5 ms·

Of course consumers will get some benefit in return, like heating seats for free instead of paying a subscription to turn on a resistor... right?

by ale42 2y ago

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
hagbard_c 2y ago
Only for a while, after that they'll have to pay if they want it to warm up at a reasonable pace, then they'll have to pay for warm seats when the temperature is above freezing - all to save the environment of course - and then they'll just have to pay no matter what upon which a new cycle starts: camera's recording facial expressions which are used to detect susceptibility to coercion so ads can be launched at the most vulnerable moments but in return you get a premium seat heating subscription at the low, low price of ${lotsomoolah}.
- akovaski 2y ago
  Really they should charge more when it is colder out. What's the point of a free market if it can't respond to consumer demand? Our ChargeTooshie seat warmer uses our comprehensive 5g wiretapping network and innovative AI to provide drivers the absolute maximum value that they can afford. With ChargeTooshie, drivers can be assured that they will not freeze to death, because we now accept credit!
  - hagbard_c 2y ago
    Charging more when it is colder does not exclude charging more when it is just chilly. For even higher profit^Wcustomer satisfaction seat heat rates can be made dynamic based on a number of different inputs like temperature, demand, car occupation, driver stress, fuel/energy price, road congestion, time of day, length of trip and customer status. How about a tiered pricing schedule with a Basic, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum level? Basic is free, good for who only occasionally expects to use seat heating but offers no discounts. Bronze is for those who use seat heating a bit more often, say 1 to 2 hours per week with a discount of 10% on basic rates. Bronze membership is only €10/month, buy NOW! Silver and gold offer steeper discounts for a monthly fee of €25/€50 while Platinum is for the discerning user who wants to pay more for QUALITY. With custom-designed heating profiles and a subscription to our weekly magazine where you'll read about the latest trends, with great deals from out partners. Buy NOW for only €75/month!
bogwog 2y ago
It will be like mobile games: watch these ads to earn free Heating Tokens(tm) Or give <targeted-family-member> a lift and talk about <survey-topic> to earn 30 days of ad-free seat heating
- lelandfe 2y ago
  > In his desk drawer he found the contract; since signing it he had found it necessary to refer to the document many times. Sure enough; payment to his door for opening and shutting constituted a mandatory fee. Not a tip. > "You discover I'm right," the door said. It sounded smug. > From the drawer beside the sink Joe Chip got a stainless steel knife; with it he began systematically to unscrew the bolt assembly of his apt's money-gulping door. > "I'll sue you," the door said as the first screw fell out. Philip K Dick, Ubik
  - fodkodrasz 2y ago
    I also recommend "The Merchants' War" from Frederik Pohl. Its satirical description of a word dominated by advertisement companies resembles ours painfully. Cannot find quotes of it, it is not a very popular book as it seems.
- pndy 2y ago
  For sanity sake, don't give them ideas
- ASalazarMX 2y ago
  <you didn't glance at the ad screen for two whole minutes. Your seat heating credits streak was lost. Do you want double or nothing on your steering wheel heating credits?>
altairprime 2y ago
I expect their plan is to deploy this in rental car fleets. You won’t earn a discount but the rental car company will get a kickback from Ford for their fleet purchase. Think RyanAir but cars.
gruez 2y ago
It'll probably be baked into the price and therefore not directly visible to you, similar to how video game consoles are priced cheaply relative to their manufacturing cost with the expectation that they'll make up for it on royalties/connected services. It makes no sense to give some feature for "free" to make up for it, because the feature could still be used for product segmentation purposes. For instance heated seats is still useful as a differentiator for a premium trim, so it'd make no sense to give it to everyone for free.
- beretguy 2y ago
  Did you know BMW was trying to make heating seats a subscription service? https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/7/23863258/bmw-cancel-heated-seat-subscription-microtransaction https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/7/23863258/bmw-cancel-heated...
  - gruez 2y ago
    I do, but how does what you said invalidate anything in my previous comment? I explicitly said that they'll keep such features as an upgrade, rather than making it free, which is totally consistent with what BMW is doing.
  - raxxorraxor 2y ago
    They dropped it, but the damage to the brand cannot even be quantified. It is fully deserved though and they also stick to their on-demand features. Not really a car I would ever want to buy if they do not clean up management after such a farce. This is beyond not being a cool brand anymore.

