BMW - rent teh right to use the radio

id10t · 01-19-2018, 08:31 AM

https://news.slashdot.org/story/18/01/19/177257/bmws-apple-carplay-annual-fee-is-next-level-gouging

pwd72s · 01-19-2018, 08:45 AM

Ahhh the joy and status of "The ultimate driving machine".

Are you saying one couldn't just plug in an ipod or smart phone and ignore the annual subscription fee?

KNS · 01-19-2018, 09:08 AM

Have you noticed BMW ads are moving away from the “Ultimate Driving Machine” theme and more towards love/family/safety ala Subaru?

RANDY P · RANDY P's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by KNS

Have you noticed BMW ads are moving away from the “Ultimate Driving Machine” theme and more towards love/family/safety ala Subaru?

I thought they were going towards the iCult crowd- the Apple of cars. I believe cars from Europe will be going thru an identity crisis over the next decade with the war on gas cars going on there.

Electric boring car anyone?

No thanks.

rjp

Daves911L · Daves911L's Garage

Sigh. Whatever happened to DRIVING a car? This guy is still quite content with his AM radio and paper maps.

onewhippedpuppy · 01-19-2018, 04:48 PM

Hey look, another reason not to buy one of their fat, overwrought, tech obsessed poorly made unreliable cars!

Nine, Frau! · 01-20-2018, 07:57 AM

That reminds me of what ownership of a john deere tractor means to the factory. Pop the hood and it calls the Deere company. They don't like farmers trying to fix anything anymore

sc_rufctr · 01-20-2018, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Hey look, another reason not to buy one of their fat, overwrought, tech obsessed poorly made unreliable cars!

Unfortunately true. I remember not that long ago a BMW was almost bullet proof. They just went on and on.

OBD2 was the beginning of the rot IMO.

masraum · 01-20-2018, 08:05 AM

It sounds to me like you could use the radio all day long for free.

What you can't do is use apple carplay for free.

You could even stream music to your apple phone and play it through the radio as long as you don't have carplay enabled.

Does this seem crazy? Definitely! Is it as big a deal as the post is making it seem like? Not quite.

Nickshu · Nickshu's Garage

Unfortunately the younger generation does not (will not) want to own cars. The writing is on the wall... Carmakers will make money selling subscriptions to cars or services in cars. I'd bet the subscription is included in a lease in a new BMW.

Sent from my Galaxy S7 using Tapatalk

Aerkuld · Aerkuld's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daves911L

Sigh. Whatever happened to DRIVING a car? This guy is still quite content with his AM radio and paper maps.

You have a radio? In your car? Show-off :-)

DanielDudley · 01-20-2018, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Unfortunately true. I remember not that long ago a BMW was almost bullet proof. They just went on and on.

OBD2 was the beginning of the rot IMO.

But not the actual problem.

wdfifteen · wdfifteen's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Ahhh the joy and status of "The ultimate driving machine

I had 535 and it was a joke of a driving machine. You couldn’t adjust the heater without taking your eyes off the road and futzing with that absurd iDrive. I tried ONE track day and finished the second session in limp mode. Pissed away a $300 weekend watching my friends have fun. BMW is a great car for dilettantes and computer tech enthusiasts, but for a driving enthusiast leasing it was a huge mistake. It’s not a driving machine, but it is a great (but expensive) gadget. The lighting system is second to none.

onewhippedpuppy · 01-20-2018, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by masraum

It sounds to me like you could use the radio all day long for free.

What you can't do is use apple carplay for free.

You could even stream music to your apple phone and play it through the radio as long as you don't have carplay enabled.

Does this seem crazy? Definitely! Is it as big a deal as the post is making it seem like? Not quite.

The ridiculous thing is that you get Apple Carplay for free on a $15k Chevy Cruze. I travel for work and it's actually quite nice, you plug in your phone and get the GPS display from your phone sent to the dash.

masraum · 01-20-2018, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

The ridiculous thing is that you get Apple Carplay for free on a $15k Chevy Cruze. I travel for work and it's actually quite nice, you plug in your phone and get the GPS display from your phone sent to the dash.

CarPlay is great. I put an aftermarket Pioneer in my Boxster. It's got carplay. It's nice that I can stream Pandora (no commercials) to my phone and control it seamlessly from the head unit, as well as making and receiving calls and texts (using voice recognition). I wish Waze was a carplay capable app.