91–100 of 744 posts
Honda charges something like US$15 for a CR2032 for the key fob. The person who was dealing with my car was too embarrassed to charge me, so I got it for free. Still, it makes me want to rethink my relationship with Honda. It seems that Toyota might not be the way either.
That is just bullshit. A $8/mo charge for a app based remote start? I could live with that. Servers need power, the app needs updates etc. A $8/mo charge for something which does not incur costs for Toyota? Hell no. It seems like bit by bit - every single industry is going down a fucked up route. TVs with built in ads? Cars with pay-by-month features? DRM locked coffee machines? I really hope, there is some sort of e…
If you think that's reasonable, consider that Disney+ charges $8/mo for a system that streams gigabytes of HD video, and they still have money left over to pay actual movie stars.
Sigh... While I look forward to having an electric car someday, the trend in new cars does not look promising. Far too many instances of car companies having too much control, because of the advent of internet-connected vehicles. Is there a solution to this? I don't know. Especially because I can see legislation cementing these sorts of practices in very much convoluted ways. One can only hope competing car brands em…
I wish it WERE internet connected: for BMW to update the maps of the nav system can (supposedly) only be done at the BMW dealer, costs something like $180 for the map updates (North America), and requires a two day stay at the dealer, with associated labor-time fees.
BMW is just a laughable Big Money Waste.
And the toxic trend of corporate short-term-ism continues... This is clearly set up as a gotcha with a 3 year/10 year "trial" included, then suddenly $80(!) a year. The irony is that both periods are right around the time different demographics start to consider a new vehicle, and Toyota has just pulled this nonsense. You may be thinking $80/year isn't so bad if it includes breakdown coverage/SOS button, but you'd be…
Keyfob remote start should not be gated on cell-related packages. Additionally, $8/mo should cover remote connect + safety connect. Honestly, all these features should be "free", provided you can provide a data connection, IMHO. The hosting cost must be negligible compared to the other costs Toyota has.
Toss in a IoT sim of your choice, and that's that. I don't use Google Fi, but they provide free data-only SIMs on their unlimited plans. Could pop one in the car, and then have the vehicle-based hotspot enabled anytime you drive. Presumably the car has a slightly better antenna (though likely outdated) than a phone.
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If the Apple Car actually materializes, I fear this will become the new standard. All cars come with all bells and whistles, but you have to pay monthly fees in order for them to function. - Want heated seats? $1/month - Want remote lock/unlock? $2/month - Want to remove rate limiting? $5/month - Want GPS in your car? $10/month - Want to use your "frunk"? $10/month - Want Apple CarPlay? $15/month - Want to activate h…
What monthly fees of this nature are required to use other Apple products? OS updates are free. The basic version of iCloud is free. "Find My iPhone" is free. Apple Maps is free. The App Store is free. Hell, CarPlay is free on the Apple end of things; it's some car manufacturers who've been charging for it. "Public will buy into it because the cost of the car is significantly less than their competition." Are we talk…
https://www.npr.org/2020/11/18/936268845/apple-agrees-to-pay...
This makes (any) brand look incredibly cheap.
However, If someone wants to sell me Car as a SaaS, I'm interested.
By that, I mean as soon as there's an issue with the car, I simply flag it in the App and an employee comes to my place and swap it over for the same model/trim (transfers whatever I have in the trunk too). Then I just keep using the replacement car until either I stop using the service or it has an issue or is due for maintenance.
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> Want to update your car's computer? $199 per update $210 after shipping for navigation updates in a GM vehicle. Welcome to the future! https://gmnavdisc.navigation.com/product/Catalog/Catalog_Che...
My car's running on a 12 year old set of navigation data... And I can't say I've ever felt the need to drop $199 on updating it. We just don't build new roads in North America.
Actually this is fantastic for someone like me - assuming there are no security holes of course. I don't want my next car to have remote start or remote anything. If not paying the subscription allows me to make sure that that feature is not enabled, it's great news, for me . Of course, different people have different preferences and needs.
That is just bullshit. A $8/mo charge for a app based remote start? I could live with that. Servers need power, the app needs updates etc. A $8/mo charge for something which does not incur costs for Toyota? Hell no. It seems like bit by bit - every single industry is going down a fucked up route. TVs with built in ads? Cars with pay-by-month features? DRM locked coffee machines? I really hope, there is some sort of e…
You're right to point out that these problems arise across entire industries. You can't vote with your money if all otherwise good TVs have crap built into them. And it's not easy for a new entrant to gain a foothold in such a high-tech market. And even if they do, there's plenty of temptation to go down the same route of milking customers who already bought your product. Sooner or later, we won't even remember how i…
Don’t buy a TV, let that market die already.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Want to update your car's computer? $199 per update $210 after shipping for navigation updates in a GM vehicle. Welcome to the future! https://gmnavdisc.navigation.com/product/Catalog/Catalog_Che...
My car's running on a 12 year old set of navigation data... And I can't say I've ever felt the need to drop $199 on updating it. We just don't build new roads in North America.