Forget Netflix, Volkswagen locks horsepower behind paid subscription

Re:Forget Netflix, Volkswagen locks horsepower behind paid s... by Eddy_Viscosity2 on Saturday August 16, 2025 @11:03AM (#44924070)

Although I didn't say it, I was treating the 'full cost' as being all of the development etc also. It doesn't change the situation, the car company still needs to set the price to recover everything else they go under. In very special cases, companies do sometimes sell at a loss but even in this situation, purposefully making any part of the car worse is still wrong and bad. I see limiting HP with software as no different than charging extra to NOT take a hammer to windshield.

'Do you want to pay extra for the non-cracked windsheild?

'But the cars on the lot all look fine, no cracks'

'Unless you pay us $100, we will smash your windshield with a hammer before giving it to you. You also have to pay that $100 every month from now on, else the TOS says we can come to your house and smash your windshield. This has been shown to maximize our profits.'

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Re:Forget Netflix, Volkswagen locks horsepower behind paid s... by ImPostingOnHN on Saturday August 16, 2025 @08:40PM (#44928018)

> I see limiting HP with software as no different than charging extra to NOT take a hammer to windshield.

The example seems a bit contrived and exaggerated. I don't think many people see things that way. A car with a suboptimally-tuned engine isn't equivalent to a car with a smashed windshield. The latter isn't even legal to drive.

Also, thanks to the internet, you can know exactly the power output of the specific model and trim (perhaps even the specific vehicle) you'll be buying before you even step foot onto a lot.

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Re:Forget Netflix, Volkswagen locks horsepower behind paid s... by Eddy_Viscosity2 on Saturday August 16, 2025 @10:11PM (#44928359)

The example was of course exaggerated as it was intended to showcase the absurdity of the situation. You could of course replace the smashed windshield, with them ripping up the seats or spraying the interior with skunk smell. The point is they are making something worse about the car.

And yes you can know these things before you buy, though with modern TOS, there's no saying they can't change the terms and further downgrade your performance unless you pay up. My point is they shouldn't be allowed to do any of this in the first place. If its in the car you bought, you should have access to it.

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Re:Forget Netflix, Volkswagen locks horsepower behind paid s... by ImPostingOnHN on Sunday August 17, 2025 @07:40AM (#44930908)

> The point is they are making something worse about the car.

Put another way, they aren't tuning your car for you, and that's okay, because you never knew your 110 power car was even capable of putting out 150 if you tuned it. You looked up the specific car you were buying online, saw it was listed as having 110, and thus expected it to have 110 the whole time. Then, you drove it, felt 110, were happy with 110, and bought it. No surprises there.

> there's no saying they can't change the terms and further downgrade your performance unless you pay up

Sure, just like anybody selling you a car can later come and smash it and beat you up and take your wallet and steal your identity etc etc. None of those things seem to actually be happening though?

> My point is they shouldn't be allowed to do any of this in the first place.

Why not? Your viewpoint is fair and valid, but all you've shared so far in support of it is an analogy that doesn't fit and repeating that you don't think things should be this way.

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