The convenience and user friendliness of modern cars often come with some significant drawbacks, which many of us tend to overlook…
Issue 1: Modern vehicles have essentially become rolling computers. What do manufacturers do with this newfound power? They seize the opportunity to extract more money from us. Take Mercedes, for example, offering a ‘£60 per month service’ to unlock additional power from the motors on their electric EQ models. Essentially, it’s like paying extra to access what you’ve already purchased, but which is deliberately limited until you pay this extra fee.
Tesla follows suit. They allow you to ‘purchase’ rear heated seats for £300, even though these seats are already physically present in the car – they simply need an activation code to function.
It’s a business strategy, plain and simple. For years, manufacturers have used a one-size-fits-all wiring harness for various car models, regardless of whether a specific feature, like electric windows, is present or not.
While Tesla may find acceptance among its tech-savvy clientele, BMW’s attempt to implement an £18 per month subscription plan for heated seats quickly met resistance from their less forgiving customer base. However, this issue hasn’t disappeared, leading us to the next point.
Issue 2: Modern vehicles, essentially computers on wheels, gather a staggering amount of data about us. This fact alone is concerning, but according to Mozilla, these cars rank as the absolute worst in terms of privacy. What’s more troubling is that we have no way to opt out of this data collection.
Among the 25 vehicles Mozilla tested, all received a “Privacy Not Included” rating. This is alarming, especially considering how much time we spend in our cars. Just think about the sheer amount of personal information they have access to. It’s unsettling.
Even more disconcerting is the fact that 84% of these manufacturers are sharing and selling your data. In this context, it’s almost like meeting Dave from “2001: A Space Odyssey” crossed with HAL 9000.
But it’s not all bleak; there is a solution. Consider hiring one of our vehicles here, as I can personally guarantee that none of them can or will spy on you. Just remember, it might be wise to leave your phone at home when you hit the road for a drive.
