https://www.forbes.com/sites/alistaircharlton/2020/07/02/bmw-wants-to-charge-you-a-subscription-for-your-heated-seats/#740a8e913c64 Who is the moron or morons that though this would be a good idea and a competitive advantage?
Post E46 is a trash can full of garbage If people are dumb enough to subscribe for IN CAR features, by all means, let them
BMW has truly lost their way and making a garbage product along the way. Look at all the issues with the V8's. Sad
Pretty dumb idea, but I suppose if someone can hack the system to unlock a bunch of options it may be a better deal for customers haha.
BMW has been at the CES show for probably 10 years now. I've been to every one of their presentations over that time frame. BMW thinks the car is just another houseful appliance or electronic gadget. They envision eventually everything in your house and phone will be connected to the car - computers, refrigerator, medicine cabinet, cameras, even your mirror. So I'm not surprised they want to do this but I think it will fail miserably.
I've owned 3 BMWs and every year now, they do something to further ensure there won't be a 4th. Absolutely nothing special about them since they sold their souls to the Thousandaire crowd.....I'm sure they will happily sign up for this.
Is the misinterpretation of what BMW is doing intentional just to make a joke or has reading comprehension gone down the toilet? Im no BMW fan (these days) but the concept here is to install the mechanical ability of all features into every car to save costs. Then, if you purchase the option, say heated seats, they activate it through software. They dont have to physically do anything to the car. Nowhere does it say or imply you will have to pay a subscription for the heated seats Its pretty crystal clear to me.
From what I read of the article, at first it mentions clearly that "(...)heated seats, could be offered on a subscription basis, with periods mentioned ranging from one month to three years." to then end with a "Some features – again, we don’t know exactly which – will incur a one-time cost instead of a regular subscription." so yes, I can honestly say that, from the article posted, its a litle confusing to me wether the heated seats will be a one-time cost option or subscription based cost option one.
maybe not a bad idea if done right. no cost for the feature up front then pay for the month you want it. heated seats from dec to march. cooled seats june to august. exhaust for when go to track. etc. as long as not more costly than just buying feature and having it forever including resale
IBM did this back in the 1960's. Back then they sold some models of their computers with magnetic core memory that was half disabled. It was a combination of wanting common configuration efficiency and a way to get an easy post installation upsell. When a customer started using the system and discovered they would benefit from more memory, the account rep would sell them on a memory upgrade. Then the IBM tech would come in, open the computer up, simply clip a wire, and restore the full memory capacity. It probably helped that back then, IBM leased their computers, so they owned the hardware anyway and having extra costs in the system not immediately paid for was all internal accounting. It also helped that no computer user in the history of computers ever said, "I need less memory". And they're still doing it: https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/POWER5/ipha2_p5/cuodconproc.htm
BMW is a trash can company now. Because that is what they build..trash cans with wheels. They are an awful, awful car.
You guys can trash BMW all you want , but they are not marketing their vehicles to the auto purists any more. Its the suburban moms and dads that want to feel like they've "made it "by upgrading their Toyotas and Kias to an X3. That's why their sales continue to grow every year. Personally, I feel like they've lost their sporting way, but that doesn't matter because people like me no longer drive the market.
The I6 has always been their best engine. Trouble with high pressure fuel pumps on the first few turbos notwithstanding, they know how to build an I6. I wish They kept NA versions of it around for enthusiast minded cars. They have the platform to do it, and the lineup to cover the costs & emissions. That's the real pity IMO, that they're messing up even the sportier cars. There are still a few cars in their lineup that are great to drive (smaller, more "stripped" cars like the 2 series coupé (non-M) and the sadly departed RWD 1 series) but the potential is there for more.
I agree, but like I said above, there is space for good cars in their lineup, still, if they'd bother to build them.
Doesn’t Tesla do the same? From an operational standpoint it’s logical. Rather than building multiple versions of seats they build one and allow turning on/off the underlying option(s). Probably got cost of construction down and lessen the warranty/repair issues by constructing it as a single unit. Not convinced of the subscription angle but I can see why they’d want ongoing subscription revenues and how they might sell that book for a discounted cash value or even leverage it.
BMW Heated Seats Subscription Is Real And It Costs $18 Per Month https://www.motor1.com/news/597376/bmw-heated-seats-subscription/ I could see for a power upgrade maybe, but this, for existing hardware, is laughable. .......... so how long before Ferrari follows suit? .
What’s a bit insulting here is that clearly these features cost next to nothing to install. Is BMW so desperate for cash that they need to hit owners up for another $18/month? Just enable it for “free” in the $50,000+ car… Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
That kinda greed doesnt surprise me from a company that charges £180 for the armrest to be slideable on a 3 series… We have a 3 series wagon for dog transport, and it feels just insanely cheap. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
Pretty sure everyone will be doing it at some point All cars will have all functions just need to pay to use it lol