…smells foul. Try this bastardy on for size:
The growing “features on demand” (FoD) trend in the auto industry is upsetting American car owners, who are growing increasingly displeased with having to pay for extra car features via subscription. 69 percent of respondents to a recent survey indicated that they would probably switch car brands if they were forced to pay monthly fees for features like heated seats.
As far as I’m concerned, they can take their “FoD” and “FOAD” (fuck off and die).
Of course, cars aren’t expensive enough, so the manufacturers have to find other ways to suck blood cash from their customers.
And they can’t be stopped:
Subscription fees have been incorporated into automakers’ financial models and projected future earnings. Wall Street analysts and investors believe these extra funds will increase future profits and stock prices.
So basically, we’re fucked, then.
Unless, of course, we don’t buy any of their cars or if we do, we shun those oh-so necessary doodads like heated seats, GPS and “climate control” (what we used to call heating and a/c). Ditto “smart” key fobs and all the other useless and expensive shit that for some reason, we can’t seem to do without nowadays.
“Oh, you want a steering wheel with our new car? That’ll be $75/month, because you don’t just get a wheel, you also get a built-in gear shift, controls for your FM-only radio, and a telephone (another $25/month for unlimited calls anywhere within your own zip code). What’s that? You just want a plain wheel, no extras? How quaint. Well, we don’t offer those anymore, on the advice of our accountants. Now let’s talk about the monthly cost of ABS…”
Mother fuckers. Motherfucking fuckers.
In fact:
