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Ford's new patent proposes a way for banks to disable features on leased cars

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Re: Ford's new patent proposes a way for banks to disable features on leased cars

#61

Post by JohnFen »

paganel wrote: post #59
JohnFen wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think this is true, yet. Literally everything I have, I own outright.

You're definitely in the minority when it comes to the Western world. The people who can still afford to purchase a house/place to live can only do it via mortgage, which means you're not an outright owner until, I don't know, you get to 50-60 years of age. You could say that people who can't afford a mortgage and are hence forced to rent (I'm part of that group) are then not part of the "not outright owners" discuss…

> You're definitely in the minority when it comes to the Western world.

This is certainly true, and it's because of conscious decisions I've made to avoid debt and fixed recurring expenses.

I wasn't trying to say that my situation is the norm, I was using myself as an example to demonstrate that "There's very few things left that we "own outright"" isn't accurate, or at least isn't because there are no other options.

A house is an obvious exception, because they're too expensive for almost anyone to buy outright.

Re: Ford's new patent proposes a way for banks to disable features on leased cars

#62

Post by gnicholas »

SoftTalker wrote: post #27
xphos wrote: post #15

The problem with this is that I think it plays on good nature of people. Ford right now says it's for leased cars but it feels like a step to normalize restricting and milking people later on. It also open a whole new attack vector these companies are not ready to secure

Yep. Like software, car manufacturers want a car to be something you subscribe to rather than buy. Also lets them continue to receive income from secondhand sales or ownership changes.

Yeah, I remember when I sold my Honda Civic in 2010 they charged a couple hundred bucks to transfer the extended warranty I bought. Why? Presumably because they could. If it was $15 to cover the cost of updating their computer system, fine. But hundreds? That's just extortion.

Re: Ford's new patent proposes a way for banks to disable features on leased cars

#63

Post by selcuka »

mfer wrote: post #46
SoftTalker wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. Like software, car manufacturers want a car to be something you subscribe to rather than buy. Also lets them continue to receive income from secondhand sales or ownership changes.

Make everything a SaaS then the majority own little to nothing and are dependent on the providers. Reminds me of the land barons.

Even buying a land is not actually "buying" it anymore. You just rent it with a larger downpayment and smaller annual payments, in the name of land tax.

Re: Ford's new patent proposes a way for banks to disable features on leased cars

#64

Post by selcuka »

yumraj wrote: post #41
xphos wrote: post #15

The problem with this is that I think it plays on good nature of people. Ford right now says it's for leased cars but it feels like a step to normalize restricting and milking people later on. It also open a whole new attack vector these companies are not ready to secure

Yup. Today Musk bans people from using Twitter, tomorrow (I know it's a Ford patent) he can ban people from their Tesla's if they piss him off.

They can already disable features on your car, or reduce the reported battery capacity remotely. They don't need Ford's patent for that.

Re: Ford's new patent proposes a way for banks to disable features on leased cars

#65

Post by gnicholas »

incompatible wrote: post #45
steponlego wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've already decided my next car will be something built before 1984.

Back when I owned cars, they were always pretty old, and it was an endless job replacing various parts as they wore out. These days, I just walk, it's faster.

Your cars must have been pretty old if they're slower than walking!

Re: Ford's new patent proposes a way for banks to disable features on leased cars

#66

Post by gnicholas »

bumby wrote: post #5
gleenn wrote: post #2

One more disgusting show of corporations doing the wrong thing in the name of profits.

I know this is going to be an unpopular take, but why should a person be allowed to maintain use of an item they don’t own and are delinquent on? The unpopular part is that this just removes some friction from an already existing process. This is assuming there are the appropriate regulations in place to notify and give a reasonable option to rectify the payment issue, but isn’t this exactly how we deal with stuff fr…

> isn’t this exactly how we deal with stuff from homes to furniture?

Repossession is how we deal with these situations. We don't have recliners that lose the ability to recline if a bank payment doesn't go through on time. Or smart homes that lock you out if your mortgage payment is late.

Re: Ford's new patent proposes a way for banks to disable features on leased cars

#67

Post by nothingneko »

JohnFen wrote: post #35
SoftTalker wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. Like software, car manufacturers want a car to be something you subscribe to rather than buy. Also lets them continue to receive income from secondhand sales or ownership changes.

This is the biggest reason why I have zero interest in owning a new car.

Public transit for the win!

Re: Ford's new patent proposes a way for banks to disable features on leased cars

#69

Post by flandish »

legitster wrote: post #14

So given that they have the legal right to come to your house and forcibly take a leased car from you if you miss payments, a few nag features honestly seem like an improvement. I would just want to be sure as hell that a car I own outright wouldn't even have the hardware available to do such a thing.

An issue will appear down the road when you have title in hand and can’t fully confirm the car is “clear” of all ability from them to brick it or features.

Who knows - maybe a lot like the John Deere thing - a title may transform into a long contract whereby you wrench yourself and it becomes void.

Re: Ford's new patent proposes a way for banks to disable features on leased cars

#70

Post by flandish »

JohnFen wrote: post #55
paganel wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's very few things left that we "own outright", unfortunately. That's the whole problem with acts like this one.

I don't think this is true, yet. Literally everything I have, I own outright.

Your land? You don’t own it “outright” - stop paying taxes for a few years.

The town will come and arrest you, taking the land by threat of death. (They’ll use police.)

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