The same way GM means "reducing" by "increasing" XD
It's your 1984 business speak way of saying "Google paid us off to snub Apple. Our customers are pissed, but we are contractually obligated."
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Apple Says CarPlay Now Available in Over 800 Vehicle Models as GM Plans to Phase Out Support in EVs
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It's your 1984 business speak way of saying "Google paid us off to snub Apple. Our customers are pissed, but we are contractually obligated."
Uh oh.. Add in this, and things definitely don't bode well for GM:
electrek.co
GM announces Chevy Bolt is over, long live the Equinox
GM – along with its earnings announcement this morning – also announced the end of the Chevy Bolt EV and...
electrek.co
I've been on this planet for 53 years. I've been driving for all but 16 of them. Cars. Trucks. Motorcycles. With and without a trailer attached. I've never caused an accident, despite not having all these exterior-facing sensor-related features. How could that be possible? Oh, gee, I dunno - maybe because when I am driving I am DRIVING and not flicking around with other stuff? Just maybe?
One thing is clear. The ROI for spending some $5-$10K more for a car to get these features is non-existent. Just more crap to break and more crap to repair when some moron runs into you.
When I was in Germany I rented a car. In the parking garage it would NOT SHUT UP!! It keep beeping at whatever. I'm like, "WTH is your problem car? I'm in a PARKING GARAGE!! YEAH, I WILL BE CLOSE TO STUFF!!! SHUT THE HELL UP!!!" I wanted to blow that car up, but I didn't think my rental car insurance would cover it, and I didn't have a bomb with me anyway.
I rented a car a few weeks ago in Florida with all that crap. Stuff beeping and lights flashing. Trying to figure out what the car was trying to tell me (and WHY?) was such a distraction that it was WAY more unsafe than just letting me drive the damned car.
So like everything else GM touches, this too will turn to $#&@, us taxpayers will pay for the inevitable bailout, the executives will get huge bonuses for "saving the company" and will gleefully drive home in their Mercedes and Range Rovers.
Gee, almost like their continual boneheaded decisions aren't one honest mistake after another... hmm... 🤔
Gee, almost like their continual boneheaded decisions aren't one honest mistake after another... hmm... 🤔
I won't cast judgement until I see the replacement product, but I can't imagine it being a very seamless experience. Even in our Tesla, you either stream music from an App that Tesla supports, or you go with oldschool BT connection, which is rather limited (basically pause/play, skip); you end up pulling your phone out to really change any media. Not being able to use your favorite maps also leaves you unable to import favorites.
Of course, all of these issues are technically solvable. They can build in apps, but it begs the question why they'd ever want to. Just seems like a ton of effort when you have carplay and android auto available to you for free.
Of course, all of these issues are technically solvable. They can build in apps, but it begs the question why they'd ever want to. Just seems like a ton of effort when you have carplay and android auto available to you for free.
I recently bought a Tesla, which doesn't have CarPlay. At first I thought I would really miss it, but after owning the car a few months I don't miss it at all. The Tesla supports Apple Music and a bunch of other services, and the GPS built in with the ability to zoom, rotate and pan with swipes and pinch like an iPad is superior to the +/- and cursor controls in CarPlay.
This was always the long-term GM plan though? Nothing new or surprising here.Uh oh.. Add in this, and things definitely don't bode well for GM:
GM announces Chevy Bolt is over, long live the Equinox
GM – along with its earnings announcement this morning – also announced the end of the Chevy Bolt EV and...
Actually, after the LG battery fiasco on the Bolt, it makes even more sense for GM to get rid of that brand.
My concern is that all these auto-makers are really focused on the idea that people don't want to drive CARS anymore. They all want SUVs or trucks. The Bolt EV gave people a small sedan that was relatively easy to park and maneuver around, and worked just fine for daily commutes and so on. I feel like an Equinox sells to a different set of customers.
Like I said, there are examples out there of hardware that requires a subscription for unlocking features. It's not about "including the hardware for free". That's the wrong way to look at it. By including the hardware in every device, manufacturing costs come down, repairs are simplified, etc. That hardware might not cost much in the first place and then at scale, it might make more sense to include it everywhere and charge for services. That will probably bring in more money than the up-sell at time of purchase.
It might be more profitable to include seat heaters in every car knowing that a certain percentage of users will activate them right away, a certain percentage will want them later, and a certain percentage will use them intermittently, like when they take a road trip in the winter to see family for the holidays. It's not an unreasonable idea.
