Auto manufacturers are increasingly shifting towards a subscription-based model for many core and basic features that come equipped into the vehicle. Features that drivers normally receive automatically after they purchase the vehicle are now hidden behind paywalls.
Last year, The WinePress reported on how Mercedes-Benz is forcing owners to purchase a monthly subscription to access additional horsepower that’s already installed into the cars.
BMW is another brand doing something similar. The British car company is, for example, charging owners a subscription fee to get access to the high beams. The subscription options cover 10 euros for a month, to 200 euros for unlimited use.
Here are some examples for owners who screenshotted the paywall:
Popular YouTuber Louis Rossman, a tech repairman and right-to-repair advocate, has reported on other instances of BMW doing this with things such as heated seats and heated steering wheels.
After receiving plenty of backlash, BMW eventually backed off on their heated seat subscription. The company will still be using subscriptions for a number of other functions.
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Jeremiah 2:14 Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled?
Apparently BMW has been offering a number of these subscriptions as far back as 2020, perhaps even longer.
This is a perfect example of the blatant transition into the “You’ll own nothing and be happy” economic model. Everything is no longer a product it becomes a service; everything is leased, loaned, or a subscription, but no longer actually able to own it outright.
Ford not that long ago filed patents that will allow the vehicle to repossess itself and drive back to the dealer if the monthly payments are not made on time!
Other brands unrelated to cars are doing subscriptions, too. Apple is now also considering making their iPhones and other Apple products subscription-based.
[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).
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