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Lexus To Start Spamming Car Buyers In Their Cars
techmuse writes "Lexus has announced plans to send targeted messages to buyers of its cars based on the buyer's zip code and vehicle type. Unlike regular spam, these messages will be delivered directly to the buyer's vehicle, and will play to the vehicle's occupants as audio. Lexus has promised to make the messages relevant to the car buyers." Imagine the fun that some targeted malware could do — not that such a thing could happen to a Lexus.
I'm stunned that Lexus just made me appreciate my crappy Neon.
Lexus has promised to make the messages relevant to the car buyers.
Genius. Because who is more likely to be ready to buy a new car than someone that just bought a brand new one.
Whale
They claim it won't be used to bombard customers with ads...yah right. If the capability exists, it will eventually be used for advertising.
So now, I get to spend a huge premium so I can have a car with the Lexus name, thereby making all the other suburbanites jealous, and on top of it I get "targeted" advertisements. I'll think about getting a car that spews ads at me if and only if you give me the car for free.
On the other hand, if you subscribe to the prevailing theory as to why people buy a Lexus in the first place, all of the "targeted" ads will be for Viagra.
I hope they plan to charge the spam recipient a nominal fee of $10 for each such spam, with no daily limit on spams and with no way to opt out. Why? Because I own stock in GM.
If these ads really are relevant to the buyer, my first and only ad would start with "To stop receiving this 'service'..."
They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Terry Pratchett
Have these people lost their minds? I spend $60,000 for an automobile and now it will spam me while driving it? Are you serious, Lexus? What could possibly motivate these people to want to spam their customers AFTER a purchase? We are getting closer and closer to Idiocracy.
Genius. Because who is more likely to be ready to buy a new car than someone that just bought a brand new one.
If the television ads are any indication, it might be an add to remind you to buy one for the misses, too. You know, His and Hers.
More Twoson than Cupertino
Toyota officials promise to be discerning and restrained.
"We're not going to barrage customers with marketing messages," vows Jon Bucci, vice president of Toyota's U.S. advanced technology unit.
Yeah... and cable television will always be uncensored and commercial free... and sattilite radio will always be uncensored and commercial free...
My ad would read (aloud):
USED LEXUS FOR SALE - CHEAP, MUST GO. Best suited to hearing impaired. Call 555-1212.
Stupidest... idea... ever. However, I'm afraid that the world will go more and more this way. I'm surprised that things like this come first in "premium brand" products though - I would expect it more in a bargain-basement car to help subsidize costs maybe, but Lexus?
MadCow.
I used to have a sig, but I set it free and it never came back.
defense to the wholesale pillaging of the national 'nestegg'. between that & the wars, j hasn't much of a future to exhale into presently.
Or maybe Planned Parenthood at that point...
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
"Hello Lexus Owner! This Car will self destruct in 10...9...8..." ... For extra evil, make the first two minutes of the audio dead air.
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
Don't drivers have enough distractions already without getting "targetted adverts" from Lexus?
I write sci-fi for metalheads
I really doubt the people in the market for a Lexus are the type who would put up with this shit. Lexus better be prepared to lose a lot of customers to BMW and Volvo. Whoever though this up will be jobless in a few years for this one.
Oh great, now we can't even talk back to the person who is not in the car. Makes me think of no cellphone while driving laws. Oh, was that a red light? I can't wait to see hackers hijack those systems and spam owners with taunts about how they chose the wrong car, or better yet, indie music! This will definitely not be the schizophrenic-friendly ride of the year.
...which states that drivers can decide whether or not to play the messages.
On the plus side, even for those that do decide to listen to the messages, this will only last until the first time somebody has an accident while listening to the message.
If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
What's that you say? It might be like other software and have occasional security holes in it? I'm sure that won't be a problem.
detect the implied insult?
"If you're gullible enough to spend $60k on a Toyota, here's a deal for you!"
Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
OTOH, it fits with the target market quite well. The whole point of the Lexus experience, based on their advertising and on the way they're driven, is to insulate you from the road. You don't have to pay attention at all! You can't hear the road, you don't need to be skilled enough to park, just carry on with your make-up and your phone calls. Are they even available with turn signals?
I'm not at all surprised that somebody would try this, after all, what are we if not consumers to be monetized by any means necessary?
What very much surprises me, though, is that a "high-end" brand would be the one to try it. This is exactly the sort of thing that will, more quickly than just about anything else, puncture the brand's pretensions of being above the hoi-polloi. It's like hearing that Apple is introducing a line of free, ad-supported desktop computers. WTF.
Scene: Inside Lexus Car
Driver: (turns on ignition, car starts)
Lexus: Good morning Driver 1, thank you for choosing lexus. Today's commute is brought to you by McDonalds, why don't you stop in on your way to work and get a McGriddle and McCoffee?
Driver: (backs out of driveway, heads down the road) No thanks car, It'll just be to work and back today.
Lexus: (tone of car changes to be deeper and more aggressive) I'm afraid I can't let you do that Driver 1. (car auto steers to nearest McDonalds, forces driver to purchase McGriddle and McCoffee)
Here's a crazy way to make owners stick to your brand:
Build great products and provide superior service!
If my car started spamming me, it would go straight back to the dealer. That's a defect, baby. Fix it.
. . . are they too big to shove up a Lexus executive's ass?
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
Bucci says he's sensitive to luxury-car owners who may not want to participate. "Many of our owners enjoy their car as a cocoon," he says.
They know this, and yet they violate the sanctity of that cocoon anyways. How self-destructively stupid can you get? Can you give the Darwin award to a car maker?
Will there be an advertisement where the driver rolls down their window to give someone some Grey Poupon and is overcome by the noise of nearby jackhammers, then rolls up the window and is blissfully appreciating the quiet when suddenly they're startled out of their relaxation by a blaring message from Toyota recommending that they investigate a nearby 5 star restaurant, the marketing department having recently decided to increase the volume because a large segment of their target demographic is hard of hearing?
-1 Uncomfortable Truth
You just dropped a rather sizable chunk of change on a premium car and now you get to deal with unwanted advertising while driving. Yeah. That sounds like the sort of service that people with cash are eager for. What a wonderful service. Were this offered by Kia on a discount car, I wouldn't be terribly surprised (and it'd possibly be an interesting idea - subsidize the car with targeted advertising) but from _Lexus?_ Sometimes marketing people need to be kicked when they come up with moronic ideas like this.
Microsoft is already in the vehicle software business(go help us) and there's no reason that hackers will not invade the vehicle's messaging system to send their own messages, or worse.
"Car Buyers"? What a strange choice of words. I like to think of myself as an "owner" when I buy something.
Aren't "buyers" people who buy something on someone else's behalf? Like, "I used to live in South America as a coffee buyer for Folgers."
-Peter
You buy the car. You forget a payment. You're driving down the road and stop at a light next to a woman who looks like the type to appreciate a man in a brand-new Lexus when, all of a sudden, the car starts yelling, I'M GAY! HUNG LIKE A CHIPMUNK, TOO! I'M A THIEF!
Sig Follows: "Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself." -- Mark Twain
fatso, the scale hooked up to your seat says you're technically obese. How about buying some weight loss drugs from _____?
Can you give the Darwin award to a car maker?
Car companies are intelligently designed, not evolved. OK, maybe not intelligently, but they're definitely designed rather than evolved through sexual reproduction. I'd say no.
I saw the post on Jalopnik a short while ago that Toyota announced this system. I thought it was a great thing. I've wondered why it's taken so long for someone else to take on OnStar. I've also wondered by GM hasn't licensed out OnStar to other car manufacturers, but oh well.
I didn't see this part. This is amazing. So much for wanting this system. It's not like this is a weird idea, the guy in the article pegged it (albeit more diplomatically).
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
Nono! Tie it into the GPS.
I see - you're near - a - Starbucks.
