New Jersey Bill Could Ban In-Car Subscriptions

[Bikeman315]

Bravo New Jersey!!

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/new-jersey-bill-could-ban-in-car-subscriptions/?ftag=CAD13782fc

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[Inthehighdesert]

Regulation and the government are rarely if ever the solution.

 

[Deleted member 35644]

That bs needs to be nixed before it becomes commonplace. Whatever it takes.

 

[Bikeman315]

Regulation and the government are rarely if ever the solution.

yeah, but every now and then they get it right.

That bs needs to be nixed before it becomes commonplace. Whatever it takes.

Which? The subscriptions or NJ trying to outlaw them?

 

[Deleted member 35644]

yeah, but every now and then they get it right.

Which? The subscriptions or NJ trying to outlaw them?

The subscriptions. I'm not usually in favor of the gubmint getting involved, but whatever it takes to stop this in its tracks is fine by me. A subscription to use the options I paid for? These folks need a set of knuckles to the teeth.

 

[Inthehighdesert]

That’s horrible logic. If I got it right occasionally I’d be out of business

yeah, but every now and then they get it right.

Which? The subscriptions or NJ trying to outlaw them?

 

[Bikeman315]

That’s horrible logic. If I got it right occasionally I’d be out of business

Then you need to go into politics.

 

[moby4dick]

I heard about the subscription for heated seats, which sounds beyond comprehension. Car company executives figuring out how to boost the bottom line in a most obnoxious way. I’d just run my own circuit to power up the heating elements. Go get ‘em NJ!

 

[Balr14]

Using a subscription allows the manufacturer to install all hardware in every model and charge for what is actually used. It's a good business model as It reduces design and building costs. Are these cost savings shared with the consumer, is the question.

Of course, what looks good on paper doesn't always look so good in actual practice. I admire the ingenuity of the folks who came up with this idea. But, I would not care to participate.

 

[Hack]

I think it's great if car manufacturers want to try new things. I don't plan to ever purchase a car that offers a subscription related feature, though. And I would strongly consider never purchasing from any manufacturer that was pushing subscription features like that.

New Jersey sounds like a really crappy place to live. I guess I can't really say more than that without getting into forbidden topics.

 

[Rapid Red]

That’s horrible logic. If I got it right occasionally I’d be out of business

Consider the soruce ..

 

[Vlad Soare]

I'm willing to pay a one-time fee for a product, or a recurrent one for a service. But I will never, under any circumstances, pay a recurrent subscription fee for a product.

 

[BluePonyGT]

My wife's new bronco: if she doesn't pay the subscription fee through ford pass she looses the ability to see traffic on her navigation system. She also can't search for destinations. There's 90 days free once you purchase the vehicle then you have to pay the subscription. I didn't realize how much we depend on it until the 90 days was up.

If they can get $$$ out of people for this then they can do it for other things.

That being said this is a TERRIBLE thing for government to get involved in. This is a market thing. We refuse to pay the subscription fee and instead use Apple Play and our phones to accomplish the same thing. If they get less people paying the $$$ and people complaining about it and buying less cars then they'll stop.

We don't line up like sheep, shrug our shoulders, pay the fees, then go "yay" when someone passes a law making it illegal. We should fix the problem ourselves.

 

[Rapid Red]

There is this saying "The only thing free is the air"

In today's world, the new saying "A revenue source for profit untapped"

 

[Vlad Soare]

That being said this is a TERRIBLE thing for government to get involved in. This is a market thing. We refuse to pay the subscription fee and instead use Apple Play and our phones to accomplish the same thing. If they get less people paying the $$$ and people complaining about it and buying less cars then they'll stop.

Usually I would agree, but in this particular case the market isn't varied enough and competitive enough to make this work naturally. Most people who want a BMW want a BMW - period. They will not buy a Kia instead just because it doesn't charge extra for the heated seats. They will grudgingly accept to pay. Just like 2022 MY Mustang owners didn't buy a Camaro because of the missing 10 HP. Or 2021 MY Mustang owners didn't turn it down because of the missing glove box light. They accepted it, for all its faults, because that was the car they wanted in the first place.
Car manufacturers know this. They know most of their customers may protest a bit, but then they'll buy the car anyway. So giving them a free pass to charge whatever they want for whatever feature they see fit isn't a good idea.

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