The simple answer is “REFUSE TO BUY THE SHIT!”
It is literally that simple. I can’t think of a single person that HAS to buy a NEW car. Keep what you have or buy used. Tell the dealerships and auto makers to fuck off! Explain why a person ever has to buy a NEW car.
As long as people are stupid and buy it the auto makers WILL continue on this path.
The simple answer is “REFUSE TO BUY THE SHIT!”
“For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” – H.L. Mencken
The reality is, individual boycotts don’t do shit because people who care about their property rights are outnumbered by dipshit consumer whores by a dozen to one (if not worse). The only way to actually fix this is regulatory action by the FTC to outlaw this shit as the blatantly obvious violation of the doctrine of first sale that it is.
Also an obvious indicator of the need for something comparable to the GDPR to keep this shit manageable going forward.
The problem solves itself with decent right to repair
Sounds like we need a reduction in dipshits!
Enshitification isn’t solved by voting with your dollar. If it did, the printer market wouldn’t be the shit show that it is. You can’t vote for the good if all the manufacturers mutually agree to only produce shit. Only regulation will keep them in line.
(inb4 “brother is better”, I am aware that brother printers are generally better, but they are far from good.)
Especially when the majority of people will litterly drink shit milkshakes every damn day before they ever dream of using something that isn’t their preferred brand or might require accepting some modest trade-offs.
We all suffer from enshitification because the “average consumer” makes it profitable with their apathy, their ignorance, and their laziness. And there’s nothing we can about that. We’re stuck in these markets with them, and they make up the majority, so they set the trends.
I will say, part of that ignorance, apathy, and laziness is an intentional part of our existing society. You can’t spend the time to research every single product you ever buy, because many are stuck working several job, basically everyone is juggling their work, family, and social life.
A couple months back, I tried putting some effort into finding a printer that had all of the qualifications I wanted.
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usb printing, no network needed
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laser
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color
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not a brand that will fuck you over (looking at you HP)
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within a reasonable budget of $300-$400
And such a product just doesn’t exist. Brother comes close, but the market straight up isn’t producing good things. So at the end of the day all I can do is either get shafted at the local print store, or suck it up and get an inferior product.
But going back to the OP, it’s so much worse with cars because we have a car-centric society. You NEED a car in this place to have a normal life. Our cities and transportation have been intentionally designed to fuck over everyone not in a car.
So there is inelastic demand. The manufacturers can do whatever the fuck they want and get away with it.
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I got an 03 Jetta in good trim with a 5-speed (which hardly anyone makes anymore). I’m gonna keep that fucker alive even if I have to turn it into the car of Theseus.
I have a Samurai of Theseus.
But, My wife drives a 2017 Mirage G4 with a 5 speed, and we are going to keep that thing alive however we can. And it’s fairly easy, because the Mirage is very simple and is made to be easy to repair.
Where will all the used cars come from?
A better solution is to counter market these products. Invest time in spreading content that tells other people how shit these products are. Not buying it doesn’t do much. But spreading the good word does. Its why they pay so much to advertise and market
So no ford, bmw, merc, tesla and who else so far?
What is really happening is your car has hardware features that are being disabled, and you have to pay extortion money for the criminals to not disable them. It’s ransomware as a service.
So the question is, who wants to buy from a company that is running ransomware as a service?
The question is, what alternative are we going to have, if all auto makers start doing this?
I just want a vehicle made like they used to be made. No computer chips and physical handles I have to turn to get the window down. An entire vehicle I can fix myself when things break down.
It shouldn’t be a hard ask, but here we are… Overly complex shit, with many features no one needs.
No computer at all? Gonna have to track down something with a carburetor and hope it still runs. The newest you’re gonna find is a 1991 Oldsmobile.
It’s a wish, not a “where can I find it” thing.
It would be nice if the option was made available.
Not a car, but you can buy a new Suzuki DR650 that has a carburetor. At least in 2023.
You know the war that’s being fought by developers against YouTube?
Now imagine that same energy directed towards car companies.
I guarantee you the moment this becomes a thing, there will be jailbreaking and a whole industry dedicated to making sure people know how to get all the benefits that their car has installed but not enabled.
Because if buying isn’t owning, then pirating isn’t stealing.
*You wouldn’t download heated seats would you? *
I definitely would.
“Officer, I signaled to switch lanes but I forgot to update my card on file so the blinkers won’t turn on. I was on my way to get a prepaid card for the blinkers and to open the trunk so I can get my groceries out.”
Note to self: Buy older cars without the subscription bullshit.
They’re going to write laws making older cars illegal to operate in the name of climate change. Places are already requiring the phase out of new gas and diesel vehicles with the stated ambition of completely switching.
Car toys is just gonna take in the bucks. These car manufacturers are thinking they can charge a subscription fee when car toys will plug in a little doohickey they just makes your heated seats work.
Cartoys will get a dcma notice and be sued into closing.
They only exist because paid features is still rare. Once real money is on the line, they’ll be sued or even jailed like the gaming modchip developers.
I doubt that. If they can put an aftermarket car alarm, remote start, or radio in your car they can put a different module in to enable heated seats. Car manufacturers really do think they’re gonna stop this from happening but in reality we already have this for a bunch of car related accessories.
