The German car-maker says its "optional power upgrade" is designed to give customers more choice.
The intent is to provide
playersowners with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking differentheroeshorsepower.
VW introduces monthly subscription to increase car power
Submitted 5 weeks ago by melroy@kbin.melroy.org to mildlyinfuriating@lemmy.world
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62weyp4qqgo
Comments
radix@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
SoupBrick@pawb.social 5 weeks ago
They came for the Gamers, but I did not speak out because I was not a Gamer.
SeductiveTortoise@piefed.social 5 weeks ago
Hey, we did speak out and most of us didn't shut up since. Fuck EA, VW, BMW, whoever tries to push microtransactions.
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 weeks ago
The future is a fucking farce.
WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Psych! You thought you were gonna get star trek style utopia, while we’ve been descending into fascist dystopia for several decades!?!
CileTheSane@lemmy.ca 5 weeks ago
Our Startrek future is the Ferengi Empire.
Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
Turns we’ve been in the mirror universe all along.
dax@feddit.org 5 weeks ago
Ah yes, selling me something that is already available but is just locked behind software. And then trying to frame that as somehow a good thing for customers. Just insulting.
pedz@lemmy.ca 5 weeks ago
Sadly, it’s been a good part of IBM’s business model for years. They call it Capacity Upgrade on Demand.
Inactive processor cores and inactive memory units are resources that are included with your server, but are not available for use until you activate them.
I learned this when I moved into a corporate IT environment with Power servers. I couldn’t believe that some companies would pay a quarter of a million for a server that is intentionally stunted/limited unless you pay even more.
But cars are computers now. “Everything’s computer!”. So they will follow that subscription model.
BombOmOm@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
I couldn’t believe that some companies would pay a quarter of a million for a server that is intentionally stunted/limited unless you pay even more.
Well, there is a reason AMD has been kicking ass in the server space lately. Mostly because Intel sat on their ass for awhile, but IBM scalping customers certainly provided a larger opening for AMD.
W3dd1e@lemmy.zip 5 weeks ago
Fuck that noise.
What happens if the car goes out of range from the internet? Does the car just lose power the same way I can’t play Gamepass games offline?
I already bought the car with the hardware in it. I will do what I want with it.
My next car will be a 1995 Honda. I’m so tired of being tracked all the time.
Jumbie@lemmy.zip 5 weeks ago
You can play GamePass Ultimate games offline, though.
No, I’m serious. I’m not arguing with you, I promise.
W3dd1e@lemmy.zip 5 weeks ago
Oh I wasn’t aware. Each time I try to open a game before my Xbox connects to the internet, I get an error.
dinckelman@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
At this point, companies will do literally fucking anything, just to pad the numbers for the shareholder reports. The Volkswagen group can screw itself. When we start decent seeing vehicles to a decent price again, maybe we can resume this conversation. Everyone’s tired of plastic garbage for top dollar
dan@upvote.au 5 weeks ago
When we start decent seeing vehicles at a decent price again
These exist, they’re just not in the USA. Look at what companies like BYD and Xiaomi are doing in practically every developed country except the USA. The entry-level BYD Dolphin is just under AU$30k (US$19k) in Australia. Xiaomi have a sports car for around US$40k.
tal@lemmy.today 5 weeks ago
I don’t know about the Volkswagen ID.3, but in general, I think that car prices have tended to come down slightly over the years. I was in a conversation earlier about car prices earlier (talking about how truck prices had greatly increased).
If you go back 20 years, take a pretty plain-Jane standby, the Toyota Camry:
www.kbb.com/toyota/camry/2005/
2005 Toyota Camry pricing starts at $4,091 for the Camry LE Sedan 4D, which had a starting MSRP of $20,515 when new.
That’d be $33,934.10 in 2025 dollars.
A 2025 Camry has an MSRP of $28,700.
