Latest grab by auto manufactures

[tacticalturnip]

The way to deal with that is to not buy their crap.

A year ago I was reading something about how people were sick and tired of all the software companies switching to subscriptions instead of standalone software.
I remember feeling very good about not using any microsoft or apple garbage.
In Linux there is more and better software and all of it is free.
I tell people this all the time. I show them my OS and let them play with it, I show them the various software packages etc.. So far I have achieved a conversion rate of ZERO.

People are funny. They get used to taking the beating and actually experience discomfort at the prospect of no more beatings, no more abuse, opening their cage fills them with dread.

I've always given thought to switching to Linux, since I was a teenager actually, but it comes off as rather intimidating.

 

[ultrarunner]

My next truck will be older than my current truck, I do believe that.

Emission Testing pulls old cars off the road... it was not always that way.

25 years and older exempt and then 30 years and older exempt and the it was frozen 1976 and newer must continue testing...

Even with the best of intentions the rules change... I have two 1976 vehicles stuck in limbo...

 

[notaz3]

Emission Testing pulls old cars off the road... it was not always that way.

25 years and older exempt and then 30 years and older exempt and the it was frozen 1976 and newer must continue testing...

Even with the best of intentions the rules change... I have two 1976 vehicles stuck in limbo...

What do you have stuck in limbo? Maybe I'll take it off your hands and register it in a state without smog laws.

My one experience with OnStar was having my truck stolen and them telling me "as long as it is running we will be able to find it". A year later they called and asked if I wanted to renew my subscription. I'll stick with vehicles that do not need to be connected to mobile/internet.

 

[ultrarunner]

76 Triumph Spitfire with headers because original and salvage yard exhaust manifolds all crack...

76 BMW 2002 that is a good driver with motor work done... it has a Thermactor California only smog system that won't pass smog...

If it was a smog exempt 1975 I would be golden and lots of interest in this model but being a 76 kills value in the California market.

Just got a confirmed air bag recall appointment after YEARS.

BMW said not to drive the 325it with defective passenger and driver airbags...

Toyota had similar recall and when I said my then 85 year old mom doesn't drive to San Francisco Toyota said we will pick up and return same day and they did...

When it all hits the fan I guess I can soldier on with the 1911 Model T and 1930 Model A pickup and my 1953 Ford NAA Jubilee Tractor...

A nurse I work with was at Christmas Mass and her 3490 mile Subaru stolen... It took lots of effort to get law Enforcement on the same page for Subaru to remote disable but they did and cat recovered.

The problem is the car was in and out of several jurisdictions and always in the go and they will not disable a moving car...

 

[gsganzer]

If this is true, I'll be writing GM to tell them I'll never consider buying one of their vehicles in the future. As consumers, we need to start pushing back on these tactics.

 

[tacticalturnip]

Emission Testing pulls old cars off the road... it was not always that way.

25 years and older exempt and then 30 years and older exempt and the it was frozen 1976 and newer must continue testing...

Even with the best of intentions the rules change... I have two 1976 vehicles stuck in limbo...

I'll run the gauntlet of illegality before I acquiesce to such nonsense.

 

[Streetcar]

I have seen the information of these fees for bmw not gm

 

[IndyJay]

I guess I have driven 40+ years and never had remote start. If they block a feature I don't need or want, who cares? I'm not a big fan of the overall concept, but how often do you need remote start?

I am becoming increasingly wary of remote anything. Everything coming out has a phone app that lets "you" manage it from anywhere. The idea that someone could start (or disable?) my car remotely is a non-starter.

 

[ruffdog]

I have seen the information of these fees for bmw not gm

The only thing that I saw was on certain Buick/GMC trim levels, a three year Onstar subscription was included in the MSRP.

 

[ruffdog]

The future of cars is a subscription nightmare

 

[nybirdman]

That's it :1500 dollars for the First three years and then you pay more to keep it.They used to give you Onstar for a couple months hoping that you will renew.
Recently talked to a Subaru dealer and they are doing the same,just tacking it on the MSRP;again for three years then you pay yearly;$384/Yr. if I remember correctly.
The best part; GM had record profits the last two years.Just greed.

