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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.
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
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.
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?
Indeed.
The system will be optional (not sure if that means opt-in or opt-out, though). But who would actually want this kind of thing? At best, the messages will be fairly relevant to the particular buyer (like TFA says, a "wine review" being delivered to a wine connoisseur)--but people already have plenty of ways to get that kind of information (web sites, magazines, etc.), and many of them work in cars (radio, podcasts, etc.).
At worst, it will be a barrage of spam, and everyone will opt-out. Most probably, the messages will be ads thinly veiled as relevant information (e.g. positive reviews of products from partnering companies), which people will ultimately become annoyed by.
I can't see this doing anything other than bothering customers.
How long before the first law suit claiming the ad is responsible for whatever driving calamity happened? I can't believe this made it through a thought/mouth filter.
In my last job I wrote software to control variable message signs on freeways. A lot of effort was put into selecting the messages which are displayed on the principle that any message is a distraction from driving and must be justified if it is presented at all.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
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?
my Supra was rear-ended and total'd by a police officer talking on his cellphone
Did he write himself up a ticket for careless driving, or did he have to call for backup to do that?
If libertarians are so opposed to effective government, why don't they all move to Somalia?
The only problem I have with the way police pull vehicles over is their practice of parking on the wrong side of the road. I believe they should do a U turn and park correctly.
Many years ago there was an incident near a bend in a country road in my state. The police had parked off the road to the right (we drive on the left here) and left their head lights on. An oncoming car left the road trying to pass the police car to the left (from the drivers perspective) and killed two people.
A couple of years later I was cycling down a side street near my house. I went around a gentle left turn and almost crashed head on into a parked police car. I phoned the police and made a complaint. They clearly hadn't learnt from the earlier incident.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
You know...I"ve just never understood this 'critisizm' people try to heap onto people that buy nice luxury or high end sports cars.
Speaking of someone with a great deal of automotive experience, all I can say is that people who buy a Lexus are big dumbfucks anyway. A Lexus is a COMPLETE PIECE OF SHIT. We had a Lexus come in to the shop with a bad ball joint, turns out you have to replace the whole upper A-arm. And Toyotas handle like dogshit compared to Hondas (Acuras) or Nissans (Infinitis) anyway. But the simple truth is that any Lexus, Acura, or Infiniti is just a Toyota, Honda, or Nissan (respectively) with different styling and more asphalt. They are a little quieter and have a little smoother ride, but that is strictly because they have more mass in between you and the road, which costs you fuel.
The problem is compounded by the difficulty of actually finding a car worth buying today. Mercedes vehicles have gone right in the toilet in the last few years; they join BMW, which has been there for some time. It's gotten to the point where a VW can actually be more reliable than either one - provided it was made at the plant in Wolfsberg, and not Mexico.
If you want a quality luxury car, buy a W126-bodied Mercedes and put a modern stereo system in it. The only other thing it's missing will be cupholders. You can get some nice one that will match the interior if you look around the 'net a bit.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
But the simple truth is that any Lexus, Acura, or Infiniti is just a Toyota, Honda, or Nissan (respectively) with different styling
Actually, they are just the same car with a different badge. If you travel to Tokyo, you won't find a single Lexus, Acura, or Infiniti - they are all badged as Toyota/Honda/Nissans. These "upmarket" brands were created solely for the US market.
In Canada it's even worse - the highest trim level of the Honda Civic (badged the EX in the USA) is badged as an Acura.