• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

What kind of car do you drive?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/12/23204950/bmw-subscriptions-microtransactions-heated-seats-feature

BMW starts selling heated seat subscriptions for $18 a month
The auto industry is racing towards a future full of microtransactions

By James Vincent Jul 12, 2022, 6:45am EDT

BMW is now selling subscriptions for heated seats in a number of countries — the latest example of the company’s adoption of microtransactions for high-end car features.

A monthly subscription to heat your BMW’s front seats costs roughly $18, with options to subscribe for a year ($180), three years ($300), or pay for “unlimited” access for $415.

It’s not clear exactly when BMW started offering this feature as a subscription, or in which countries, but a number of outlets this week reported spotted its launch in South Korea.

BMW has slowly been putting features behind subscriptions since 2020, and heated seats subs are now available in BMW’s digital stores in countries including the UK, Germany, New Zealand, and South Africa. It doesn’t, however, seem to be an option in the US — yet.

We’ve asked BMW for the exact details of this roll-out, but it was unable to say when the subscriptions had been launched in which countries. It’s no surprise that BMW isn’t trumpeting the news, though. Since the company announced in 2020 that its cars’ operating system would allow for microtransactions on features like automatic high beams and adaptive cruise control, customers have decried the move as greedy and exploitative.

Carmakers have always charged customers more money for high-end features, of course, but the dynamic is very different when software, rather than hardware, is the limiting factor.

Cont'd ...
 
Upvote 0
Rolled my 2011 Lexus ES350 in Monterey going over the top on 68. Total loss. Buying a vehicle in this market is some kind of crazy. Local Toyota tried to gouge me ($55,000 for a small SUV), and tried to make me feel like I was getting a deal with a $5,000 'marketing fee' they were charging. Finally looked at a Subaru Outback. Overpaid, and bought sight unseen because one I had driven day before had sold to 'out of town buyer'. Got a pretty Abyss Blue, and am adjusting to new vehicle. Don't have to scrunch down to get in car anymore (Lexus), new Lexus were worse, and lack of ponies under the hood keeps me at or close to speed limit. Room in back seat, and enough back end space to hold my golf clubs. Mileage is 20% better as well. Dealership not as accommodating as a Lexus one, but don't charge $190 per hour either. Didn't go EV, as my travels tend to be 'back roads' rather than where the chargers reside. Plus with all the electric plants aging out, and no new ones built, have concerns where the juice will come from when everyone has an EV.......let alone the wait time to GET to a charger. Have seen three deep at a Bay Area mall that had 20 chargers in a row. No thanks, I'll wait 15 minutes in a Costco gas line, thank you very much.
 
Upvote 0
calibuck said:
Rolled my 2011 Lexus ES350 in Monterey going over the top on 68. Total loss. Buying a vehicle in this market is some kind of crazy. Local Toyota tried to gouge me ($55,000 for a small SUV), and tried to make me feel like I was getting a deal with a $5,000 'marketing fee' they were charging. Finally looked at a Subaru Outback. Overpaid, and bought sight unseen because one I had driven day before had sold to 'out of town buyer'. Got a pretty Abyss Blue, and am adjusting to new vehicle. Don't have to scrunch down to get in car anymore (Lexus), new Lexus were worse, and lack of ponies under the hood keeps me at or close to speed limit. Room in back seat, and enough back end space to hold my golf clubs. Mileage is 20% better as well. Dealership not as accommodating as a Lexus one, but don't charge $190 per hour either. Didn't go EV, as my travels tend to be 'back roads' rather than where the chargers reside. Plus with all the electric plants aging out, and no new ones built, have concerns where the juice will come from when everyone has an EV.......let alone the wait time to GET to a charger. Have seen three deep at a Bay Area mall that had 20 chargers in a row. No thanks, I'll wait 15 minutes in a Costco gas line, thank you very much.
Click to expand...
A coworker just paid $32,000 for a Chevy Equinox. I had no idea what they were and when I saw it I was horrified that someone paid so much for such a small car.
 
Upvote 0
Just a quick heads up to whoever is selling hybrid CRVs to the blue hair hippies to replace their gen 1 priuii. (I dunno what pruis plural is)

They think they are driving an F-450. They can't handle it. Please stop. It's a fucking menace

Thanks in advance.
 
Upvote 0
If they're driving an hybrid CRV like an F-450 (thought 350 was top of line?), they Lord help them when they have a fender bender. These puppies get great gas mileage, mainly because the skin is aluminum, not steel. They'll crumple like a pie shell at slightest impact. Make sure they wear seat belt at all times, (and that their air bag deploys - mine didn't!), else they'll flatten their face against the windshield....
 
Upvote 0
2021-Toyota-RAV4-in-Magnetic-Gray-Metallic.png


Bought a RAV4 earlier this year.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top