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You Might Rent Features & Options On Cars In the Future

cartechboy writes "These days, you go to a car dealership and you buy a car. If you want seat heaters, you might need to option for the cold weather package from the factory. Want the high-end stereo? You'll be likely be opting for some technology package which bundles in navigation. While some options are a la carte, most are bundled, and even when they are a la carte, they aren't cheap. What if in the future you could buy a car and unlock options later? Say the car came from the factory with heated seats, but you didn't pay for them. But later on, say in the middle of the freezing winter, you suddenly want them. What if you could simply pay a monthly fee during the winter months to have those heated seats work? Whether this model would benefit the consumer, the automakers, or both is yet to be seen. But automakers such as MINI are already talking about this type of a future. Is this the right road to be headed down, or are consumers going to just get screwed in the long run?"

4 of 437 comments (clear)

  1. All I Have To Say Is by rhook · · Score: 5, Insightful

    FUCK, THAT, SHIT!

    1. Re:All I Have To Say Is by AmiMoJo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No, this is great! Lots of companies have tried this and someone always figures out a way to enable the extra options for free. I have a DSLR camera, an oscilloscope, a TV, a phone, sat nav and several other devices that have been hacked to enable extra features that the manufacturer wants to charge for.

      Now I'll be able to buy the base model and get the high spec version with a simple software hack!

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    2. Re:All I Have To Say Is by nickittynickname · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The car will now require an always on connection to work.

    3. Re: All I Have To Say Is by ultranova · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's for fleet buyers and leasing companies.

      No, it's for people who want to see society become completely rent-based. You can't buy anything, thus you don't own anything, and so can't accumulate wealth and rise through the ranks. Stay in your place, peon!

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.