fee for that.
We’re getting to the point where the Beatles are correct.
Before we go there—it is the kind of thing that triggers a whole bunch of weird unintended consequences.
It could be a new cottage industry of hacking, vehicle identification theft, increased value of older vehicles—and probably dozens of other effects we wouldn’t know about until they happen.
The notion that most folks will just happily pay the extra fees is highly questionable.
“$5 each month for the ability to lock and unlock your car from a distance through an app? What about a $25-per-month charge for advanced cruise control or $10 to access heated seats?”
I dint have any of that crap now so why would I?
Heated seats ain’t real popular where I’m at. Lol
Maybe I should start a business that jailbreaks cars to disable all this “theft by software” immediately after the manufacturer warranty expires.
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