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[EmilysDad]

Just another money making thing?

Mercedes-Benz to introduce acceleration subscription fee

Owners of some Mercedes electric cars in the US can soon pay a $1,200 annual fee to speed up faster.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Blobcat]

Another very valid reason not to have any modern connected vehicle of any make

 

[mioba]

Ridiculous.

I was reading an article a few months back how basically subscription services are a massive cash cow for companies, sky, car dealers now with Nav upgrades, microsoft 365 etc etc, a horrendous model to make customer drip feed cash.

 

[mancman]

Wait till they charge you for braking

 

[Ron240]

It defies belief that anybody would pay $1200 per year for the ability to accelerate from 0-60mph only 1 second quicker.
It will naturally have an effect at other speeds and not just from a standing start, but doubtful whether it will be noticed.
This is stated as only being for the North American market, but are Americans really that stupid to fall for it?
If this is really so important to the buyer then normally it would be more sensible to buy a more powerful model in the first place.

 

[SmartAmg]

but are Americans really that stupid to fall for it?

Probably.

 

[DSK]

Similar to above comments, I’ve said for a very long time, modern stuff (largely speaking) many years ago was designed to keep the punters poor. Firstly more modular and costly repairs, then, vehicle subscription based stuff has been out for some time (volvo let punters rent the car, insurance and service). This is just another money spinner for corporations, great schemes to keep the majority of consumers poor who, are sadly oblivious to, or, those who help to justify themselves being taken advantage of.


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[malcolm E53 AMG]

BMW fit a complete loom nowadays the up idea being that if the car was manufactured without an accessory ie rear camera you can have this switched on and accessible for a monthly subscription. I had an email from them this week offering ‘switched off’ services for a fee - I won’t be taking them up on this but you can see the direction of travel

 

[s5tuart]

I expect there will be a little cottage industry growing soon,with hacks for the software!
And I'm wondering how "illegal" that might be as you've already bought the car.

It seems to me that the future business model is to lease everything and never own anything.

 

[horatio]

It seems to me that the future business model is to lease everything and never own anything.

The goal is to make what’s left of motoring a subscription service.

I expect future cars will fail to function and become obsolete without updates similar to a smart phone. Fear of battery replacement/associated depreciation will also make actual ownership unviable unless you are very wealthy.

You will be charged for driving via road pricing algorithms linked to digital identity.

Hence they can’t get wait to rid the roads of ICE cars!

 

[DSK]

The model was to prevent ownership a very, very, very long time ago and even ex sales guys will fess up to how dark and gloomy all this lease, hire type stuff truly is for the consumer.


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[brandwooddixon]

I expect there will be a little cottage industry growing soon,with hacks for the software!
And I'm wondering how "illegal" that might be as you've already bought the car.

It seems to me that the future business model is to lease everything and never own anything.

This will definitely happen.
Automotive industry is notorious for lax security measures.
Most people now know about "Keyless" entry issues, but there have been industry reports and demonstrations of "connected" vehicles being hacked and having not just consumer items turned on and off, but also power steering being turned off, lights triggered and even brakes applied!

The car must work without being continuously connected to a manufacturer's server (to allow for poor coverage of mobile signals) and so I guess that this can only be enforced during routine services at a dealership.

How illegal it would be? I doubt that it would, I can't see governments being interested in anything other than emissions or safety. If the car is leased rather than purchased, then this wouldn't be any different to modifying a lease car now.

Would I buy such a vehicle? Not if I can help it.
Will people pay for the extras? Some may, but a majority won't. So, a lot of overly complex cars will be sold without a return on the extra investment.
Will there be lawsuits if a paid for feature stops working - certainly will in the USA.

 

[BillyBoy]

Wait till they charge you for braking

Audi already charge for indicating I believe...

 

[curious]

I expect there will be a little cottage industry growing soon,with hacks for the software!
And I'm wondering how "illegal" that might be as you've already bought the car.

It seems to me that the future business model is to lease everything and never own anything.

Is it really any different to getting your car remapped?
My 109 Vito now has the power of a 115 Vito all for the princely sum of a few hundred quid. Whereas if I'd bought it as a 115 it would have cost a few thousand more than the 109. (All other components are the same between the two models with the exception of the rear diff ratio).

 

[Blobcat]

I expect there will be a little cottage industry growing soon,with hacks for the software!
And I'm wondering how "illegal" that might be as you've already bought the car.

It seems to me that the future business model is to lease everything and never own anything.

If you have time have a Google of John Deere vs Farmers and the right to repair.
One of the arguments put forward is that the farmer is just buying the right to use the tractor, not the tractor or any of its components, systems or software.

 

[DSK]

This is on the back of the BMW boss’s sustainability speech in London.

“The automotive industry could reduce waste by encouraging owners to hang onto their existing vehicles longer by retrofitting them with upgrades to keep them fresh instead of constantly buying new models.”

Could also reduce waste by making excrement on wheels….

Wow, who the heck appoints these people, seems like getting a job is all down to how much verbal diarrhoea one can talk and how much back handers and corruption one is willing to get involved in.

I wish I was there as I’d have given her a right sustainability lecture!

Generally speaking (a little cheeky);

1. People change vehicles because they are on tick in some way. This is the deliberate direction the industry wants to push consumers down.
2. Modern stuff can barely make it to 3yrs without breaking mechanically or electronically, so it’s easier to get another.
3. Modern stuff gets stolen like crazy so folks just buy a replacement just as bad.
4. Make cars maintainable like being able to change a light bulb without having take it to garage to have 1/2 the car stripped to do it!
5. Stop using the cheapest materials not fit for purpose…. Eg. Plastic coolant systems. In other words build it properly to begin with.
6. If stuff was made with soul and engineered well in the first place people would keep it. Perhaps try getting the folks who engineered the 2jz, ls1, e55k out of retirement so that the modern day muppets can be taught how to make something properly. But this would go against the keep them poor strategy of modular and expensive repairs every 5 minutes.
7. Get stylists, school kids, or even the visually impaired people to style the cars as the majority of modern stuff is just downright hideous.


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[AnthonyUK]

And I'm wondering how "illegal" that might be as you've already bought the car.

I wonder if the 'right to repair' laws will have an effect here?

 

[fabes]

As above, it's only akin to a remap, but manufacturer and warranty approved one (and the S on the E63s)

But will it lock out remapping? (perhaps Anthony at GAD would comment)

Let's face it, given the list price of performance cars (£100k plus) this is only another option on the box, and less than an audio upgrade....