So I’m carrying around extra weight I don’t need if I don’t want the extra horse power?
Forget Netflix, Volkswagen locks horsepower behind paid subscription
Submitted 19 hours ago by kirk781@discuss.tchncs.de to aboringdystopia@lemmy.world
Comments
ieatpwns@lemmy.world 19 hours ago
ThePantser@sh.itjust.works 19 hours ago
Same man, same. Weight loss is hard.
workerONE@lemmy.world 15 hours ago
It’s always been like this
makingStuffForFun@lemmy.ml 16 hours ago
Cardio
HairyHarry@lemmy.world 19 hours ago
So a software hack could unleash the extra power?
some_designer_dude@lemmy.world 19 hours ago
This has been true for decades with VW and other cars… I had my 2000 Jetta chipped and got all kinds of HP and torque. Some dude just plugged in a laptop, beep boop, vroom vroom. $600 please.
This just seems like VW cutting out those middlemen.
fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 hours ago
That’s tuning, and that’s different. There’s tradeoffs with tuning besides the obvious more wear.
GhostedIC@sh.itjust.works 10 hours ago
You probably made 10 times the EPA limit of NOx emissions though.
Funny enough, VW also got in a TON of trouble over (factory configuration) diesel cars cheating emissions testing.
I dont know if yours was a diesel, but those especially are known for being capable of remarkable power and fuel economy at the same time… IF you don’t care about emissions!
Montagge@lemmy.zip 19 hours ago
Increased hp and torque while reducing efficiency. Good job.
Jimmycakes@lemmy.world 19 hours ago
I’m sure it’s already being developed. Those guys don’t fuck around
expatriado@lemmy.world 19 hours ago
nobody is going to take my ponies away from me
A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 17 hours ago
JFC, what on earth am I going to do if I need to buy a car in 20 years?
sawdustprophet@midwest.social 15 hours ago
What about the used car market?
“Please purchase a public road pass for multiplayer access”
bitjunkie@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
They already do this, it’s called tolls
PalmTreeIsBestTree@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
Hacks are an inevitability for any product with a computer in it.
cRazi_man@europe.pub 19 hours ago
John Deere? Is that you?
misteloct@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 hours ago
I think it should be a cryptocurrency micro-transaction model, skip to the end stage and get it over with. You buy 100 Volkscoins, each minute over 200hp costs 10 VC. Each minute over 0hp costs 1 VC so be sure to keep a large balance unless you want to be stranded.
zakobjoa@lemmy.world 2 hours ago
Volkscoin is such a cursed word it made me shudder.
DirkMcCallahan@lemmy.world 19 hours ago
I eagerly await cars that require subscriptions for air conditioning, sound system access, etc.
meme_historian@lemmy.dbzer0.com 18 hours ago
Then again, it’s german corporate software…there should be a hack for that in no time 🤡
iAvicenna@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
Oh shit the DLC virus has spread
NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
I loathe the idea of a subscription, but you buy a car upfront knowing what specs you’re getting.
If they want to unlock more power for a one time fee, that’s fair game. It actually does have a cost incurred on them via increased wear and tear and warranty claims.
But it’s gotta be a 1 time purchase and is lifetime of the car.
Also tough luck if you failed to secure it properly and someone jailbreak it. It’s their car they can do whatever the fuck they want to it.
Saledovil@sh.itjust.works 5 minutes ago
It actually does have a cost incurred on them via increased wear and tear and warranty claims.
The customer friendly way to deal with this would be put in a limiter, and write in the contract “Warranty void if limiter removed”.
SebaDC@discuss.tchncs.de 14 hours ago
Insurance and taxes declarations are going to be fun! Either you’ll have to pay for the actual power of the engine (that you don’t actually use), or you’ll need to modify the documents after unlocking the feature.
What happens when you sell the car? Does it go back to factory features?
AlecSadler@lemmy.blahaj.zone 13 hours ago
In older Tesla Model 3s if you sold it back to Tesla they’d revert it, but if you sold it private it wouldn’t be reverted.
NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
What happens when you sell the car? Does it go back to factory features?
I already said - But it’s gotta be a 1 time purchase and is lifetime of the car.
or you’ll need to modify the documents after unlocking the feature.
Usually when you unlock something it increases the value of the vehicle, and you need to let insurance know or the extra value won’t be covered. This is already pretty normal in any kind of insurance.
6nk06@sh.itjust.works 18 hours ago
In France, VW cars are usually bought by our local rednecks. I would be curious to know who buys those cars in other countries.
RecallMadness@lemmy.nz 14 hours ago
I have a VW ID.4.
In NZ they have no internet connection, no subscriptions, basic driver assist features, made in Europe, not made by Tesla, and are (were?) as cheap as BYDs, MGs, and Model3s.
dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de 16 hours ago
I love VW Golf.
My Mercedes has subscriptions for things like locking your car from the app or locating it 😂.
glimse@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
At least that has SOME justification since there’s a cellular connection and servers involved
TheWeirdestCunt@lemmy.today 19 hours ago
I don’t think I know anyone with a VW made after 2013, I guess that’s not going to change anytime soon now
hddsx@lemmy.ca 19 hours ago
Plenty of people with new Porsches and Audis
panda_abyss@lemmy.ca 19 hours ago
This behaviour needs to die.
It’s not reasonable for companies to charge subscriptions to hardware that you own that require zero external connections.
The engine is not a connected component. There is zero reason it would ever be constrained by connected features.
Capricorn_Geriatric@lemmy.world 2 hours ago
You forgot this little point.
You own a non-exclusive, intransferable licence to use and operate said car.
Yes, you paid for it. But it’s not really yours. You own its body. Someone else still owns its spirit. And they want a rent for you to be able to touch the spirit.
Why would they do that?
Obviously, becaude that shit flies. Why not do it? Money is money. And companies exist for it. Fuck morality. Fuck common sense. They only care about the little green lines.
Customer satisfaction?
Not even an afterthought.
In a sane world, everyone would think like you. I do, for one.
The problem is everyone else who doesn’t. They’ll put up with it, accept the thinly-veiled excuses, and the company will see "wow, we can do that now? Gee, these people are stoopid. Let’s see how far we can take it.
Honestly, I see where they’re coming from. Not that I support it. But it is a rational decision on their part.
In a sane world, the smart employee who came up with this would be fired promptly, because if the company were to carry this shit out, they’d get so much bad press it’d take over a decade to recover.
But alas, we don’t live in a sane world and clearly enough consumers are either idiots or ignorant for this shit to fly.
Dagnet@lemmy.world 17 hours ago
Did you know that actually happens with jet engines for a long time now? Companies lease jet engines and they have licenses for a certain number of engines in different max outputs, they can even transfer between them like, one 100% engine got damaged so they they transfer the 100% license to an 80% engine while it is in maintenence (all numbers are made up but the idea is the same).
But yeah, shit is fucked.
panda_abyss@lemmy.ca 16 hours ago
That kind of makes sense in context, since for leasing it’s not their hardware and they’re probably doing accounting based on the amortized costs of using them
But no I did not know that and it is pretty cool