Don't you - want - to get - a - latte?
Pulp Audio Weekly - Geek News and Reviews
More likely it will be something along the lines of oil ads triggered every 2500+ miles or so.
please remind me to never purchase a Lexus.
- Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
Thinking about it more right now... exactly when will these ads be oh-so-helpfully delivered to me? If I'm listening to the radio or a CD, will it in some way know when there's dead-air on a radio station, or wait until the end of a song (not that it makes this any better to begin with), or will it feel the need to spew out its advertisement in the middle of a song (or conversation, if you like talk-radio)?
And while we're at it... what if the radio is turned off? Will it helpfully override that oversight on your part? I'm sure if I was on a road-trip and finally got a baby to sleep, I'd just about kill the company that decided to break the silence and wake up the baby by suddenly announcing something.
Planet Zebeth - Metroid with a twist
Some misunderstood spam (or just an intrusion to the system) could give a whole new meaning to that phrase.
I see - you're near - a - Starbucks. Don't you - want - to get - a - latte?
Is that with the William Shatner voice module turned on?
I don't have a basement. :(
Clippy the Lexus says...
"It looks like you are driving to your ex-girlfriends house; should I contact the highway patrol to schedule a breathalyzer test?"
-- Terry
This is one more way to put profit over people!
The world needs a new idea. The old ones are making us sick and we're too used to them to truly see where our problems are coming from.
The marketing people, at the same time were talking about "on-demand" advertising - where, on a local cable TV system, knowing exactly who was watching a program, that ads could be tailored towards the particular viewer (or household).
When I told them that removing the ability of the DVRs to skip ads was a complete "deal killer" for most people, that they would hate it, and would reject the whole DVR system, the marketing people quickly responded:
"No, but these are targeted ads that are relevant to the buyer".
In conclusion, marking people are f*cking retarded.
From TFA:
the service will let Lexus send audio messages to participating owners
later
Those who want to participate will see whether they have any messages when they start the vehicle's engine.
Presumably the model and zip code info would be to send relevant info. There's no point sending info about a sedan to an SUV owner, or vice versa, just as there's little point sending info about an event in CA to a resident of FL.
I do get "newsletter" e-mails from the Lexus dealership every so often, and while they always contain ads for the new models, they also have lots of other useful information about events, perks, and other topics, and they always have an unsubscribe link at the bottom. I also have +Lexus appended to the email address they have for me, and I haven't received anything from other companies, which indicates (but does not guarantee, of course) that they haven't "shared" or sold my info. In my experience, Lexus takes much better care of their customers than most car companies, obviously including their parent company Toyota (since it's part of the incentive to "upgrade"), but also including BMW, and every domestic car I or my wife have ever owned (Ford, several divisions of GM, and Jeep). OTOH, I get spam from Pontiac all the time, and I'm quite sure I've never signed up for any info from them.
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
> Imagine the fun that some targeted malware could do
Imagine the fun that some targeted lawyers could do when they sue Lexus because some guy plowed into another person or school bus or something because he "was distracted by the advertisement blurting out."
And no, no matter how many disclaimers the driver clicks on, he can't wave away the other person's right to sue Lexus.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Can they use ad revenue to drop the price? I can always replace the stereo...
Car buyers SPAM Lexus.
I hope this makes your weekend more enjoyable.
Yours In Socialism,
Kilgore Trout
you don't have to turn the feature on
Yet.
I'm in the market for a new car. I just scratched Lexus off my list just for considering this. It tells me they no respect for their customers.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
Seriously? In Toyota guise it's a decent car. Reliable, cheap, high spec and well made. In the UK, there are two groups of people who drive Lexuses - people who drive company cars, and thus have the car bought for them and have no real say in the matter, and taxi drivers who buy 2-year-old Lexuses for sweetie money because they have no resale value.
with the passage of laws that prohibit send or reading text messages while driving in California, is this even legal? I can just see an ambulance chaser drooling at the liability possibilities (especially when good samaritans get sued as well as dead people).
either way...it's funny....how automakers are wondering why their business is in the tank....
well..here's a thought (among many reasons)....try not pissing off your customers!
