I think this produces more outrage than a one-time charge would. The reason is that there is no apparent ongoing cost to Mercedes to enable the full-spec perfor

I think this produces more outrage than a one-time charge would. The reason is that there is no apparent ongoing cost to Mercedes to enable the full-spec performance of the car, yet they are charging a subscription fee. It would be much more palatable to me (probably most others) if you could pay some extra money at the start to let your car perform to it's rated capacity. I would be able to justify it in my mind as cost of the car. Charge subscriptions where there is a real recurring cost to provide the feature or service, like say a remote assistance service that needs a SIM card plan.