Pickup trucks — which are considerably more expensive now in the US — are an exception to this, but there are other factors going on there.
vinceman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 weeks ago
I don’t think this factors in things that have gone up significantly, such as cost of repair and maintenance. I think another easy thing to point to would be the amount of 84 month car loans, and how many people struggle to pay those. I will also point out in 2005 that wage inflation was much closer to keeping pace with overall inflation. It’s easy to point to the one thing you did, but that misses the full picture imo.
aeternum@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 weeks ago
they aren’t even good cars anyway. they’re shit.
jaykrown@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
This is way beyond “mildly infuriating”. Shit should be illegal, it’s terrible for progress and an epitome of greedy capitalist bullshit.
melroy@kbin.melroy.org 5 weeks ago
Agreed. Although that is true for 80% of the threads posted in this category.
xxce2AAb@feddit.dk 5 weeks ago
Okay, it’s high time for some serious regulatory intervention.
foggy@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Officially never buying a VW, BMW, Tesla, Or Mercedes. Who else tried this shit? Toyota, right?
the_crotch@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
I dunno if Toyota ever paywalled performance, but my 15 Lexus requires a subscription service to use remote start. Its app based and relies on the car’s 2g cellular card so it doesn’t even work anymore.
toynbee@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
My '24 Chevy does this, too. Lock, unlock and remote start apparently route through OnStar, so using those requires an OnStar subscription.
ErrorCode@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
My Subaru had a paid app that included the remote start option. Fuck them all gently with a chainsaw. I paid for the fucking car, I want the whole fucking thing.
brax@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
Kia has a subscription service for the ability to set remote start options. They can get fucked, too.
kent_eh@lemmy.ca 5 weeks ago
Dunno. My Corolla doesn’t have any features locked out that I am aware of. It certainly hasn’t tried to upset me any “uogrades”.
pewpew@feddit.it 5 weeks ago
This is so distopian it sounds like a joke
A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 5 weeks ago
The manufacturers fee for speeding is higher than the fine the police gives you.
Balldowern@lemmy.zip 5 weeks ago
So… Volkswagen is the next target for hacking ?
finitebanjo@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Thank goodness, my John Deere side hustle was slowing down.
deadcatbounce@reddthat.com 5 weeks ago
When buying isn’t owning …
SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
German car industry has one foot in the grave. The German car industry lobbyist have successfully weakened or delayed many EU climate and sustainability initiatives. I fucking hope the German car industry collapses sooner than later and weaken Germany’s political power in the EU.
tal@lemmy.today 5 weeks ago
German car industry has one foot in the grave.
I think that all or close to it auto manufacturers have some form of subscription service now with monthly fees. It’s not something specific to German manufacturers.
randomly picks from this list of auto manufacturers
Buick.
www.buick.com/ownercenter/onstar/learn
OnStar One Super Cruise
for vehicles with Super Cruise
$64.99/mo.
Save up to 16% by choosing this plan
OnStar Connect Plus
-
In-Vehicle Wi-Fi® Hotspot
-
Music
-
Podcasts
-
Audiobooks
-
News
-
Video Streaming (if properly equipped)
-
Games (if properly equipped)
-
Internet Browser (if properly equipped)
Safety & Security
-
Stolen Vehicle Assistance
-
Safety Services
-
OnStar Guardian App
-
Roadside Assistance
Super Cruise
-
Hands-Free Driver Assistance Technology
-
Turn Signal Activated Lane Change
-
Automatic Lane Change (if properly equipped)
-
Hands-Free Trailering (if properly equipped)
grue@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Is that subscription for OnStar or Super Cruise? One is a service with legitimate ongoing operating costs; the other is not.
Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 5 weeks ago
I mean you picked an American car company. They’ve been garbage for decades, I’ve owned exactly one, a 90’s Taurus, probably the most reliable American car we’ve seen in decades, and it just barely approaches Japanese cars for reliability and maintenance.
I say this as someone who’s worked on every brand of car, from the 1940’s to today. You can’t give me an American car (or German, or just European). I refuse to own anything other than Honda or Toyota any more. I’ll sacrifice style and features for a vehicle that just works for 100-200k miles, or more.
