BMW to shame out-of-warranty UK drivers with smart billboards • Hacker News Board

Re: BMW to shame out-of-warranty UK drivers with smart billboards

#121

Post by burlesona » Thu, Dec 24, 2020, 2:30 PM UTC

city41 wrote: post #84

tomp wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> charging a subscription for Apple CarPlay Well that's a scam if there ever was one. Who wants a subscription for basic functionality in a car? Might as well buy an iPad and solder it over BMW's control panel.

In my 2016 BMW, CarPlay was so incredibly buggy. Unsure who's at fault on that, but the thought of paying a subscription for it makes me chuckle.

Interesting. In my Mazda it works really well. The only thing that bothers me is that the car has a no-phone system that is the default, and you always have to switch to Car Play. But Car Play is much, much better, so it would be nice if I could just make it always be on.

Re: BMW to shame out-of-warranty UK drivers with smart billboards

#122

Post by bagacrap » Thu, Dec 24, 2020, 2:31 PM UTC

tyingq wrote: post #41

floatingatoll wrote: post #24

Either BMW changed their mind or overstated what they’re doing, because they are on-record contradicting this story: https://www.motoringresearch.com/car-news/bmw-targeted-warra... BMW has told Motoring Research its targeted billboard warranty adverts – which are claimed to use number plate registration technology to tailor public adverts to BMW drivers – do not actually draw upon vehicle warranty status. Rather, onl…

That sounds like a weasel word version of "we can detect vehicle warranty status without using PII."

I think they're saying they can't even tell if it's actually out of warranty, ie if you did buy the extended warranty you'd still see the popup.

Re: BMW to shame out-of-warranty UK drivers with smart billboards

#123

Post by fhood » Thu, Dec 24, 2020, 2:32 PM UTC

leetcrew wrote: post #116

Tade0 wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

2.0 engine in the new C63 AMG for gods sake This sounds bad until you realise that over the past 20 years manufacturers switched from cast iron to full aluminium blocks, which have over twice the thermal conductivity. There's no need for 4.0+ displacements anymore, because they were only there because of the low (tolerable) power density of iron block engines. Sure, turbos etc. sound like a hack and a hack they are,…

> Sure, turbos etc. sound like a hack and a hack they are, but the era of V8 rumble is gone for good. tell that to the new c8 corvette. anyways, the C63 AMG is a $70,000 car. for that price you should be able to get a v8 or at least a v6, even if it makes no sense. lots of cars that are way cheaper still have more than four cylinders.

The value of an engine is not determined by the number of cylinders. You aren't owed a certain number just because you payed a certain amount. An argument can be made that v8+ are capable of being more sonically pleasing, but it ends there.

Re: BMW to shame out-of-warranty UK drivers with smart billboards

#124

Post by Shivetya » Thu, Dec 24, 2020, 2:32 PM UTC

patrulo wrote: post #78

adav wrote: post #57

I used to really like BMWs but they have lost their way in my opinion. Front wheel drive models, charging a subscription for Apple CarPlay, that 4-series grill, increasingly horrific customer service at dealers and foregoing their position as the market leader in handling and dynamics really rub me up the wrong way.

M2cs or M5c are still by far the best cars in their class. While I'm not a fan of BMW's new design language (think the 4-series, or the iX), nor their move to subscription-based features, it's still my go-to brand. Other (non-exotic) brands are either downsizing (2.0 engine in the new C63 AMG for gods sake) or going fully electric – and I like my v8 rumble in the morning.

welcome to the future, subscription services are what a lot of car makers moving too. if anything one of the first was OnStar which has some monthly fees that will make you wince.

what worries me is that app integration may be a fee based service for some cars.

As for BMW, I owned one and enjoyed it very much but the running commentary on BMW is that you own them only while they are under warranty.

Re: BMW to shame out-of-warranty UK drivers with smart billboards

#125

Post by 2Gkashmiri » Thu, Dec 24, 2020, 2:32 PM UTC

so much for connected features

Re: BMW to shame out-of-warranty UK drivers with smart billboards

#126

Post by fock » Thu, Dec 24, 2020, 2:33 PM UTC

iridium_core wrote: post #36

In my circle (relatively young and educated people in a 2nd world country) Tesla has completely supplanted BMW et al as 'the exclusive car brand'.

where I live, most young and educated people don't see anything exclusive in a car. My tech-centric pals drive their old diesel-engines (they had since high-school...) to work and only the people actually working at BMW/Porsche/Mercedes are playing the "lease"-our-stock-game.

Re: BMW to shame out-of-warranty UK drivers with smart billboards

#127

Post by phatfish » Thu, Dec 24, 2020, 2:34 PM UTC

Veen wrote: post #61

Veen wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is until the end of the 2020 transition period. Thereafter it is not, but the Government intends to introduce similar privacy legislation. > The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018), which currently supplements and tailors the GDPR within the UK, will continue to apply. > The provisions of the GDPR will be incorporated directly into UK law from the end of the transition period, to sit alongside the DPA 2018. https:…

I know it’s bad form to ask, but I’m curious why this is being downvoted. It’s factually correct so far as I can tell.

It's because Hacker News is very anti-privacy, unless it's their own data.

You should only be allowed to control your own PII if you can afford a $1000 Apple product. Everyone else is fair game.

Re: BMW to shame out-of-warranty UK drivers with smart billboards

#128

Post by gambiting » Thu, Dec 24, 2020, 2:34 PM UTC

bkovacev wrote: post #112

gambiting wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In US they are experimenting with locking almost all features of the car behind a subscription model, so the car leaves the factory in nearly "full" spec, but then you need to pay a subscription to unlock features. For instance if you like heated seats, you can pay a fee and have them unlocked for a year. Or a radar-based cruise control, or satellite radio, or sport driving modes - everything will have its own price.…

Do you have a source for this?

I do:

https://jalopnik.com/bmws-new-feature-subscription-plan-idea...

Re: BMW to shame out-of-warranty UK drivers with smart billboards

#129

Post by astura » Thu, Dec 24, 2020, 2:36 PM UTC

gambiting wrote: post #69

oakfr wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just because you're crossing public data with data you own does not mean you are not breaking the law.

Ok, but then I'm genuienly curious - which laws are being broken? Licence plates in the UK can be scanned by automated machines owned by private companies, that's been established many times before. To request the owner data from the DVLA you need their permission - but that's not necessary here, BMW doesn't need to know anything about the owner, so no such request would be made to the DVLA. Then on the other side, t…

>nothing about owners, none of the silo'ed personal information needs to be accessed at all

I mean, they probably don't even have that information for half the cars they scan because the warranty belongs to the car, not the person who bought the car. The warranty is transferred to the new owner if someone sells the car. They will not know the owner of all private used sales and used sales through 3rd party dealers.

Re: BMW to shame out-of-warranty UK drivers with smart billboards

#130

Post by corty » Thu, Dec 24, 2020, 2:37 PM UTC

burlesona wrote: post #121

city41 wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my 2016 BMW, CarPlay was so incredibly buggy. Unsure who's at fault on that, but the thought of paying a subscription for it makes me chuckle.

Interesting. In my Mazda it works really well. The only thing that bothers me is that the car has a no-phone system that is the default, and you always have to switch to Car Play. But Car Play is much, much better, so it would be nice if I could just make it always be on.

The big German car makers go out of their way to reinvent the digital wheel at any opportunity. The next series will have completely different electronics from different cheapest OEMs with a whole new set of bugs in all components and their integration.

In Japan, electronics seem to be more evolutionary and software reuse is practiced more, so while the rotating-car-animation-bling-factor might be lower, bugs are also ironed out over time.