Personally I don't think that is going to happen. I don't think this move by GM has anything to do with subscription services, much less charging for features like heated seats. That's just more of the typical mindless braying from the anti-subscription crowd. GM could still charge for features AND support CarPlay. They're obviously making this move in order to control the entire user experience inside the car, not to sell subscriptions.
It is also reasonable for purchasers of automobiles to expect features built into the product to be included in the cost of the vehicle.
There is a difference between having a subscription to enable some specific services than it is to enable features on your car. Looking at the SPOT web site there is only one product in stock at $250 or so. The additional subscription items involve mapping, tracking, overwatch, at roadside assistance. None of these cost more than $30 / yr. And none appear to require activating any hardware feature on the device. If I am wrong about that and there is hardware that is installed but not used without paying subscription I cannot find it on the web site and please correct me.
For the average price of a car in the US ($49,075 per Kelly) I would expect my seat heater to flipping work when I push the button.
The cost differential on the assembly lines is not worth including everything in the car hoping someone would be dumb enough to pay a subscription to use a documented feature.
BMW tried that with CarPlay when they first supported it and people revolted. CarPlay is
- Remote engine start - this is irksome and should be included for the price of a BMW, but most companies have moved to this being a service in their connected app)
- Drive recorder - service that relies on equipment installed for other purposes (e.g., GPS)
- Traffic camera - service that relies on equipment installed for other purposes (e.g., cameras) (annual subscription only)
- Driving Assistant Plus with Stop & Go - not sure exactly what this is but I can imagine it is a feature enabled in software that uses equipment installed for other purposes (e.g., sensors and lidar for adaptive cruse control and lane keeping)
- Parking Assistant Professional - not sure exactly what this is but I can imagine it is a feature enabled in software that uses equipment installed for other purposes (e.g., sensors and lidar for adaptive cruse control and lane keeping)
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Goody. I've been around for a few more and have a similar driving record. I do not see a problem with additional safety measures. It is actually nice to have a beep or two when parking or navigating close corners. The 360-view camera is godsend.
Why make life harder just because that has been how was done before?
No. Just a CD player. My current car has just a CD player, no tape, no aux, no Bluetooth. You can’t even replace the cd player unless you also want to remove the heater and A/C, they’re on the same board. It’s these kinda systems that makes me personally say it’s CarPlay or no car for my next car.
When included but disabled hardware breaks for any reason (or is damaged in an accident) and causes a malfunction code requiring repair to make it go away, does the manufacturer cover that cost? No? That's a real problem.
I don't see a problem with it either, if it is consumer choice and not mandated by govt.
I don't know. From all of the "PARKING GARAGE!! YEAH, I WILL BE CLOSE TO STUFF!!! SHUT THE HELL UP!!!" and the like in your post I don't see how you don't see a problem with it.
And no one anywhere is talking about government mandates. Where did that come from?
Probably a money saving measure
The government is forcing car makers to have 66 percentage of all sales be EVs despite the people not wanting them
I’d be trying to save money too
Who is John Galt
www.nytimes.com
(Yeah I know NYT)
The government is forcing car makers to have 66 percentage of all sales be EVs despite the people not wanting them
I’d be trying to save money too
Who is John Galt
E.P.A. Lays Out Rules to Turbocharge Sales of Electric Cars and Trucks (Published 2023)
The Biden administration is proposing rules to ensure that two-thirds of new cars and a quarter of new heavy trucks sold in the United States by 2032 are all-electric.
(Yeah I know NYT)
Ok, great, you do you. Don't buy such a vehicle. Tesla is a perfect example of a car company doing exactly what I'm talking about. Self-driving hardware is there, but you must pay to enable that feature. Again, it's not an unreasonable idea that products might include hardware that isn't used unless activated.
Who knows? It's a theoretical argument. Maybe we should ask Tesla. What happens if any of the self-driving related hardware breaks in a vehicle that hasn't paid for the self-driving feature?
I'm bowing out of this conversation here, though. I'm not so heavily invested in any of these ideas that I need to debate them with people who seems genuinely hostile towards a pretty innocuous idea. It's not unreasonable to imagine companies selling products with hardware that gets enabled at a later date via some kind of subscription service. It's not a crazy idea. It's already happening.
I don't think anyone is debating it's happening.
What they're debating is whether it is a "good thing" and whether they're interested in supporting this practice.
He claims to be ‘an excellent driver’ from a country that generally drive automatics lol.
Trouble is, the vast majority of us think we are excellent drivers and that's a serious problem waiting to happen.
Yep, agree with all of those. But experience still tells me that most people think they are better than they actually are. Also number 4, applies to all drivers, even those apply the rules to 'all other drivers'.
Which is why it's great to have a familiar screen to assist with directions, texting, and phone calls....