Buick has been a style-over-substance brand in the GM lineup since the 80’s, at least. Not that any GM is particularly good, Buick just makes it worse with cheap gimmicks. Same with all Chrysler products.
But yea, all brands include some nonsense today.
-
doingthestuff@lemy.lol 5 weeks ago
I have German heritage, as does my wife. I have lived in Germany. Looking at the Germany of today, I can’t wait to see its power collapse. They might (still) be the most unworthily arrogant people on the planet.
Nico_198X@europe.pub 5 weeks ago
no, that would be Russians.
A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 5 weeks ago
German car industry has one foot in the grave.
I wonder if that is true though. Sure, they lobby that way when they want government subsidies.
They might be slightly late to the e-car game (but the above article applies to e-cars only anyhow).
But all that largely applies to most car industries across the globe. Except those under totalitarian control because they can react faster to big changes.
Fedizen@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Car companies are parasites. America was built on trains and the investments into car infrastructure have paralleled US declines. Its just not an effecient use of public resources to build highways between cities.
vogo13@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
This company already has another scandal brewing, since 2005 they have been installing plastic engine parts, particularily the intake manifolds have been designed as a single use item to be replaced roughly every 3 years. Custom aluminum will run you $1000 for the part itself if you don’t want to keep swapping plastic, not to mention the ridiculous labour costs as well. Avoid!
CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
For $1000 you could get a small furnace for cintering, a regular 3D printer and some of that special PLA that has metal powder in it that you can print and then cinter into a solid metal piece (The PLA bakes off) and just make the fucking thing yourself.
CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
That’s horrible! If people do that how will companies gouge customers?
A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 5 weeks ago
Basically every car manufacturer pulls shit like this these days; good luck avoiding all of them.
If it’s specific to a certain model, that would be good info.
That said VW obviously sucks for pulling the stunt mentioned in the article.
Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 5 weeks ago
You don’t really see this with Toyota and Honda, just avoid any of the models that are joint venture with other companies.
swelter_spark@reddthat.com 5 weeks ago
I got rid of my last VW after I got tired of plastic parts breaking. It happened every winter, after a cold snap.
melroy@kbin.melroy.org 5 weeks ago
I agree. They are using only plastic everywhere at this point.
It's also a nano plastic nightmare at this point.
Oaksey@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
You can get a lifetime subscription now, next year ‘we have reviewed customer choices and will be discontinuing the lifetime subscription’, so they can continue to milk their customers
melroy@kbin.melroy.org 5 weeks ago
starlinguk@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
TomTom did this too. You paid them a life time fee and then they decided you had to start paying an additional fee every month.
Deflated0ne@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Gonna go on youtube and let that Indian tech guy teach me how to jailbreak a Volkswagen.
foggy@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
My favorite stereotypes are the race/STEM expert ones.
South Asia - programming, IT.
East Asia - Math
East Europe - Electrical Engineering
West Europe - High precision engineering and chemistry
At least as far as YouTube tutorials go, it’s basically cannon.
Deflated0ne@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Those guys have saved my ass countless times.
ordnance_qf_17_pounder@reddthat.com 5 weeks ago
This is grotesque. “More choice” is utter bollocks, they’re insulting our intelligence with this, or maybe they’re mocking us.
How about just let us get as much power as we can out of the car by pushing our foot down harder on the pedal.
This is a perfect example of “remove something, then sell it back to the customer”.
melroy@kbin.melroy.org 5 weeks ago
Exactly. I actually own the vw id3. And I'm furious about it. I paid like 14000 euros. And now I need to buy soon an additional subscription, for.. to keep remote access available for enabling the airco via the app.
So it's much more then just subscription for 'increase power'.
tvbusy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 weeks ago
The remote control is at least tolerable because VW does need to provide every car with cellular network connection and servers to make this happen.
