- cross-posted to:
- mildlyinfuriating@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- mildlyinfuriating@lemmy.world
German car making giant Volkswagen (VW) has introduced a subscription for UK customers wanting to increase the power of some of its electric cars.
Those who buy an eligible car in its ID.3 range can choose to pay extra if they want to unlock the full power of the engine inside the vehicle.
VW says the “optional power upgrade” will cost £16.50 per month or £165 annually - or people can choose to pay £649 for a lifetime subscription.
I remember when you could just adjust or swap the carb… I would never in a million years buy a soft-locked car.
If the feature is there, it better work without a monthly cost. I’d order it factory delete, otherwise. Probably not an option with the goofy computer systems they put in vehicles these days. I loathe touch-panel controls in cars. I want knobs and buttons, not controls buried 3 clicks deep into some awful UI behind a crappy low res resistive touch panel. Gross.
And in 5 or 10 years, whenever your
carcomputer becomes obsolete and no longer connects to the control servers, what about your features then? I presume they’ll just stop working without a server to approve it.There’s nothing good about this ecosystem. It’s meant to cost you indefinitely before premature and manufacturer-premeditated replacement.