Pay Per Feature?

[GiveMeABreak]

As per the article below, Carlos Tavares (CEO Stellantis) is at it again, raising revenue from software subscriptions is going to become the norm, like it has elsewhere in the computing software market.

https://devstyler.io/blog/2021/12/07/st ... -software/

We already know Tesla and Porsche along with others have 'features' or options built into the car that you have to pay an extra fee or ongoing subscription to activate (currently mostly on electric vehicles at present).

I can see that soon you'll buy a car and then have to pay for functionality

Electric windows? No problem, £15 a month and if you want the rears too then that'll be £20 a month.
Sat Nav?, sure, we can do that for £30 a month and if you want speed camera alerts, that'll be an extra £5 on top.
Radio? Basic service is free, but DAB+ will be an extra £10 a month (oh, and did I forget to mention FM is being phased out soon, sir?).
Can we interest you in a speed increase? You get to go 50 MPH for free, but if you want to go 70 MPH, that'll cost you an extra £30 a month ta....... etc. etc.

I dread to think where this is going to end up....
I can see great opportunities for the hacking community looming no doubt, to counter all this nonsense.

[Huskyxantia]

What is this world coming too...

[Michel]

Electric windows? No problem, £15 a month and if you want the rears too then that'll be £20 a month.
Sat Nav?, sure, we can do that for £30 a month and if you want speed camera alerts, that'll be an extra £5 on top.
Radio? Basic service is free, but DAB+ will be an extra £10 a month (oh, and did I forget to mention FM is being phased out soon, sir?).
Can we interest you in a speed increase? You get to go 50 MPH for free, but if you want to go 70 MPH, that'll cost you an extra £30 a month ta....... etc. etc.

I dread to think where this is going to end up....
I can see great opportunities for the hacking community looming no doubt, to counter all this nonsense.

I don't actually think this would be such a bad thing, if it were done differently. We do it with all subscription services. Now, if the driver (user?) got a couple of the full package free, I'm sure some AI entity could configure the vehicle with the most used options , build a package, and price accordingly. Much like dealing with Sky or Virginmedia TV.

For a simpleton like me, who only ever really looks at the dials, listens to Radio 2, 4 or a Spotify playlist via Bluetooth and occasionally fiddles with the climate control - it'd be perfect. I'd spend bugger-all.

[MattBLancs]

BMW has come in for quite a bit of flack for this recently. Most notably heated seats installed in every car but not enabled unless subscribed.

I know my C5 has the daytime running bulbs in place but similar switched off in the software.

Both irritate me on the basis of cars rolling about with additional mass of board, consuming a (tiny) but of fuel. Perhaps ultimately being scrapped with as new, never used components sat inside. Just seems so wasteful.

The argument is "costs more to make 2 seats, with and without heater pads" but in our world of "big data" and the "internet of things" surely the heated seat version doesn't need to exist until an order for a car with them has been placed? In our connected world should be no need for two rows of seats sat waiting to be ordered.

As for subscription services, I think BMW's system has been hacked already, am sure I read that somewhere.

[bobins]

Whilst I'm no fan of the subscription model, I can absolutely see why the manufacturer's are moving in that direction. With the increasing numbers of BEVs on the roads there's going to be a subsequent reduction in income stream for the manufacturer's and their dealers as there's less opportunity to screw the punter for service, repair and parts. Staying in business is the prime reason they make cars, so they need a new way to make money - and a steady subscription income will help them with that.

[bobins]

Here's a thought. In the example of BMWs heated seats - whose responsibility is it to provide a functioning seat heater ? If the heating element fails, is it the owner's responsibility to provide a working seat heater for BMW to charge a subscription on it, or is it BMWs responsibility to provide a working seat heater as it's an integral part of that subscription service ?

[mickthemaverick]

Here's a thought. In the example of BMWs heated seats - whose responsibility is it to provide a functioning seat heater ? If the heating element fails, is it the owner's responsibility to provide a working seat heater for BMW to charge a subscription on it, or is it BMWs responsibility to provide a working seat heater as it's an integral part of that subscription service ?

My thought would be that a subscription requires a product. If the product breaks then either the recipient repairs the product or ceases the charge!

[GiveMeABreak]

I know my C5 has the daytime running bulbs in place but similar switched off in the software.

Just as an aside on this...
They only did that on ALL early UK models Matt, as DRL requirements in the UK never came in until Feb 2011 whilst being a requirement in most of Europe. Easy to switch on using the correct option in Diagbox, which then activates the relevant instrument panel menu option that you can use to activate or deactivate. Why they didn't just leave them activated though as a default I'll never know.

[Paul-R]

I know my C5 has the daytime running bulbs in place but similar switched off in the software.

Just as an aside on this...
They only did that on ALL early UK models Matt, as DRL requirements in the UK never came in until Feb 2011 whilst being a requirement in most of Europe. Easy to switch on using the correct option in Diagbox, which then activates the relevant instrument panel menu option that you can use to activate or deactivate. Why they didn't just leave them activated though as a default I'll never know.

Or at the very least leave the option on the panel display for the owner to decide.

[GiveMeABreak]

You can Paul - once activated you have the choice in the Instrument Panel Menu, apart from later models where they are mandatory by law.

[GiveMeABreak]

Back on topic, this is the sort of thing I'm on about re the pay per feature: He does waffle a bit and it takes him a while to get to the point, so time index 7:00 if you want to skip.

[Paul-R]

You can Paul - once activated you have the choice in the Instrument Panel Menu, apart from later models where they are mandatory by law.

I know that. My point was, why hide the ability for the option so that you need to activate it with Diagbox?

[GiveMeABreak]

Simply because at the time, the setup for the lighting configurations was not straightforward depending on the country the vehicle was destined for. So Nordic countries for example have to have main lights on during the day, so there are different combos for light configurations including the DRLs in combination with headlamps and sidelights that can be set at the factory level. As DRLs weren't a requirement in the UK, they opted to have them disabled.

So there was no setting to simply turn DRLS on or off alone in Diagbox. If enabled the correct combo has to be selected for the other lights.

[MattBLancs]

Thanks for the DRL sides notes folks! I did read up a bit on them, and indeed had a go removing the existing bulbs just to see if I could.

But I have decided to leave them disabled for the moment in case the 14 year old bulbs take exception to being brought into service as then I would have to source some of the weird things! (HP24W, I think!)

[GiveMeABreak]

Back on topic, this is the sort of thing I'm on about re the pay per feature: He does waffle a bit and it takes him a while to get to the point, so time index 7:00 if you want to skip.

As per his Porsche: £1100 for 'Comfort Opening' - that's a complete joke and as good an example of greed as I've seen.