Car power is completely different because it’s a one time change. If I’m their PR, I’ll do something like: VW has successfully tested new performance settings for VW ID.3 that helps to improve acceleration and driving. Upgrade is available at authorized workshops (of course with cost).
twinnie@feddit.uk 5 weeks ago
How does this even work? It’s like they don’t realise they don’t own the car once it’s been sold. What’s to stop someone just hacking it and unlocking it?
melroy@kbin.melroy.org 5 weeks ago
It's all proprietary code. But in theory you could unlock the full potential if not more. If you can recreate their software. Ideally then also open source it please.
tal@lemmy.today 5 weeks ago
What’s to stop someone just hacking it and unlocking it?
I assume that they try to make that fairly difficult.
I mean, modern cars are Internet-connected, have cell radios. If the vendor can maintain access to the car and can provide the initial trusted hardware, they can make it pretty unpleasant to modify the thing.
You also don’t need a 100% solution. Just need to make the level of inconvenience high enough.
BombOmOm@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
modern cars are Internet-connected
This in itself is terrifying. It isn’t like they are going to provide security updates for your car for decades. Unplug that modem, no reason for your car to be exposed to the internet.
grue@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
It’s like they don’t realise they don’t own the car once it’s been sold.
They literally don’t. This is nothing less than a war on property rights.
chonkyninja@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Meet GPL. These fucking cars are running Linux.
freebee@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
If you hack it warranty becomes void and you’re maybe in big insurance trouble if there’s an accident or your battery catches fire in an underground parking garage. Basically similar to how banking apps etc keep people from trying to use alternatives to Android on their phone. The boundary isn’t technical, it’s legal.
merdaverse@lemmy.zip 5 weeks ago
Unfortunately, it was clear that everybody was going to follow suit after this:
Don_alForno@feddit.org 5 weeks ago
designed to give customers more choice.
They are surely going to feel a sense of pride and accomplishment.
Cevilia@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 weeks ago
Yeah, we’ve got more choice now.
I’m glad I used my freedom of choice to buy a different make.
anarchiddy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 weeks ago
Someone should compile a list of currently produced car makes and models that are free to modify and repair without software locks on them
I imagine it’s a pretty short list.
Semester3383@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
If it’s all software, that means that you can jailbreak it, just like a phone.
grue@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
kepix@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
the eu almost not allowed this shit for bmw, now every brand is gonna go through
lukaro@lemmy.zip 5 weeks ago
I’ve always admired the iconic vehicles VW has produced, but this assures I’ll never buy a VW.
leftthegroup@lemmings.world 5 weeks ago
I honestly wish this would immediately totally destroy the entire company.
We need an example for “what happens when you make basic features cost extra”.
This isn’t the first example, but the first I did hear was the heated seats (don’t remember the make, but I think it was BMW which I already hate conveniently) feature getting milked the same way.
I’m totally in favor of companies tiptoeing to see how much hostility they can get away with getting immediately liquidated and shut down faster than the CEO can finish chuckling to themselves after coming up with the idea. Their golden parachutes should turn into iron weights and they should be up shit’s creek, penniless and disqualified for any account in their name to ever receive a deposit. This kind of decision should be actually and literally lethal.
I’m not even kidding. I’m in favor of executing everyone involved in this whole chain of decisions, including any and all the “yes men” along the way. They’re too evil to be allowed to breathe my oxygen.
untorquer@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
And this is why i’ll never own a vehicle with a cellular modem unless a jailbreak is already developed and there’s no regulatory/insurance issue with doing so.
Witchfire@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
You’re not giving more choice if it relies on you purposefully taking away things. That’s called being predatory.
AreaKode@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
1999: “Which is why the Matrix was redesigned to this, the peak of your civilization.”
lol. 1999 was the best time for humanity; ridiculous! 2025: Oh shit…
Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
‘Humans marveled at the creation of AI”
errer@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
That’s why I love my life as if it were still the 90s…oh shit, am I in the matrix already?