689
I have a feeling a bunch of folks are going to want to rip their modems out of their cars in the next few years.
this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2026
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BMW is framing this as a "one-time movie partnership"
What kind of people do you think are eating that up?
"Guys, it's just this one-time ad, we had no intention of ever doing this again! Just forget about it for a year or so!"
It’s one-time in the sense that it’s this movie. Next one-time will be for the next movie
"It is a one time fee that you pay annually." One of the best Portlandia skits.
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I'm willing to bet that these cars do not get software updates wirelessly though. You gotta take your car into the stealership for those. But ads? Instant wireless transmission.
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For people who had forgotten the seat heating subscription
Why do they keep trying to pull this bullshit?, they're a luxury brand, there margins should be pretty good without trying to nickel and dime everything
they are doing this for two reasons:
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Dropping sales from angry BMW owners fed up with poor reliability.
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Dropping sales to Tesla.
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Dropping sales because of poor EV designs
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Dropping sales because they fail to establish value.
Line must go up.
Have you ever heard of next quarter?
I think it has something to do with the markets infatuation with recurring revenue streams. Everything is a subscription model now.
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Capitalism doesn't understand "good enough", only MOAR
No amount of money can satisfy their empty fucking hearts and minds
Cos there are enough dumb people who are ready to pay for this shit.
Same with lootboxes in gaming, everyone hates them but there are enough people purchasing them so that the companies can keep pulling shit like this off.
There are no brakes on capitalism. It's always more, more and more.
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One reason this type of promotion may be becoming more common is that connected cars give automakers a direct path to the driver's screen.
Once a person purchases a vehicle it should be theirs, not shared access with Automakers and their partners.
It hasn't been that way for a long time. Every car since 2018 has some sort of black box in it that it records your driving behaviors, and that data gets sent to or sold to insurance companies who then use it to raise your premiums.
I think cunts who drive like cunts should pay more.
However, the real reason why cars have black boxes is repeated fraudulent claims by US law firms on "sudden acceleration".
The last lawsuit ended because Toyota had black box data proving US drivers are shit and commonly hit the wrong pedal. Before that, they had to settle $1B to law firms.
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This sounds like something that should be illegal.
But companies always hold their promises...
To their shareholders......
Never believe a megacorp.
erm my car is not a billboard
That is an ugly car. Why can’t EVs look like normal cars?
I'm guessing the long term plan is to significantly increase the price of maintenance and updates then offer a cheaper plan with dashboard adds.