BMW is framing this as a "one-time movie partnership"
What kind of people do you think are eating that up?
"Guys, it's just this one-time ad, we had no intention of ever doing this again! Just forget about it for a year or so!"
BMW is framing this as a "one-time movie partnership"
What kind of people do you think are eating that up?
"Guys, it's just this one-time ad, we had no intention of ever doing this again! Just forget about it for a year or so!"
It’s one-time in the sense that it’s this movie. Next one-time will be for the next movie
"It is a one time fee that you pay annually." One of the best Portlandia skits.
One reason this type of promotion may be becoming more common is that connected cars give automakers a direct path to the driver's screen.
Once a person purchases a vehicle it should be theirs, not shared access with Automakers and their partners.
It hasn't been that way for a long time. Every car since 2018 has some sort of black box in it that it records your driving behaviors, and that data gets sent to or sold to insurance companies who then use it to raise your premiums.
For people who had forgotten the seat heating subscription
Why do they keep trying to pull this bullshit?, they're a luxury brand, there margins should be pretty good without trying to nickel and dime everything
Have you ever heard of next quarter?
No amount of money can satisfy their empty fucking hearts and minds
There are no brakes on capitalism. It's always more, more and more.
Capitalism doesn't understand "good enough", only MOAR
Line must go up.
"we are a premium brand"
my ass.
These "premium" German brands are all committing suicide. Rejecting electric cars, rejecting nuclear power, designing cars that look like puke, and doing everything to monetize your use of the car.
With incompetent leadership like this, those 8k workers being laid off from BMW is just the beginning.
German car brands are rejecting nuclear power?
I was really looking forward to my luxury German nuclear-powered car as well >:(
You don't see them launching cars powered by their own onboard reactors, do you?
The premium is unfortunately not in the interior and infotainment experience, at least not these days. And I guess to non car people, the infotainment is what sells cars now.
The Germans still build the best* ICE drivetrains, the best chassis and suspension setups, to give you an excellent ride quality AND sporty handling in the same 2 ton family station wagon. Nobody compares, not even Volvo. But interior layouts have been going downhill steadily for like a decade now. And when it comes to EVs, you can't really compete without being Chinese anyway. Other countries don't have access to the same battery pricing, nor the same labor costs (to be fair the latter applies to both ICE and EV alike).
They'll all die slow deaths. As EVs become mandated, Chinese companies will take over because nobody else can afford to sell cars for so cheap. The Chinese cars will of course have all the same infotainment issues like unwanted ads and they'll be similar privacy nightmares, plus the prices will go up once you can only buy Chinese cars. It'll be fun and we'll all love it.
* Toyota Supra A90 used BMW's B58 engine. That should tell you everything you need to know. TOYOTA didn't bother coming up with their own engine for the chassis they also got from BMW. It's been heralded as the modern 2JZ.

Nothing says luxury car like trashy ads on your dash
I'm willing to bet that these cars do not get software updates wirelessly though. You gotta take your car into the stealership for those. But ads? Instant wireless transmission.
I'm sure this will help beat the Chinese automakers
This sounds like something that should be illegal.
I've never exactly been in the market for a bmw anyhow, but this is a great way to guarantee I will never want one.
I'm guessing the long term plan is to significantly increase the price of maintenance and updates then offer a cheaper plan with dashboard adds.
Curious, what IS the best new car brand for privacy? Especially in the EV sector?
I'm waiting to see regular reviews of those slate trucks and maybe a second model year/iteration. And maybe waiting to see if they eventually get better range. Sure not having a radio or infotainment is overkill, and only hand crank windows is overkill, but for $25k-30k and no big screen, it seems quite reasonable if all I want is a reliable box that moves around.
Fuck all. Especially in Europe now if mandates you have a camera watching your face in all new cars
So late 2023 models is all you get
"Your" dashboard?
We're heading straight towards a cyberpunk future.
And not even a shiny, pretty, exciting one, ours is still half boring for some reason. I can't even pin down what's missing. It still feels like ours has wood paneling or something, but even that would be too '70s, which would still be a little cool. Maybe ours is too '90s? Our cyberpunk somehow still feels too analogue and not enough.
When my wife bought a new Mazda, the dealer made her sign a form that said the remote start app would only be free for one year. He told her it was just boiler plate; the remote start app would be free forever. I knew when she bought the vehicle the remote start app would be a monthly charge starting in precisely one year. lol!
This doesn't count as vandalism??
Or a felony violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act!
Was looking for a new electric car and had BMW in the rotation. That’s not happening now. Was already on shaky ground after the heated seat thing and now I’m not touching em.
Ah ha, my clever plan has been poor and not being able to afford to buy a brand new BMW, has paid off.
On supported vehicles, starting the car brings up a banner on the Control Display, and tapping it launches a full-screen Spider-Man animation with music and ambient lighting effects. BMW says the feature is available on suitably equipped cars built after July 2020 and running BMW Operating System 7, 8, 8.5, 9, or X.
Ah, I see. It's a feature! I'm surprised they're not trying to charge a subscription fee to get ads on your dashboard.
In case you are considering purchasing a BMW here are the models mentioned in the article:
BMW says the feature is available on suitably equipped cars built after July 2020 and running BMW Operating System 7, 8, 8.5, 9, or X
Never believe a megacorp.
It was not a paid placement or advertisement. We are continually looking for more ways to say thanks for using Firefox.”
LOOOOOLOLOL
one of these days I'm going to spend a weekend going from dealership to dealership looking for a new car, and just wasting their time when I come across nonsense features like this
that Prius feature that beeps and distracts you from the road whenever you pull up to an intersection? that's fucked up
those features that remind you to pay attention to the road because you have sunglasses on, and pull your attention away from the road to tell you that? that's fucked up
the features that aggressively keep you in your lane when you drift to give room to an obstacle? that's fucked up
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.