Very well done, sir!
Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
... driving became much more hazardous with the advent of new "Pop-up Billboards".
help me i've cloned myself and can't remember which one I am
A while ago, I worked for a company that did contract work for GM. Some of the stuff we worked on was similar to this.
The funniest and most absurd idea we built was a pneumatic "finger" that would tap you on the shoulder to alert you to an upcoming McDonalds, Gas Station...etc. I thought it looked like a "Mr Squirmy" dildo. The name got a big laugh out of the crew.
But seriously... Don't the car companies realize that they only have ONE problem that needs to be solved?
Build a car that doesn't need gas.
Now decides to fill that peace and quiet with their ads.
. . . the problem is, no systems really seem to do truly relevant ads.
As an example. . . because I am a student, and work part time as well, I can almost never watch TV shows when they are broadcast, so I've been watching them on the Internet - I just find it far more convenient, and I don't have to spend $200+ on a DVR. Anyhow, the point is, I've been somewhat annoyed that, often, the sponsor of one of the shows (Heroes, or Chuck, I think; can't remember for sure) has been a feminine body products line. I'm a 30 year old, single guy. I don't need them myself, currently don't have a girlfriend, and if I did, I doubt I'd be buying such products for her (*maybe* as part of a birthday or Christmas gift basket, but I'm not even sure about that), and I think it might be a little weird to buy such products as gifts for my mother or sisters, so I would really rather watch ads, if I must watch ads at all, for other products, instead.
So that's a case where I would rather get relevant ads, since I have to watch the ads anyhow. The main problem seems to be that when advertisers promise you 'relevant' advertising, it rarely ever is.
I don't have to pay for it at all, either.
...its not wise to piss off your customers.
Are these commercials going to partially subsidize your gas bill?
---- Booth was a patriot ----
And this just re-enforced that position. With all the garbage that shows up in my inbox claiming that I signed up for it, I just do not believe that only the customers that want it will get it.
Why, without your clothes, you're naked, Miss Dudley!
Atleast its not Atmos.
i think thats what the "virus" was.
but subscribers can beat the rush and see it early!
Bark less. Wag more.
"Lexus Insider won't require a subscription."
This is marketing-speak for what anti-spammers call "opt-out" spam. What a feature! I don't have to go to all the trouble of signing up for messages that I don't want to get, but I do have to find out how to stop them.
Intron: the portion of DNA which expresses nothing useful.
But in a years time, when they are not looking like they will hit the targets of ever-increasing profit that corporations go for, that number will be lowered to 2250. Then 1900. Then 1400....
And it's better for Lexus to remind the owners to take their car to Lexus dealerships rather than an independent garage.
Accept shit like this now, and it opens the flood gates.
But to be fair, I think that most cars made nowadays are designed to last about 3 years, tops. Obviously with old cars (10+ years) the lemons are well off the roads by now, but cars in the 3-8 year range get all sorts of issues that 10+ year cars just don't get... or don't get until they're 20. (Figures are for illustrative purposes only)
How long before the first law suit claiming the ad is responsible for whatever driving calamity happened?
That's why they play the ads after your calamity. Imagine being pulled over by the police at 2am, and across the dashboard flashes:
...Hello Dave...
...only $5...
Would you like to know how to pass a breathalyzer?
Why would any corporation believe it is at all in the best interest of the very idea of quality to engage the owner of their product in some kind of aftermarket in effect binds them to question their own purchase as being sound at all. Lexus knows better than this, considering it originally existed to serve as the highest step above Toyota. And being a luxury automobile, there in no way would be any agreement between Luxury and nasty interruptions.
Allot of people buy a brand new car every 2 or 3 years.
An SQL query goes to a bar, walks up to a table and asks, "Mind if I join you?"
