Pay as you go driving!
 

Are we heading for 'subscription driving' in the era of new tech vehicles, I was amazed reading about a BMW driver who was driving his 530e at night & wanted to use the 'high beam assist' when he pressed the button a message came up on screen asking him to pay £179 to initiate it and pay by mobile phone:eek:




https://i.imgur.com/RhkMWJSl.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/U6CLMDel.jpg


https://twitter.com/_jakegroves/stat...417024/photo/2


The new cars will come with all the hardware built into the huge infotainment screens but you'll have to pay a subscription to activate them, the huge dashboards will be a gold mine for car makers has that's where they will make their money because of less servicing/parts for ICE vehicles. :eek:

I see what you are saying but is it really much different to the dealer options on a T4? The cars already have the ability but it needs to be turned on.

Yeah very similar, From 2026 VW will be launching project 'Trinity' whereas the car you buy wouldn’t come in variants: The hardware for all features on offer would be built into every car, but would remain latent until you activate /subscribe to the software that runs it.
I wonder how long it will take them to run adverts on those screens & then ask you if you want to go ad free by paying 'X' amount of money to shut them off :eek::D

I find it a bit harsh though, to have the hardware fitted but not being able to use it (I imagine the high beam assist is something to do with a photocell to switch off the full beam automatically, unless it piggy backs off another function like auto dip mirrors).

Reading some of the options (HERE, check out the 'IconicSports Sounds :duh:) , it does seem to be similar to other devices - being able to download and self install map updates, or expanding countries for example. Some of these functions were available in my father's Renault Captur in 2014.

What would be concerning though would be some clever soul who will 'hack it' with an 'enable all' along with the ability to disable remote connection, which in turn will lead to safety issues - automatically calling for assistance in an accident LINKS.

Life itself is becoming a pay as you go experience. As a child, I used to look forward to birthdays, Easter, Christmas etc., but the cynic in me now realises that they are all now just marketing exercises. I've just had my 70th and told everyone that all I wanted was a hug!:getmecoat: 50th Anniversary this year too and all I want is to get away from it all!:D

Yes I can imagine some bright person will be able to hack the cars & sell the hack at a fraction of the price to activate all features, It would spread like wildfire as all these new 'trinity' cars will be networked & connected to one another & all street furniture/traffic lights etc.


I wonder how expensive an Apple BEV would be to turn on all the cars features? :eek:they're still toying with making a BEV,, I should imagine all the luxury car manufacturers will be losing sleep if they do,

Everything it seems is going software based, I read the huge Chinese Xiaomi smartphone company are to start making BEV's too

The difference is a T4 session costs biscuits...

Had to Google what is was and found this.....BMW's high-beam assist adds to your driving safety. The system monitors the driving conditions and if necessary turns your car's high beam lights on and off automatically.


Ff someone is so lazy or useless they want this feature, they deserve to pay for it

macafee2

Pretty sure a dealers exchange rate for bisuits wouldn't be good though :p:

only here, I think a main dealer garage that still has T4 still charges silly money.


macafee2