Louis Rossmann made a video on it, and something that came to mind while I was watching it was that while regulation can in fact be abused, I think some regulation has to be in place because a company that can charge whatever it wants for a car doing this just for the sake of control is awful. Do we really own the things we buy, or do the corporations?
I know in the EU, they have a lot more laws/regulations about warranties and other R2R shit, I just want to be able to fix the shit I own by myself without the company hindering me from doing so because they want to treat me like a leasee while charging me purchase prices.
Edit: Starting in South Korea, but very concerned that it could be brought here considering horse armor started the gaming industry’s bullshit.
Just root and jailbreak your car. What are they gonna do?
It actually could be a DMCA violation.
??
This is the strange part. What part of the functionality goes away when you don't pay?
Probably the entire functionality.
Everything is computer controlled in modern cars. If your car has any sort of network access and can talk to the company that built it, you don't own it any more. It will do what the manufacturer tells it to, or what law enforcement tells them to tell it to do.
To better serve our customers we are announcing a subscription plan for direct fuel injection for all existing models...
Want your turbos on your turbo engine to work? Well we're going to have to charge you a monthly subscription plus the carbon tax for that.
I just bought an Outback and, for some reason, the sunroof option was inseparable from their network service. It's a mystery to me how the two are related.
But good god did going through all of the options raise my blood pressure. I hate the car industry, and I hate that the PC industry is going the exact same direction with overpriced unmodifiable gear. Piece of molded rubberized plastic? $100. Another piece of molded plastic? $250. Set of black lug nuts instead of stainless steel? $300. Fuck you.
This is why I keep my “dumb” car, which predates any of this shit (1998, baybay!).
It’s fucking great, and I will likely drive it until a) it dies, or b) someone offers me money that I can’t refuse for it (it’s a rare one), lol…
But fuck, it is so much better to drive than any of the computerized plastic shitboxes from the last decade or so, including the model of the same car, from just over a decade later…
It’s bizarre to drive both, and see the difference. And then to drive an even more recent car, where the “tech” is even more intrusive, and cannot truly be turned off… Hell, it’s actually galling, frankly.
Or drive into a brick wall at 130 mph like what happened to Michael Hastings
Or have the seats replaced with aftermarket heated seats. You can’t prevent someone from modifying their car as long as it still considered road legal. And aftermarket seats and steering wheels probably aren’t going to do that.
New Law: Seeing as sudden temperature changes can startle or injure a driver, all automatic heated seats and steering wheels must be made and installed and licensed by someone who bribed us to make this law.
I could see this passing in CA and NY immediately after subscribers drop
Unfortunately, I think you underestimate just how much power companies like this have over regulations like that…
I hope you’re right, but I wouldn’t… Rely on that. At least going forward into this “brave new world” they are building…
Much like the aviation industry, these companies are as “powerful” (and certainly insidious) as many governments, and they know that, too…
Deny any services, warranties, protections, recalls, etc.. So, basically, you can never take it to an authorized dealer when it breaks down, and this is a BMW, it will break down, frequently.