Originally Posted by
Mike Henderson
This is a bit off subject but I recently read a news article about the direction for software in new cars - both ICE and EV. The manufacturers are going to offer software enhancements for a monthly fee. As an example, suppose they put in the hardware for a heated cup holder in the car (to keep your coffee warm). They might charge you $1/month for the software upgrade that makes it work. Not everyone will want that, of course, but many people will. That $1/month is pure profit to the company.
More elaborate features, like self parallel parking, would cost more, maybe $3-$5/month. The enhancement will be downloaded to the car over the Internet - you just have to connect your car to the WiFi in your home.
Note that this will be for all vehicles, ICE, hybrid and EVs.
This is good and bad. It will encourage the manufacturers to keep making new features available for your car. Today, your car is generally what it is when you drive it off the lot. And people who don't use certain features won't have to pay for them - the price of features today is bundled in the price of the vehicle. The bad thing is that you will never "pay off" your vehicle - you'll pay monthly for as long as you own the vehicle.
Mike
I'm not seeing it: the price of the "optional" features will still be bundled in the price of the vehicle because the hardware (e.g. sensors, wiring, switches) required to implement them will have to be installed in every car.
And I'm envisioning conversations like:
Owner: "My cruise control stopped working."
Service writer: "Oh, I see the problem...the credit card you used for your subscription expired."
Nope, not gonna happen.
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