Mercedes EVs can go faster for $60 a month • Hacker News Board

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

#451

Post by smileysteve » Thu, May 04, 2023, 9:54 PM UTC

deepspace wrote: post #276

jollyllama wrote: post #59

Why does anybody buy this crap?

Back in the day, I participated in Autocross, and occasionally joined a car club for a track day at the local raceway. Gas, club fees, entry fees and instructor fees typically came to $300-400 for a fun Sunday. I drove a stock BMW 3-series, and did not need or want to pay for the added performance of an M-series for day to day driving. However, if I could upgrade to M-series performance for $60 for a track day, I wou…

If you're doing SCCA, will you handicap your car appropriately?

I once took a first place trophy in SCCA autox because my mother's 99 Nissan Maxima sedan is handicapped compared to a Subaru WRX.

There are whole series developed around cheap, fast enough cars, s2000, Miata, RX-7 (non turbo), bmw e46. I always find it odd when people take Corvette and other super cars to these events, where they can't win.

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

#452

Post by ShroudedNight » Thu, May 04, 2023, 9:54 PM UTC

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #422

kingTug wrote: post #405

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess I sort of grew up in the SaaS era - to this day it blows my mind that one of the most perfect pieces of software I have ever enjoyed - N64's Goldeneye - was created by ~10 devs, who had one single release. I often fantasize about joining team like that while daydreaming in the poker-card scrum sessions at the agile sweatshop I currently take my paycheck from :/

>N64's Goldeneye - was created by ~10 devs, who had one single release Wait till you hear how many people it took to build Roaler Coaster Tycoon .... in assembly. Spoiler alert: 1; one; uno.

Chris Sawyer's achievements are definitely the stuff of legend.

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

#453

Post by umeshunni » Thu, May 04, 2023, 9:54 PM UTC

alpaca128 wrote: post #274

ajross wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don’t want [my car] to be connected [...] to the internet Really? No remote access, security notifications, navigation facilities? No watching TV while charging? No OTA updates that obviate the need to take it to the dealership for routine fixes? No open source location analytic API? I mean, I'm sure there's some bad stuff that happens too. But this is very much throwing out the baby with the bathwater. I won't t…

> remote access, security notifications Or just don't put so much software in it that you need security updates for remote access in the first place, how about that? > navigation facilities? No watching TV while charging? Why would I pay to have the same features as my phone/tablet/laptop but with the added disadvantage of not having access outside the car?

> remote access, security notifications > Or just don't put so much software in it that you need security updates for remote access in the first place, how about that?

They're talking about being able to get notifications about the security of your car (e.g you left the trunk open, someone is opening the door etc). I'm guess you don't have a modern car, but having a security system for your car is super useful, especially if you live in left-leaning crime-friendly place like SF.

> navigation facilities? No watching TV while charging?

> Why would I pay to have the same features as my phone/tablet/laptop but with the added disadvantage of not having access outside the car?

Because you can access it on a 15-30" screen rather than a 6" phone screen

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

#454

Post by prima-facie » Thu, May 04, 2023, 9:55 PM UTC

> Mercedes draws the line at features for which there are physical buttons inside the car, like heated seats, said Rossmann. Mercedes never wants customers to press a button and get an annoying “Subscribe for use” pop-up on the center screen.

The removal of physical buttons now suddenly makes sense.

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

#455

Post by comprev » Thu, May 04, 2023, 9:56 PM UTC

Audi have been doing this for years with their "Plus" package on RS cars.

The top speed was capped and could be "unlocked" by paying extra.

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

#456

Post by kelnos » Thu, May 04, 2023, 9:56 PM UTC

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF wrote: post #70

horsawlarway wrote: post #38

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…

These complaints remind me of complaints I've heard about "day one" DLC (DownLoadable Content) in video games. For those unfamiliar, it's content which is available in the game upon its release but you have to pay extra for it. Sometimes, players are given the option to buy the Ultra Digital Deluxe Collector's Edition which comes with the DLC and "exclusive" shit (and also costs extra). If it's not rent seeking, it's…

No, it's absolutely rent-seeking in the Mercedes case. Your DLC analogy doesn't hold water: when you buy the game, you are paying for the core game. The DLC costs time, money, and resources for the game studio to produce, and you're buying that separately.

In the Mercedes case, they ship the car with the more-powerful motor already installed in it. The cost of it has been paid already. They just artificially limit it through software unless you pay extra for it.

At least in this case Mercedes is offering a one-time flat fee, which would at least be somewhat sorta vaguely like paying extra at the time of sale for a more-powerful engine rather than whatever is stock. Still kinda slimy, but at least not absolute highway robbery, like the subscription plan is.

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

#457

Post by ShroudedNight » Thu, May 04, 2023, 9:57 PM UTC

JediWing wrote: post #216

judge2020 wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This depends on if they actually charge you for it upfront in the MSRP. Say the cost for a motor made of x material is $2000 more than a lower spec motor made of z. So here they could make two specs, say charge $5000 more for the better motor, and profit $3,000 when anyone with a kick for adrenaline chooses the better motor. However, there are hidden costs to inventorying multiple different variations of the main dri…

or, crazy thought, pass the cost savings of not having to manage multiple trimlines onto the consumer instead of trying to make a quick buck by artificially borking the motor.

The all-fronts assault on consumer surplus is definitely depressing.

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

#458

Post by ryandrake » Thu, May 04, 2023, 9:57 PM UTC

MandieD wrote: post #289

gambiting wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BMW posted their numbers recently - something like 90% of buyers of new BMWs keep them 3 years or less. I imagine it's somewhat similar for Mercedes.

At least in Germany, a very large portion of new BMWs, Mercedes, Audis and even boring things like Toyotas and Fords are corporate leases, often driven by individual employees who get them at their employer's negotiated rates and sometimes as part of their compensation. This results in a fantastic pool of 3-4 year old cars with low odometers and scrupulous maintenance records, keeping the rest of the used market in c…

No matter how many times I read this, it just blows my mind. I can't believe how many people buy new cars--and then dump them right after the steepest part of the depreciation curve. I mean: Thank you, people, for making horrible financial decisions and eating all the depreciation, and then providing a nearly-new car to the market at a steep discount!

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

#459

Post by bloomingeek » Thu, May 04, 2023, 9:58 PM UTC

To me it's just like my Ram Truck, they can remotely communicate with it, so I basically don't completely own it. In other words, if I'm not in total control of what I purchased, I don't really have the ability to stop them from turning the truck off at anytime.

If you don't see it this way, put your money where your mouth is, come up with a way to disconnect from the car maker. (Please, no complaints about how the communication is for my own good!)

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

#460

Post by vannevar » Thu, May 04, 2023, 9:59 PM UTC

rootusrootus wrote: post #140

vannevar wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't have to be a startup, no. But GM is discontinuing the Bolt, which I assume is the car you're referring to. And as far as I know, most EVs are evolving in the direction of more software complexity, not less. When I say a dumb EV, I'm talking analog knobs and buttons, no touch screen, no over-the-air updates. A disconnected vehicle.

You're asking, then, for something that really no longer exists at all, and it is not an EV thing.

I'm asking for something that never existed---an EV that has the UX simplicity of ICE vehicles of the past.