What Lexus is doing is by no means in line with any idea behind the word quality. A luxury automobile is meant for luxury, and by no means should the owner of any vehicle, be implicated in any future purchases unless it comes as part of the vehicle. I can see the folks at Lexus wishing they could sell an automobile, and a load of future purchases that happen every month that have little or nothing to do with the vehicle - or the owner of the vehicle. But being as that would be quite strange and unusual, they are allowing a third party to engage in advertising (which, is really a transaction between Lexus and this third party, creating bonds as though this man or woman does not own the car at all) So does the owner really own this car now? It is not really his or hers but a vessel for future buys. Get rid of this Lexus!! Or one day, I will never buy your car.
WTF are they thinking? You pay for a luxury car, and they make you listen to audio SPAM? Fuck that. I think they're going to find that their sales are going to DROP over this, unless they make it OPT-IN only. Assholes!
Let's think about this: Toyota's engineers think drivers want to be spammed. Toyota loses money for the first time in 50 years. Connection?
... lots of business at car audio dealers as Lexus owners have after-market units installed.
Have gnu, will travel.
Can you give the Darwin award to a car maker?
Which one?
http://www.darwinawards.com/
Sample message 1:
Lexus has upgraded its user registration system. In order to maintain control of your vehicle please speak your social security number, date of birth and bank routing number into the voice activated navigation system.
Sample message 2:
Now driving to Tijuana Pharmacy where you will purchase medz like Vi@g ra at wholesale prices in order to regain control of your car.
Dave... Your car is overdue for its oil change.
"Thank you - I'll wait a week."
I really think it would be best to take advantage of the special that they are running this week.
"I said no."
It is only $19.95. I hear they have free coffee.
"Darn it... where is that off button?"
"I can tell that you are unhappy with me, Dave."
(car starts driving itself to the dealership)
This is what happens when you buy the Japanese knockoff of a Mercedes.
Professional Politicians are not the solution, they ARE the problem.
I am sure that Detroit is investigating this new technology even as as we blather here.
I would have expected something this gauche to come from Detroit first.
Now I think that it's an attempt by Lexus to get Detroit to do it (b adly, but could there be any other way?) followed quickly by Lexus abandoning this appalling idea.
...what I'm not buying for my next car.
To repeat a comment from another Lexus-related thread:
Whatever their other failings, I do not think you will see this type of thing from companies like BMW or Mercedes.
Read Pynchon.
I would imagine all dealerships that sell competing luxury cars are just dancing with joy when you will hear about this. Lexus is committing suicide. Does Toyota have any moronic thoughts of doing this to any other of their lines of cars, trucks etc. ? Just want to know if I need to be treating Toyota like it was the plaque or just Lexus ?
I don't know about these days, but I do know that "a lot" used to be two words.
A lot of people used to buy a brand new car every 2 or 3 years.
At the low end will be LexusZero; and at the high end will be LOL, Lexus Online.
If I'd bought a new lexus I'd want the company to spam me with 1UZ v8 noises. It'd make me think I'd bought a car with balls. If I wanted a car to be driven in I'd buy something else.
If the lexus buyers are compensating for something... what sort of spam do you think would be relevant? seriously, I really did laugh out loud.
I thought Japanese auto companies were smart and customer oriented.
Of brands NOT to buy!
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Adblock pro - Lexus Edition: This new edition will block all incoming ads to the audio system, and it prevents the heated seats from turning of prematurely.
Sheldon
Car companies are intelligently designed, not evolved. OK, maybe not intelligently, but they're definitely designed rather than evolved through sexual reproduction. I'd say no.
I dunno. If you look through the who owns who and the who's partnered with whom in the car industry, I'd say sexual reproduction is probably a pretty good description of what goes on. Well sexual reproduction with alot of incest going on.
You're thinking small. Why miniaturize the laser, when we could instead enlarge the sharks? -John Searle
I recently switched to RealPlayer (!) at work to listen to the shoutcast stream I usually listen to because connecting to the VPN seemed to make WinAmp crash.
