8 ms·
Even hardware features (heated steering wheel, rain sensing wipers, etc...) are now behind software switches which the car maker can control based upon subscrip
by ninju 3mo ago
Even hardware features (heated steering wheel, rain sensing wipers, etc...) are now behind software switches which the car maker can control based upon subscription or trim-level purchase.
All the hardware pieces are installed at build time
- sunnybeetroot 3mo agoYou’re telling me it’s not cheaper for them to bundle the hardware but to disable it than not bundle the hardware?
- wildfireday2 3mo agoThe real cost is manufacturing with all the different options at different trim levels (combined with different paint jobs etc). Automakers have always made bank on options and trim. It is in fact cheaper for them to build all vehicles with the relatively cheap options and sell it as a subscription or add-on enabled by software. Engineering is in fact a large part of the option cost to begin with. The big task of the automakers is overcoming customer resistant to the “you will own nothing and be happy” model without feeling swindled being charged to use something they already own—or at least putting up with it and still paying. See Matt Walsh’s most recent monologue on this very topic.
- ButlerianJihad 3mo ago> heated steering wheel As a licensed driver who resides in the Sonoran Desert, can you even imagine the horrific visions that just flashed before my eyes? We often joke around here that wearing oven mitts is a good way to get our cars started in the late afternoons. It's not really a joke. I personally have several pairs of gloves, and I never fail to don those gloves when I go out, whether I am walking, riding an e-Scooter, or driving, because even as a pedestrian we must touch so many metal objects that bask all day in the direct sunlight. Heated steering wheels. What a world we live in today!
- manacit 3mo agoI scoffed at it, as someone that grew up in California and never lived anywhere cold. Man, when it's freezing outside, it's awesome. I wouldn't buy a car without it now.
- olyjohn 3mo agoI put heated grips on my motorcycle. I thought it seemed dumb, your hands are out in the wind, and the back of your hands will still get cold. Nah, it warms up your whole body and it's a total game changer.
- danhon 3mo agoThere are also really cold places in the world!
- Telaneo 3mo agoWhen it's minus -20°C outside, you'll be very happy for that heated steering wheel! For someone living in the desert, I wish there were cooled steering wheels, on the same level as heated/cooled seats, but maybe that's asking a but much.
- gmueckl 3mo agoIt's probably a complexity and cost thing: heating the wheel just requires heating wires in the wheel connected to a switch. Cooling requires a some cooling medium getting pumped into the wheel and back out into a heat exchanger or vented outside. You need pipes of some sort inside the wheel and wheel hub.
- sublinear 3mo agoYou're way overthinking this. Making the steering wheel an AC vent is a Mercedes Benz patent. It's just hollow on the inside. We also used to have crotch vents beneath the steering column! This was arguably the best idea since it could cool the entire driver area including the wheel. This is artificial scarcity like the McRib.