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Comment on VW introduces monthly subscription to increase car power

I hate this kind of artificial limitations but in this case I’m totally fine.

Why would you pay for something like that? The stock id 3 has enough power to drive in the city. If someone instead needs to race at the nurburgring, then can unlock the extra power. With more power available and a sporty drive, the car components (motor, battery, gears) get more stress than if you just commute in the traffic.

In a city or in the highway, when you drive safely according to the speed limits you don’t need 300 HP or more under your ass

And if you’re someone that just needs a higher number to feel validated by others (look at that! I paid for the extra Speed mode!), then I’m fine with that, takes money from dumb people and has the potential to make the vehicle cheaper for everyone else.

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Evono@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
Why should you pay for that is your question ?

The question is , why should you allow them to gimp what you bought artificially

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- Wispy2891@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  If you drive like a maniac you put more stress on the components, and on the id 3 the warranty on electric parts is up to 8 years. This offsets for them the risk of someone breaking components under warranty before the mean time to failure.
  
  Almost all car brands are selling a faster trim that’s the same hardware with just different code in the ECU. It’s not necessarily a bad thing that it could be done after the first purchase and there’s also the option of permanent unlock.
  
  Now, for safety I wouldn’t have it made a completely software solution but required a visit to dealer to install bigger breaks and check all the car stuff (oil level in brakes, if the steering is correct, and so on)
  
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  - Evono@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    So basicly it’s excusing either their bad warranty , their bad planning , or their bad quality.
    
    None of the customers business and shouldn’t be a subscription.
    
    I means what’s next ? 3 tires the 4th will be a subscription cause it’s one more tire that needs maintenance ?
    
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    Wispy2891@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    There’s a $650 lifetime unlock option. What’s the difference between this and the “m series” for BMW that costs $20k over stock, that must be purchased at the time of order??
    
    At least gives an option to the user, if it’s not fast enough for winning races at the nurburgring, then they can unlock full performance for $650.
    
    In city it makes no difference except using more energy and consuming tires faster than expected
    
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WoodScientist@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

I hate this kind of artificial limitations but in this case I’m totally fine.

This is an environmental disaster. We’re building cars with equipment that will never be used. It costs more materials, time, and energy to manufacture a 300 HP engine than a 200 HP engine. VW might make all models with a 300 HP engine and then require a subscription to increase the power from 200 to 300 HP. Yet, what if you don’t want to use that extra power? You’re still stuck with the weight of the heavier engine! You’re hauling around a uselessly heavy engine, and you’ll be doing so from the moment you buy the car until the end of its life. Even if you don’t want to pay for the subscription-only equipment, you’re still paying for the higher gas costs to haul all this redundant crap around with you. And the environment takes an unnecessary hit for us to manufacture equipment that will never be used. This is an environmental disaster.

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- Wispy2891@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  The car was introduced 5 years ago, they launched this unlock right now where only the 0.1% of users will actually care and the kind that needs external validation from higher numbers is already with a newer vehicle.
  
  IMHO with all the telemetry gathered they noticed that the motor can sustain higher than spec bursts of power for a short time and tried to cash in that
  
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- tal@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  
  This is an environmental disaster.
  
  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_ID.3
  
  The lowest MPGe I see for it is 129, the highest 141.
  
  The Ford F-150 is the most-popular vehicle in the US.
  
  www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/…/2025_Ford_F150.shtml
  
  It has a combined MPG rating of between 16 and 21.
  
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- GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  It also means they can build fewer types of engine for the models they make, requiring less tooling, less spare parts, etc. I’m not sure if that is enough to balance the environmental cost of making slightly bigger motors, but a number of companies have come to the conclusion that it’s cheaper than having more engine options.
  
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  - grue@lemmy.world ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Okay, but hear me out: the notion that a business model is “cheaper” doesn’t matter if it’s also criminal because it violates their customers’ property rights.
    
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    GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Oh, this sounds like a ridiculously easy case to win. So where is that case where someone had a car that was being sold in an illegal manner and they won? Just one, anywhere in the world. And not the one about the VW emissions scandal. Most diesel vehicle drivers don’t really care about emissions, and no one was paying less for a non-EPA qualifying option.
    
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