4 ms·

Honest question: what do you mean?

downrightmike 5mo ago
You pay inflated prices for the car and then they still steal and sell your data. This isn't hard to understand, same thing smart TV mfg do.
- epicide 5mo ago
  I think you mean "subsidized" instead of "inflated".
  - Rooster61 5mo ago
    No, they meant inflated. Cars are quite expensive right now, and dealers are notorious for raking in cash through financing. If they were subsidized, prices would be lower to increase user base, as in the aforementioned dynamic present in the current smart TV market. I think the inital point was that car manufacturers/dealers are double dipping through initial cost/interest AND data harvesting.
  - alext5 5mo ago
    Both an high end tv or a car are expensive items where the manufacturer shouldn’t be making additional income on your personal data. A free 55 inch tv supported by ads would be subsidized. A big ticket item price likely does not change even if it intrudes on your privacy and the manufacturer makes additional income on your data. In that sense it’s not subsidized it’s just greedy business practices.
    - funimpoded 5mo ago
      I haven't had any insight into the industry lately, but did work for a company in that space several years ago. Most (all?) ordinary TVs, plus things like Roku streaming devices, are sold essentially at-cost. The profit comes from ads and information-brokering stuff. This makes it basically impossible to break into the market without doing the same thing.
      - alext5 5mo ago
        What you describe is a business decision. Different products exist at different price points to cater to different customers. If you want to sell a subsidized product with the implication that there will be ads, that’s one business strategy, but to say that it’s not viable to have a higher end product that will not sell the user data because it’s not commercially viable is something I’ll have disagree with. Computer monitors with no smart features wouldn’t viable if that was the case.
        funimpoded 5mo ago
        It’s a business decision, but one of the options won’t move enough units to keep Wal-Mart and Target and Costco and Best Buy using shelf space for your product, and the other might.
- Jblx2 5mo ago
  $100k is in Canadian dollars? I just added almost every accessory/package and option to the the 2026 GR Sport Plug-in Hybrid RAV4, and it came out to $55,821. If there were options that were nearly identical, I only added the most expensive one. So I only added one hammock ($340) and one of the Pelican Dayventure Backpack Cooler ($301). This includes the dog first-aid kit, and the human first-aid kit. Maybe all the options will come through this link: https://www.toyota.com/configurator/build/step/summary/year/2026/series/rav4pluginhybrid/model/4538/exteriorcolor/02TB/interiorcolor/ED20/packages/FE/accessories/WK-BM-DF-D5-2B-7R-3Z-MF-K9-3P-PR1020-EG-GN-9G-PR1220-VA-PR1146-PR1261-59-U7-PR1268-PR1274-PR1279-PR1277-PR1254-PR1266-PR1258/?bap_guid=51f0e7a6-213c-4f00-8779-ee7f0be61f5e https://www.toyota.com/configurator/build/step/summary/year/... ...maybe there is a lot of dealer markup in your area?
- slumberlust 5mo ago
  While I agree with your outrage at cars, at least smart TVs get cheaper as they supplement the revenue stream w/ the data brokering options. Non-smart TVs cost way more.

You pay inflated prices for the car and then they still steal and sell your data. This isn't hard to understand, same thing smart TV mfg do.

epicide 5mo ago
I think you mean "subsidized" instead of "inflated".
- Rooster61 5mo ago
  No, they meant inflated. Cars are quite expensive right now, and dealers are notorious for raking in cash through financing. If they were subsidized, prices would be lower to increase user base, as in the aforementioned dynamic present in the current smart TV market. I think the inital point was that car manufacturers/dealers are double dipping through initial cost/interest AND data harvesting.
- alext5 5mo ago
  Both an high end tv or a car are expensive items where the manufacturer shouldn’t be making additional income on your personal data. A free 55 inch tv supported by ads would be subsidized. A big ticket item price likely does not change even if it intrudes on your privacy and the manufacturer makes additional income on your data. In that sense it’s not subsidized it’s just greedy business practices.
  - funimpoded 5mo ago
    I haven't had any insight into the industry lately, but did work for a company in that space several years ago. Most (all?) ordinary TVs, plus things like Roku streaming devices, are sold essentially at-cost. The profit comes from ads and information-brokering stuff. This makes it basically impossible to break into the market without doing the same thing.
    - alext5 5mo ago
      What you describe is a business decision. Different products exist at different price points to cater to different customers. If you want to sell a subsidized product with the implication that there will be ads, that’s one business strategy, but to say that it’s not viable to have a higher end product that will not sell the user data because it’s not commercially viable is something I’ll have disagree with. Computer monitors with no smart features wouldn’t viable if that was the case.
      - funimpoded 5mo ago
        It’s a business decision, but one of the options won’t move enough units to keep Wal-Mart and Target and Costco and Best Buy using shelf space for your product, and the other might.
Jblx2 5mo ago
$100k is in Canadian dollars? I just added almost every accessory/package and option to the the 2026 GR Sport Plug-in Hybrid RAV4, and it came out to $55,821. If there were options that were nearly identical, I only added the most expensive one. So I only added one hammock ($340) and one of the Pelican Dayventure Backpack Cooler ($301). This includes the dog first-aid kit, and the human first-aid kit. Maybe all the options will come through this link: https://www.toyota.com/configurator/build/step/summary/year/2026/series/rav4pluginhybrid/model/4538/exteriorcolor/02TB/interiorcolor/ED20/packages/FE/accessories/WK-BM-DF-D5-2B-7R-3Z-MF-K9-3P-PR1020-EG-GN-9G-PR1220-VA-PR1146-PR1261-59-U7-PR1268-PR1274-PR1279-PR1277-PR1254-PR1266-PR1258/?bap_guid=51f0e7a6-213c-4f00-8779-ee7f0be61f5e https://www.toyota.com/configurator/build/step/summary/year/... ...maybe there is a lot of dealer markup in your area?
slumberlust 5mo ago
While I agree with your outrage at cars, at least smart TVs get cheaper as they supplement the revenue stream w/ the data brokering options. Non-smart TVs cost way more.