 

[tacticalturnip]

You'll own nothing, and you'll be the happiest you've ever been.

One day the folks running the show are going to find that their wealth and power will only go so far, though I doubt many of us will be around to see it.

 

[ruffdog]

People want to be connected to the internet as they drive the people hauler. Just like any option or feature, will it draw people or will they avoid it. The majority seems to drive the available options/features like it or not.

Buick, GMC making OnStar Connected Services standard

 

[ruffdog]

That's it :1500 dollars for the First three years and then you pay more to keep it.They used to give you Onstar for a couple months hoping that you will renew.
Recently talked to a Subaru dealer and they are doing the same,just tacking it on the MSRP;again for three years then you pay yearly;$384/Yr. if I remember correctly.
The best part; GM had record profits the last two years.Just greed.

This new onstar/internet package is not even close to the old one....in fact, the old one is not even supported anymore. People demand more from their vehicles now and that is driving the market. If a car maker charges $500 more for a certain popular paint color, is that greed? No one is forcing you to buy a vehicle.

 

[ultrarunner]

I wonder how this will affect the Used Vehicle market?

Sorry can’t start the car as the subscription lapsed?

Maybe the model is we all lease and it’s someone else's problem?

I’ve bought one new car in my life and it is the only one with recalls and software updates…

It’s been three years waiting for replacement airbags under the recall.

Service advisor said not to drive???

 

[Raul-02]

but it comes off as rather intimidating.

A decade ago it was. One had to be a tech guru. No more Linux Ubuntu is as graphical as windows. You still have the terminal and you can still control everything from it but you also have the GUI.
I picked it up around 2008; played with it. Used it to surf the web, especially those places where before with windows one would come away with a plethora of viruses and trojans. Nothing can touch me now. I haven't bought an antivirus in a very long time & won't.
There are a few cons.
There is no really good engineering CAD CAM software there is some but it's just not as good as the 10-thousand dollar packages meant to run on windows. And the same problem applies to good Accounting software. I'd have expected RedHat to have solved for that latter, but nope.

 

[Raul-02]

, is that greed?

nope. That's why we should control them with our checkbooks. They want more for something we say "Se ya, wouldn't wanna be ya" and take our $$ on down the road. Enough of us do that and they learn not to be so grabby.

 

[Raul-02]

The future of cars is a subscription nightmare

"As cars get more expensive to make and profit margins dwindle, automakers are coming up with new and loathsome ways to squeeze more money out of their customers. Subscription-based access to vehicle features, like heated seats or remote-start key fobs, are the latest attempt to charge people for things their car already came with. The question is whether customers are going to lay down and take it."

Me? I'll hire someone to hack them. My perks won't phone home.

 

[gsganzer]

This new onstar/internet package is not even close to the old one....in fact, the old one is not even supported anymore. People demand more from their vehicles now and that is driving the market. If a car maker charges $500 more for a certain popular paint color, is that greed? No one is forcing you to buy a vehicle.

I don't understand why anyone would even want Onstar anymore. Doesn't a smartphone do everything, and more, then OnStar? Seems to me OnStar is more about monitoring YOU, so they can send you "alerts" to take your car to the dealer for over priced servicing, when they determine it's needed.

My bigger issue is the "dumbing down" of the average American consumer where people can't (or don't) calculate fee's into the price of something. Great examples are the town, municipal, state fee's (e.g. taxes), banking fee's, cell phone fee's, cable TV fee's etc., that get tacked onto the proclaimed "cost".

I'm starting to push back. My bank is my first target. They currently hold 6-digits of my money, but feel compelled to charge me a $30 monthly fee for "services". Next are the "convenience fee's" for paying on-line. Convenient for whom? I can just as easily make them send me a monthly bill, by which I'll snail mail them a check that they then need to process and deposit. Seems to me I should be the one getting a discount for being inconvenienced as I spend my time to pay on-line to save them the of hassle of someone having to process a check, plus they get their money sooner! Am I missing something here?

I guess as I get older, I'm starting to turn into a curmudgeon, because I'm starting to push back on the obvious BS.

 

[ruffdog]

Yep, be a smart consumer and buy what you want, not what other's want to sell you.