I already thought that RealPlayer sucked, but was completely dismayed when audio ads started playing OVER THE STREAM AUDIO. And, for QUITE A LONG TIME. It happened several times before I figured out that, no matter what, my first mission was to stop loading whatever is trying to load in that crappy pseudo-browser interface in the player.
I have no idea what they were trying to sell me, and I don't care. It was simply offensive to have that audio colliding with what I was trying to listen to. So, Real loses out because there *would have been* a graphical ad which I could put up with if I didn't think it were going to load an obtrusive audio track.
I can only imagine that this Lexus spam will have the same exact effect. It doesn't even make sense. Lexus drivers will probably already be trying to listen to their Enya CD or something, or their fancy Satellite Radio. But to have to endure spam over top of what they are trying to listen to will SUCK. SUCK SUCK SUCK.
On the plus side, they could just add a button to navigate you to wherever sells what they're trying to sell. Even automatically drive you there. That will be awesome.
Oh well, at least I'm too poor to own a Lexus.
i mean it to you cant liston to the radio without ads ads ads music ads ads ads. now even more ads. but i agree if my cars gonna have ads i want the car for free. kinda like how nascar drivers get there rides and paychecks.
Toyota Lexus-Nexus???? (LOL)
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
How long before the first law suit claiming the ad is responsible for whatever driving calamity happened?
Probably not very long if the system really works: "Has this ad just distracted you and caused an accident? Call Deville and associates at 1-800-SUE-LEXUS."
with Lexus removed from the list. Jaysus! In what world would being spammed by your car be a marketing plus? Not in mine, never.
I am coming into the market for a new automobile. I have owned a 1999 Acura TL for the last 10 years and it's time to upgrade. I am just starting my search for a new luxury automobile and looking at what Lexus has to offer has been on my list. I have watched targeted advertising creep into every facet of my life where given the chance. I absolutely HATE unsolicited advertisement. When I want a product I go looking for it. Perhaps 1% of what I buy in an entire year is the result of an advertisement for something I didn't know existed - and 99% of the time it was something I saw at a mall kiosk or on a billboard. I do everything I can to rid my life of the advertisement pest: Adblock, Flashblock, DVR, No Land-line, Postal-mail filter, MUTE! MUTE! MUTE! And our homeowner association restricts solicitors so traveling salesmen don't piss me off by ringing my doorbell during dinner. My absolute first reaction to unsolicited advertisement is to boycott out of spite. I'm already inundated with ads EVERYWHERE I GO. I subscribe to specific catalogs, websites and magazines and am happy to look at those advertisements. If I didn't ask for it however, I don't want it and your company certainly isn't getting a penny out of my pocket. Yelling at me through the TV or printing things in bright red makes you LESS likely to sell to me.
Lexus just lost the option to see me in their show rooms. I will be crossing them off my list for even considering this invasion of privacy - if it's used it will eventually be abused. I don't consider this a LUXURY OPTION.
I am Jack's smirking revenge.
"Imagine the fun that some targeted malware could do - not that such a thing could happen to a Lexus. "
What an appallingly badly worded sentence. Targeted malware would be "doing fun" ? Help us, dear God...
Toyota (parent company of Lexus) was required to do this under the terms of the GM bailout.
I can just imagine the scene in Toyota's boardroom.
Sir, all the other major car manufacturers are getting government assistance.
- Dammit, why aren't we getting some.
Because we aren't in as desparate a situation as they are.
- Hmmm, what can we do to get ourselves a piece of the government pie?
Well, we could try losing some customers by pissing them off. I suggest starting with the most demanding customers - the Lexus buyers.
- Excellent idea, we could try spamming them, that would be sure to work, everyone hates spam. Now lets award ourselves bonuses for coming up with this brilliant plan. We can cover it by telling the shareholders there'll be no dividends this year because of the financial situation.