They will encrypt the heaters’ connection to the car. Breaking encryption is a dcma violation. Aftermarket can replace the entire seat but that’s very expensive.
Tesla already does this.
https://insideevs.com/news/680181/hackers-jailbreak-tesla-model-3-unlock-free-heated-rear-seats/
If anyone sells what the researchers figured out, they can be sued and jailed just like modchip developers have been.
And I bet I could wire the heated seats to work without even needing to take a Tesla to car toys. Heated seat circuits aren’t that complicated. It’s a heating element mat, maybe a motor and fan if you have cooled seats as well. You don’t need software. You need a toggle switch and a thermistor.
Also reverse engineering for the purpose of interoperability is protected by the DMCA.
You could bypass and put your own hardwired switch in. But it wouldn’t be integrated into the car’s gui.
reverse engineering for the purpose of interoperability is protected by the DMCA.
“to the extent any such acts of identification and analysis do not constitute infringement under this title.”
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/1201#
Modchips makers were sued and jailed. Interoperability didn’t apply because they violated the “no commercial use” part of the title.
I never claimed it would be. Car toys will absolutely do what they have always done to get around car makers and provide customers with the modifications they want. That is not even a question.
Heated seats use a heating element which just needs power and ground. They can’t encrypt that.
Yes you can run your own wire and glue a switch to the console. But it won’t work in the car’s ui. And I bet everything over 5v for USB is off a computer controlled relay. So you’d have to patch into the high voltage battery and do your own dc to dc conversion.
Which would be really easy. Who cares about the UI?
If it was easy and cheap, everyone would be doing it for all their controls instead of complaining about Tesla’s touch screen.
“Oh no, we can’t compete with Chinese manufacturers! Surely if we squeeze the customers just a little bit harder…”
As much as I hate what it will do to the used car market we as a people need to stop buying these new cars. Like actually make it a shameful act to even be in one of these distopian devices. People love to bully and be outraged, why not point it to something like this that can be agreed on and is not hard to fix?
People want the newest shiniest thing. Cars are no longer tools, but status symbols. And people absolutely will not give up status.
Yeah, that is why shame works so well here. Status does not work to sell if is the status is negative.
Just remember to not pay for the subscription and they will eventually stop this particular nonsense.
Again, I mean good luck with that I suppose. They do this and it will just accelerate the market to jailbreak cars.
And this is why capitalist markets don’t really regulate themselves and need government intervention.
Because the handful of of companies that buy up all their competitors will just do whatever makes the most money together and consumers have no alternatives.
Enough with the subscriptions!
They won’t stop until the air you breathe is a subscription service.
LOL
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If this becomes common enough there’s gonna be a whole cottage industry of jailbreaking cars.
Yep. Until the find a way to remotely brick your vehicle like how John Deere does to its farm equipment if you hack the software. Or Microsoft bricking your PC if you don’t have Genuine Windows installed.
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Bought a car with a future subscription to its remote services (climate, lock/unlock, etc). Company wants $450/year for access. Guess what we aren’t going to sign up for when the free 2 year period expires?
Vote with the wallets folks.
you bought the new car you literally failed the mission
walk dude
You beat me by 7 seconds.
This was my first thought. “sure showed them by buying that car…”
Yeah “2 years free” no it’s not it was factored into the price they charged you for the vehicle.
With a large family there weren’t many options. This was the best option.
Honest question – why not get a used vehicle that didn’t have that nonsense in it?
Because used was as much as new monthly. The market is upside down and down right stupid.
Fair enough. Thanks for answering.
But wait, what features are actually behind the subscription wall? Your other comment mentions the climate system and… door locking? You can’t be serious…
Systems monitoring and I wouldn’t call it remote start because it’s a PHEV but they do. And yes, I’m serious. It’s a ridiculously overpriced service. Thank god they didn’t lock down the heated seats.
WHOOOSH. Seriously dude you’re just preaching the ideal while making exceptions for yourself.
Same exact shit as ‘my abortion is the only moral abortion’, NIMBY, “I’m not a bad driver I just had the sun in my eyes/they came out of nowhere!”
It’s fine and human nature to make exceptions for ourselves. But it’s important to try to catch yourself, if so at the very least you don’t look like an asshole on the internet.
I get it. What I’m saying is that they’re all doing this. You have to pick the least bad option.
Update I wouldn’t have even bothered replying if I had seen the god awful reply you added.
But that’s not what you said. You preach vote with your wallet and that there weren’t many options.
And is pre owned not an option? I get it we aren’t all able to be perfect but it’s wild to be so hypocritical in one conversation.
There’s a big difference between what this article is describing and what you’re describing. Remote features likeones you’re complaining about require a cellular service and while $450/year is very expensive, providing them for free would be silly.
The article is describing built-in features with no connectivity requirements, which is like disabling your heated seats unless you subscribe. This is what is described as rent-seeking behavior and it’s very different from overcharging for operational costs.
That’s fair.
I just bought a cellular plan for my car: $99/yr, including streaming video and audio. That seems fair to me, given the cost of adding a tablet or something to my phone bill. You paying 4.5 times is surely a ripoff