Of course consumers will get some benefit in return, like heating seats for free instead of paying a subscription to turn on a resistor... right?

by ale42 2y ago

Of course consumers will get some benefit in return, like heating seats for free instead of paying a subscription to turn on a resistor... right?

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

hagbard_c 2y ago

Only for a while, after that they'll have to pay if they want it to warm up at a reasonable pace, then they'll have to pay for warm seats when the temperature is above freezing - all to save the environment of course - and then they'll just have to pay no matter what upon which a new cycle starts: camera's recording facial expressions which are used to detect susceptibility to coercion so ads can be launched at the most vulnerable moments but in return you get a premium seat heating subscription at the low, low price of ${lotsomoolah}.

akovaski 2y ago
Really they should charge more when it is colder out. What's the point of a free market if it can't respond to consumer demand? Our ChargeTooshie seat warmer uses our comprehensive 5g wiretapping network and innovative AI to provide drivers the absolute maximum value that they can afford. With ChargeTooshie, drivers can be assured that they will not freeze to death, because we now accept credit!
- hagbard_c 2y ago
  Charging more when it is colder does not exclude charging more when it is just chilly. For even higher profit^Wcustomer satisfaction seat heat rates can be made dynamic based on a number of different inputs like temperature, demand, car occupation, driver stress, fuel/energy price, road congestion, time of day, length of trip and customer status. How about a tiered pricing schedule with a Basic, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum level? Basic is free, good for who only occasionally expects to use seat heating but offers no discounts. Bronze is for those who use seat heating a bit more often, say 1 to 2 hours per week with a discount of 10% on basic rates. Bronze membership is only €10/month, buy NOW! Silver and gold offer steeper discounts for a monthly fee of €25/€50 while Platinum is for the discerning user who wants to pay more for QUALITY. With custom-designed heating profiles and a subscription to our weekly magazine where you'll read about the latest trends, with great deals from out partners. Buy NOW for only €75/month!

bogwog 2y ago

It will be like mobile games: watch these ads to earn free Heating Tokens(tm) Or give <targeted-family-member> a lift and talk about <survey-topic> to earn 30 days of ad-free seat heating

lelandfe 2y ago
> In his desk drawer he found the contract; since signing it he had found it necessary to refer to the document many times. Sure enough; payment to his door for opening and shutting constituted a mandatory fee. Not a tip. > "You discover I'm right," the door said. It sounded smug. > From the drawer beside the sink Joe Chip got a stainless steel knife; with it he began systematically to unscrew the bolt assembly of his apt's money-gulping door. > "I'll sue you," the door said as the first screw fell out. Philip K Dick, Ubik
- fodkodrasz 2y ago
  I also recommend "The Merchants' War" from Frederik Pohl. Its satirical description of a word dominated by advertisement companies resembles ours painfully. Cannot find quotes of it, it is not a very popular book as it seems.
pndy 2y ago
For sanity sake, don't give them ideas
ASalazarMX 2y ago
<you didn't glance at the ad screen for two whole minutes. Your seat heating credits streak was lost. Do you want double or nothing on your steering wheel heating credits?>

altairprime 2y ago

I expect their plan is to deploy this in rental car fleets. You won’t earn a discount but the rental car company will get a kickback from Ford for their fleet purchase. Think RyanAir but cars.

gruez 2y ago

It'll probably be baked into the price and therefore not directly visible to you, similar to how video game consoles are priced cheaply relative to their manufacturing cost with the expectation that they'll make up for it on royalties/connected services. It makes no sense to give some feature for "free" to make up for it, because the feature could still be used for product segmentation purposes. For instance heated seats is still useful as a differentiator for a premium trim, so it'd make no sense to give it to everyone for free.

beretguy 2y ago
Did you know BMW was trying to make heating seats a subscription service? https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/7/23863258/bmw-cancel-heated-seat-subscription-microtransaction https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/7/23863258/bmw-cancel-heated...
- gruez 2y ago
  I do, but how does what you said invalidate anything in my previous comment? I explicitly said that they'll keep such features as an upgrade, rather than making it free, which is totally consistent with what BMW is doing.
- raxxorraxor 2y ago
  They dropped it, but the damage to the brand cannot even be quantified. It is fully deserved though and they also stick to their on-demand features. Not really a car I would ever want to buy if they do not clean up management after such a farce. This is beyond not being a cool brand anymore.