Mazda angers owners by making them pay for popular feature

The point isn't to petulantly flash the middle-finger to the 21st century (thought in a puerile sense, that's fun too), but to selectively accept or reject, what "simplifies" our lives, at the cost of independence, self-affirmation and the like.

Aren't you being a bit overdramatic? No one is losing their independence by using remote start. No one is denying self-affirmation with heated seats. Lord forbid, we use a garage door opener. The decadence!
 
Aren't you being a bit overdramatic? No one is losing their independence by using remote start. No one is denying self-affirmation with heated seats. Lord forbid, we use a garage door opener. The decadence!
Technology has made living in harsh (both winter and summer) climates far more tolerable.

Remote start, heated seats and steering wheels, AC and heaters, etc.

A person can choose not to use those things, but I will.
 
Cooling seats is an option on many vehicles. It's basically a fan that blows air though the perforated holes in the seat back and seat bottom. It's not really cold air but it's air at same temperature as the cabin air. My wife's car has it and it's useful on hot, sticky days.
Actually, my Kia EV6 blows air-conditioned air through the seat ventilation when I turn it on. You supposedly use less energy heating or cooling your back and legs via the seat than conditioning the whole cabin, as it should reduce the need for a higher or lower cabin temp.
 
I vacillate a bit on the topic of subscriptions for functionality that is already built into a car. I'm staunchly in favor of companies doing what they choose to make a buck. It's the "American way." Having said that, I reserve the right to resent them building functionality into the car and then charging extra to use it. Why not a subscription to use power steering or brakes? Why not a subscription to use power seats? How about a subscription to use an AM/FM radio. Where do you draw the line?

I'm kinda glad I don't have to make the choice on this as remote start/AC would be kinda nice in the Islands from time to time. I still don't think I'd pay for it. AND I would RESENT having to make the decision.

My old Buick has some nice features but the only one that I'd have to pay for would be ON-Star. I don't use it but I can see why that would cost money. It's actually monitored by humans and actually costs someone money to make it available. Using remote start doesn't cost the company a cent (and the buyer already paid for the functionality.)

I think if it came down to it (IOW if I ever actually buy a new car again) I'd make the deal with the dealer and then (finally) say the deal is off if I have to pay for turning a feature on in the future. That's the closest I'd come to the middle finger I guess. YMMV
 
Aren't you being a bit overdramatic? No one is losing their independence by using remote start. No one is denying self-affirmation with heated seats. Lord forbid, we use a garage door opener. The decadence!
You're paying extra for this stuff... not merely at point-of-purchase, but recurrently. Once accustomed to some kind of service, pleasure or convenience - which is often initially for free, or for nominal cost - we become thralls of the thing. The marketers realize that we've been captured. They switch the terms on us, understanding that it feels like a defeat and untenable setback, to relinquish that to which we've gotten used. Inertia keeps us paying more and more, for less and less.
 
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You're paying extra for this stuff... not merely at point-of-purchase, but recurrently. Once accustomed to some kind of service, pleasure or convenience - which if often initially for free, or for nominal cost - we become thralls of the thing. The marketers realize that we've been captured. They switch the terms on us, understanding that it feels like a defeat and untenable setback, to relinquish that to which we've gotten used. Inertia keeps us paying more and more, for less and less.

I don't know where you're getting your examples of people "in thrall" with subscription based services, but it's certainly not here on ER.ORG. Just look at the "Cutting the Cord" thread, where people cancel their streaming service days or weeks before the promotional rates expire. Or the numerous threads about people quitting their cell phone service because they raised their rates $3 a month after having their 3 year contract expire.

"We" are not falling for this stuff.
 
I just start my car after I get in it. Easy. No fee.
My car is a 1999 Ford F150 XL, their cheapo base model. I bought it new 25 years ago. No carpet. Crank windows. Manual transmission. Traditional turn-the-key engine starting. Analog gauges. Manual door locks. AM/FM radio with cassette player. No remote anything.

We use my phone and a couple of bluetooth speakers for navigation and entertainment.

After I've got the canoe strapped on top and the camper hitched up, we just climb in, start the engine and off we go. It's a marvel of modern technology!

