You paid for the car, the insurance, the gas, and the repairs — but real owners are finding out they don’t actually own it. In this video, real owners and mechanics explain the subscription fees for features already installed, a Ford patent that can refuse to shift into drive based on your heart rate, a Bronco that shut down in highway traffic over a late payment, and a manufacturer that sued its own customers for finding a free workaround. And I break down why your name on the title doesn’t mean what you think it means anymore.

  • MalReynolds@slrpnk.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    15
    ·
    12 days ago

    DIY (or get someone else to) EV conversions of classics need to become a bigger thing. Until then, make sure it’s something you can at least pull the internet from, treat 'em like ‘smart’ TVs. No internet for you. Do your research people.

    • quick_snail@feddit.nl
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      12 days ago

      They are already a thing. Peak was maybe 10 years ago. It became less marketable once EVs flooded the market.

      Question is: what’s the best frame (easily available in junk yards) to covert?

      • MalReynolds@slrpnk.net
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        12 days ago

        They are already a thing. Peak was maybe 10 years ago. It became less marketable once EVs flooded the market.

        Yah, hence ‘need to become a bigger thing’. I’m sort of envisioning kits for specific models, I don’t know cars, but the Honda Civic came to mind as a hot hatchback. A few good cheap models with say detachable range extenders that fit in the cargo area (because you shouldn’t change the weight distribution too much and batteries are heavy) could get the ball rolling. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle… but also you get to control the electronics yourself.

  • saphiron@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    13
    ·
    12 days ago

    Still driving a 2007 Ford Focus with manual transmission. Gets 36mpg highway.

    I am dreading the day it dies and I have to get a newer car.

  • Zier@fedia.io
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    12
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    12 days ago

    A subscription car is called… a bus pass. Or a rail/subway pass. A private car is private. People are being sold public transportation in smaller sizes.

  • Malyca@lemmy.zip
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    6
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    12 days ago

    I really lucked out with Rivian. So far though, Rivian and Volvo can decide to be dicks too and nothing will stop them if they do.

    • Keilik@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      12 days ago

      Rivian is phenomenal as long as nothing goes wrong with them, as the wait times for parts are kinda long right now and there aren’t a ton of people trained to work on them.

      That’s literally the worst that can be said about them right now, which is also great. Volvo I’m worried about since PoleStar just got banned in the USA from selling new cars but I’m pretty sure if they went even slightly evil they’d lose most of their customer base from reputation alone.

      • curiousaur@reddthat.com
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        12 days ago

        The problem is that the polestars are rebranded Chinese evs. Volvo was purchased by a Chinese company for the purpose of using its branding to get Chinese cars to market.

    • Malyca@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      12 days ago

      I was going to trade in my car, fuck that shit, I’ll repair it until the bottom rusts out.

  • AgentSeven@lemmy.zip
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    4
    ·
    12 days ago

    We are well and truly in the era of post-giving-a-shit on the part of corporations because the no matter what they do - enough people will buy it anyway.

    People in this city could travel four miles and save sixty cents a gallon on gas because of AI pricing, but all 16 pumps are still full at the price-gouging Circle K because it’s right next to the freeway on-ramp.

    • Kaligalis@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      12 days ago

      Convenience is a service in itself. That’s why piracy isn’t actually a problem for game devs and why restaurants exist.

  • pedz@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    11 days ago

    Fuck cars anyway. Even if people own their shitty mobile living room, they’re still going to contribute to climate change because of parking lots and heat islands. Tire shedding is also a major source of pollution. Cars kill a human about every 30 seconds.

    Own your car but still pay regularly to feed it energy, be it gas or electricity, to move a multi ton vehicle everywhere around, and still be dependent on car culture anyway.

    Fuck cars.