"Dear estimated Lexus Driver, we would like to remind you that you are 1,000 miles over the maintenance limit [set ridiculously low at every 3,000 miles, instead of every 7,500 as specified in the manual]. We at your local auto dealer on Rotten Fish Ave are running a special promotion: change cilinder gasket, and get two free..." Yeeeeechhh. Well, this cured me of Lexus lust.
it might be an add to remind you to buy one for the misses, too.
In my experience, making it bigger doesn't usually make up for missing, but I'm not one to judge...
The lost sales of only a single car will take a while to recoup at only $0.02 per advert.
No sig today...
safety related like "it's icy today, please drive carefully", and notifications of recalls and messages alerting you to traffic conditions. And maybe the odd advert for a local garage to carry out a service when it's due.
Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
if the car is partly ad sponsered, would it be reduced in price?
who'd by a ugly POS like a lexus anyway?
The guy who just totalled his new car because he was distracted by adverts?
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
A lot of finance companies used to buy brand new cars for people who couldn't afford them.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
+1, Scarily Plausible
[FUCK BETA]
No, he's actually in the back of the car, reading a script. An actor has to make a living also you know.
I've seen the movies. I know what sort of thing coes out of a cocoon. Burn them, burn them! Before it is too late!
This is JUST the sort of thing that would make Lexus' target demographic drive STRAIGHT back to the dealership and either yell at the service department to make the car STFU, or toss the keys back in the sales person's face. I know I would. If the dealer wouldn't take it back I'd then probably pull the fuse from the stereo or whatever gadget was giving me the ads (assuming it didn't disable the engine, which actually would further provoke me.) Bottom line, unless the message is based upon a service interval and is EASILY disabled, nobody wants the vehicle they just paid 40k+ for giving them any sort of advertisements. Definitely suicide on Toyota's/Lexus' part.
As a Lexus owner I would not want this at all. But if I had too then they better offer me the vehicle for free. My time is valuable - after all I could afford a Lexus.
I'm assuming this will work similar to cell-phones. In that case, what keeps Joe Spammer from hacking the technology, sending his own "INCREASE YOUR MANHOOD NOW!" while you're taking your children to school? Something to think about.
Dear Lexus,
When I purchased this vehicle, I also took ownership of the audio receiving equipment in the vehicle. The next time I hear an advertisement from your company in my vehicle, I'm going to interpret that as an implicit acceptance of my offer to you, to broadcast your ads over MY equipment, at a low cost of $1000 per broadcast. It is a pleasure doing business with you.
Sincerely,
Lexus Owner.
I'd say buggery, more than sexual reproduction.
Oolite: Elite-like game. For Mac, Linux and Windows
*when leaving car*
"You did it! The Lexus brought you luck! Unfortunately, the Lexus cannot accompany you any further, and must be euthanized. State and local regulations prevent you from leaving your Lexus alone and companionless. If your Lexus could talk - and the Enrichment Center reminds you that it cannot - it would tell you that it would rather die in a fire than inconvience you."
*after a crash*
"Spectacular. You appear to understand how the Lexus conserves momentum - or to be more precise, how it does not. All Lexus technologies remain safely operational up to 4000 degrees Kelvin. Rest assured that there is absolutely no chance of a dangerous equipment malfunction prior to your victory candescence. Goodbye."
*when coming out of repair shop*
"Remember when the Lexus caught on fire and I said, "Goodbye." and you were like, "No Way!" and then I was all "We pretended that we were going to murder you? That was great."
Does this mean a Lexus will cost less than the identical Toyota ? You would have to pay me a lot of money to blare random "upscale" ads over my Will Smith CDs :P Actually you would have to pay me a lot more to get me to drive a goddamned Lexus, but that's beside the point.
-Billco, Fnarg.com
...the marketing department having recently decided to increase the volume because a large segment of their target demographic is hard of hearing?
Nah... that'd be the Cadillac buyers...
driver: yes car, maybe we should get something for Todd. ..need....with a Starbucks?
car with Shatner's voice: Excuse me....What..would...Todd
So I listen to ads, would the car be free then?