I wonder if Ford will try to charge us a monthly subscription fee to enable the crank windows? You pay and the windows go up and down when you crank. You don't pay and you turn the handle but the window doesn't move.
 
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My Caddy Ct6 has heated and cooled seats. Since bought it used remote start a few times, nice feature.
My pet peeve on some cars was the subscription door lock/unlock remote. Had cancelled a Genesis G90 purchase as result.
 
Remote start will lower your gas mileage - guaranteed.
It’s not remote start that lowers your mileage. It’s excessive idling. Without remote start I’d go out, start the car and maybe idle longer. Remote Start automatically shuts off after 10 min or I can do it from the fob. It is actually illegal to leave a parked car running in my state.
 
My Caddy Ct6 has heated and cooled seats. Since bought it used remote start a few times, nice feature.
My pet peeve on some cars was the subscription door lock/unlock remote. Had cancelled a Genesis G90 purchase as result.
Was this to use the app? Or just to use the fob?
 
Remote start will lower your gas mileage - guaranteed.
Other have replied, but I think the thing your statement misses is that in the north, in the winter, you're going to start your car and let it run (idle) for awhile before you can drive it. Whether that's done with a remote or someone physically sitting in the car does not matter. In freezing weather, you're not going to just start your car and drive off.
 
My 14 year old Chevy HHR and DW's 10 year old VW Tiguan do not offer any subscription services and we would never subscribe to any even if they were offered.

My biggest issue is that they are putting the hardware for all of this in the car, which the customer is paying for, whether the feature is enabled by paying for the subscription or not. As in the article with Mazda sending the cease and desist regarding the remote start - my reaction would have been the same...with a few choice words. If you don't want me using the remote start or other subscription-based offering, which you installed in the car I bought, then just do not install it. I own it, and I'll do whatever I like with it - with or without your subscription or permission. I own the car, I paid for everything installed in it.

Many of the auto manufacturers are beginning to ignore that one small fact, that the customer owns the car, every last bit of it. Mr. Musk over at Tesla has floated the idea that while the customer isn't using their car and it's sitting in their garage overnight, he would use the on-board computers for his own computing endeavors - essentially getting free compute time/resources from millions of computers in Tesla EVs across the globe. So he'll have millions of Tesla's doing bitcoin mining for him on your dime - you bought the on-board computers, you're paying for the electricity powering them, and he's going to make money from it.

I believe that auto manufacturers are beginning to push up against some legal boundaries and we're likely to see some class action lawsuits find their way into the courts over time.
 
No remote unlock button on the fob, only option was via app.
Really? wow.
Did it have the proximity unlock? On our cars it will unlock if you put you hand on the handle (if the key is in your pocket or purse). To lock, there is a sensor you touch. We never even use the fob to lock or unlock anymore.
 
One of my previous company cars, a Lincoln, had airconditioned seat. Cooled seats.

It was wonderful. About the only thing on that car that did not require dealer servicing within the first nine months!
 
To give an example of use 'getting used to' subscription in a way is the airlines charging for checked luggage and an actual seat... those used to be free but not anymore...

And wait until the gvmt decides to charge you PER MILE you drive... why have some toll roads when you can make them all toll roads...
 
No remote unlock button on the fob, only option was via app.
So you had to actually insert the key unless you paid them a monthly fee? Sheeeesshh! Glad you cancelled. Good for you.
 
Really? wow.
Did it have the proximity unlock? On our cars it will unlock if you put you hand on the handle (if the key is in your pocket or purse). To lock, there is a sensor you touch. We never even use the fob to lock or unlock anymore.
I was not interested in finding out if proximity of fob would eneble handle touch unlock. I simply will not buy a car without unlock/lock on the fob. My 99 Suburban has the button as does the 2016 Colorado. My noney my peeve. Their loss.
My current Caddy CT6 has the proximity unlock feature, and the unlock/lock button on the fob. At night nice feature to hit unlock from 40 or so feet away and have all the lights show the way.
Passed on a Jaguar as well for the same reason as on the G90. It would have been my third Jag.
By the way I do miss having an ignition key to be used in the dash and the small vent vindows on driver's door.
 
Since it's a subscription, will they fix it for free if it breaks?
 
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