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Mercedes EVs can go faster for $60 a month

cnn.com

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Re: Mercedes EVs can go faster for $60 a month

#381
post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I will get downvoted to oblivion for this and apparently this makes me a simp. But if I buy the car and don’t care for the acceleration, then I can NOT book this feature. And in a competitive market, which the auto market is, this will mean that the MRSP for the car is lower for me than it would otherwise have been. Unbundling is part of what made air travel affordable. In a competitive market, unbundling lowers base…

is it ok to unlock this in your car without paying?

Always and everywhere. Bomb anyone who uses government power to enforce a decision of "no"

Re: Mercedes EVs can go faster for $60 a month

#382

Earlier quoted context omitted.

honestly yes it's smart(doesn't mean it's kind), if I was selling 6 figures cars I'd do my best to milk customers in every possible way as long as it's still profitable in the long run mercedes isn't selling baby formulas or epipens plenty of other brands will take your 100 years of 3rd world salary to give you some shiny vehicle should I cry for some pampered millionaires who just want to drive faster?

I find it really amusing that you think you need to be a millionaire to own one of these, but whatever - that's not a core of this argument. The point is that everywhere outside of the powerhouse first world economies runs on second hand cars imported from those economies. I'd know - in my country most cars are ex-german cars. And then once we're done with them, they go to Ukraine(or they used to). Then after that th…

I don't believe that, I've met people living on minimum wage with brand new mercedes, and I call those people brain dead. Buying a six figures car only makes sense if you're a millionaire.

EV cars are most likely not going to be exported to have a second life.

Re: Mercedes EVs can go faster for $60 a month

#383

I want to see this legislated out of existence. To be clear, because every time this comes up some dickfucks come in here and start making excuses about how it's better to rent in some cases and that this is just amortizing the whole payment, and there are some people who want this: No. This is a fucking terrible deal even just using mercedes numbers. It takes a whopping 30 months (2.5 years) for the monthly payment…

If you don't like it, just don't buy cars whose performance is artificially limited. Let the market decide the issue.

The problem is when the entire market becomes nothing but dog turds. Or, realistically, 98% dog turds and 4% premium-priced diamonds (note the overlap)

Re: Mercedes EVs can go faster for $60 a month

#385
post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm confused as to how those two statements are different?

They already posses the capability to perform to the implied specifications with or without that $60/mo.

I understand the technical part: they are unlocking the extra power electronically.

What I don't understand is what is different between the headline saying that you can pay $60 for your car to go faster (true) and parent poster saying "pay an extra $60 monthly your already-expensive vehicle will not give the full outstanding performance that your particular hardware was engineered to do"?

Those two statements seem to say the same thing? What am I missing?

Re: Mercedes EVs can go faster for $60 a month

#386

Oh - this seems fine to me? If I have to pick between a world where a company makes four different models of car with actual different components, and a world where a company makes one car with DRM - the DRM world just seems better in general? I think it should be legally required to offer a fully functional un-DRM'ed car for the "full" price, but I would much rather buy the premium model and be able to unlock its fe…

Only so long as DRM is easy to circumvent. Treat it as a competency test.

Re: Mercedes EVs can go faster for $60 a month

#388

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You put the /s, but I don't think this comment is inaccurate in any way. Some people really have enthusiasm for nothing but making money. No hobbies, no interests, no friends, no other goals.

> Some people really have enthusiasm for nothing but making money. As long as those people have morals, what’s wrong with that?

The people who seem most enthusiastic for giant bank accounts (read: billionaires) seem to lack these morals, by and large.

Re: Mercedes EVs can go faster for $60 a month

#389
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I expect a car manufacturer to do extensive real world testing in all possible conditions- heat, traffic, etc. before selling it. A spaceship needs to work perfectly the first time, the actual use is also the only real world test of the prototype. It’s also a much harder problem… cars are much simpler and well understood “mature” tech where we have over a century of real world experience on what type of failures are…

You know what's also cool. A mechanical engineer can lose their license if their work results in deaths. A software engineer can't lose their license because they don't have one. Perhaps a professional license may improve software development and thus better software in consumer products like cars where bad software design can result in deaths.

I don't think it would need to apply to all SWEs, but would make sense for safety critical things like firmware that runs vehicles, roads, bridges, etc. Certainly the sort of systems that interact with or control other systems already requiring a PE.

BioE doesn't have anything like that yet either.

Re: Mercedes EVs can go faster for $60 a month

#390

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you considered that most people can't afford to upgrade to first class? The choice is either deal with the shit seat or not go on vacation.

Of course. It being cheaper is why people like it. Same reason that games are free and offer DLC, or Mercedes offers a car that could go faster if you have extra money laying around this month. I hate the nickel and diming but it does make things more accessible in general.

It would maybe make things more accessible if there were caps on corporate profits. As it stands, corporations have 0 obligation to pass those savings on to consumers.
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