I can see the next gen come with auto horn as it gets more sophisticated with AI and image recognition. Your truck recognizes a tag that has warrant for arrest, blue cruise ride it's bumper blasting the horn. After you survive the shooting, you are offered the ability to turn off the auto horn for $2K a month. What a deal.In 2022, Farley said he would “be surprised if we charged for heated seats. I don’t think that’s our approach.” But that was then.
Many days later, in 2023, Ford Pro reported that they've got 400,000 customers paying for various subscriptions, a 60% jump from the previous year. "Ford believes that 20% of earnings at its commercial unit before interest and taxes will come from software services by 2026"
I mean, Logitech is talking about subscription mice.
Obviously, subscription brakes will be a major improvement over what we have now. A basic braking system capable of stopping the vehicle after a while will be standard. But customers who want a system capable of stopping the vehicle in an emergency can subscribe for a mere $200 a month. Isn't staying alive worth $200 a month?
Opportunism isn't collusion but it's still not cool.I can see the next gen come with auto horn as it gets more sophisticated with AI and image recognition. Your truck recognizes a tag that has warrant for arrest, blue cruise ride it's bumper blasting the horn. After you survive the shooting, you are offered the ability to turn off the auto horn for $2K a month. What a deal.
Sky is the limit for revenue potential of subscription model.
Drama and kidding aside, if the manufacturers don't collude against us, we should be OK with our choices.
Collusion isn't oportunism but it's illegal. I have no evidence that has happened with regards to subscription services/features. Just saying if the competition is free and not rigged, we should be OK.Opportunism isn't collusion but it's still not cool.
I think some are confusing this as a Subscription when it's a Purchase. You pay a one time fee and the power is on the car forever. I also understand what some are saying that Ford has essentially detuned the Mach-E in order to sell this Upgrade. For us with older Lightning models a performance boost option would be welcomed.I agree with some other comments in this thread and don't see this as a big deal from a negative standpoint. People bought the vehicle with a set of specifications, that's what those people expect from their vehicle when they bought it. Ford figured out how to release more power (an unnecessary upgrade), this is an unneccesary add-on that isn't adding something previously promised.
Based on Ford's recent revenue, this isn't a bad idea.
If they released one for the Lightning I probably wouldn't buy it...I already feel a little guilty with how fast our heavy truck goes.