[CRracer712]

I know car manufacturers have talked about it, some may even be implementing it.

Want heated seats that your car you bought came with? Pay a monthly subscription for them to be functional.

This is the first I've heard about it in the motorcycle world. I'm a cardo fan, but I'm not excited about this at all. I can only hope it fails.

Cardo pack talk custom

Prices range from 20 bucks a year to 40 bucks a year, monthly payment options available as well.


These options are fully available on the current gen pack talk edge, and bold(but older Bluetooth version and DMC version)

My friends and I use the bold, work great, no need to upgrade. I just don't like where this is headed considering the suggested retail of these new units are the same as the old, fully functional units.

 

[mike721]

If the new units are cheaper ( I see you said they are not) then it might work, but if they cost the same then what is the advantage?

 

[RogerC60]

It looks like PackTalk Custom will support everything that PackTalk Edge has, except charge while using. Custom MSRP is about $120 less than Edge. If you buy the Custom because it's less $$$ and then subscribe it all the way up, it won't be long until you have ended up paying more than you would have if you had just bought the Edge in the first place. If up-front cost is an issue, just buy the Edge using your credit card and pay a few dollars in interest rather than paying the hefty subscription fee for years.

 

[RogerC60]

But the whole issue is having to pay for stuff that's already built into the product you paid money to own. I don't like it either.

What will happen is that hackers will figure out how to bypass these systems and get all the features turned on. Security in automotive data systems is notoriously lax. Search online for articles about how hackers snoop and spoof key fob communications to steal cars.

 

[WintrSol]

They say what you get if you subscribe, but not if you don't subscribe. Are they functional without a subscription? If not, then a hard pass. If fully functional for comms, and you just subscribe to get the listed extras, then OK, I don't need any of them, anyway.

 

[Traveller11]

Ford is coming out with a system that will lock you out of the car and self drive itself back to the nearest dealer if you miss your payments. Tesla can already lock you out but they have to send someone to get it.

 

[Unkle Krusty]

Why I like old tech, and will not pay for new tech, except with a few exceptions.
Kind off neat to talk to the TV and it does stuff. Like find what I am looking for.

 

[WintrSol]

Why I like old tech, and will not pay for new tech, except with a few exceptions.
Kind off neat to talk to the TV and it does stuff. Like find what I am looking for.

That means it is recording everything you say, and sending it 'home' to a computer to check for key words; the NSA has nothing on 'smart' TVs.

 

[Traveller11]

That means it is recording everything you say, and sending it 'home' to a computer to check for key words; the NSA has nothing on 'smart' TVs.

@WintrSol why are't you on Intruders Alert anymore?

 

[FlipFlop]

In addition to all the above, I also seeing this being a way for manufacturers to make features where you need to buy new in order to use it too, data linked stuff being obsolete so to speak, just like phones.

Obummer I see you paid for the lifetime subscription to seat warmers but, your operating system is unable to update so you will need to buy a new car... well you see that model will not update to operating sytem 23.21.502....

 

[RogerC60]

@FlipFlop you bring up a very good point. It is not economically feasible for manufacturers to support products indefinitely. We all know that motorcycle manufacturers eventually stop making parts for old models. When it comes to product features that are driven by firmware, it's even worse. I see it from the supplier end, because I write firmware for a living.

An extreme example is Android phones. In a market where the manufacturers (notably Samsung) introduce a major new model every year, they devote their development dollars to producing the next new model, rather than porting the latest new Android version to their 3, 4, 5 - year-old phones. That's why you'll get over the air updates for about the first year, and after that nothing more.

The move to firmware driven features in automobiles and motorcycles means that you'll buy a vehicle that has a mechanical lifetime of 20 years (or more) if it's properly maintained, but some of its features will be unsupported after 5 years or so, and may stop working altogether.

This is all great for people who keep their vehicles for a couple of years and then trade them in for something new. But for those of us who like to by a vehicle and keep it for many miles and many years, we're going to be left out in the cold.

 

[WintrSol]

@WintrSol why are't you on Intruders Alert anymore?

Sold my S50/Intruder when I bought my Valkyrie, going on 8 years ago. Though I still have electronic copies of the service manuals, since I couldn't look at a bike to check on details, I didn't feel I could contribute meaningfully anymore. BTW, know anyone who wants a hard copy of the '04 VS800 owner's manual? I put the hard copy of the service manual in the saddlebags, but forgot the owner's manual.

 

[Traveller11]

Sold my S50/Intruder when I bought my Valkyrie, going on 8 years ago. Though I still have electronic copies of the service manuals, since I couldn't look at a bike to check on details, I didn't feel I could contribute meaningfully anymore. BTW, know anyone who wants a hard copy of the '04 VS800 owner's manual? I put the hard copy of the service manual in the saddlebags, but forgot the owner's manual.

Well you are always welcome back. The same group are still arguing about everything and very few own Intruders anymore. But we do have a few newer guys working on their first Intruders and learning from the old experienced guys. I will mention the owners manual but I have been downloading them here Suzuki Service Repair Manuals PDF

 

[johnny42]

Wonder if those "features" you need to subscribe to (heated seats, etc.) are an annual thing etc? I don't need heated seats from March till November. Nor do I need A/C from November till April. Maybe they should put a device in the car you drop coins into to get that feature by the hour/day, like those massage things in cheap hotels with the coin taker.

 

[Critter]

My 2020 Kia is capable of remote start IF I subscribe to their UVO service. It was free the first year but not anymore. I forget what it cost but it is not cheap. It is like GM's on star for emergency services, assistance, et al

I think I will spend 300 and get a unit that plugs into my existing computer system and uses my current keyfob or not. After all when it was free I only used it twice in a year and once was just to see how it worked.

 

[Traveller11]

I never had heated seats and don't see a reason to ever have them but once when I lived in South Carolina I borrowed a friends truck to pick something up and he had them. This was when they were still new to the market and I had never seen them. I guess I accidentally turned them on, FYI this was summer in SC, and about 20 minutes later my butt was hotter than hell. I had no idea why and ended up calling the guy to see if something was wrong with the truck. He told be how to turn them off and all was well after that.

 

[Steve Neul]

I know car manufacturers have talked about it, some may even be implementing it.

Want heated seats that your car you bought came with? Pay a monthly subscription for them to be functional.

This is the first I've heard about it in the motorcycle world. I'm a cardo fan, but I'm not excited about this at all. I can only hope it fails.

Cardo pack talk custom

Prices range from 20 bucks a year to 40 bucks a year, monthly payment options available as well.


These options are fully available on the current gen pack talk edge, and bold(but older Bluetooth version and DMC version)

My friends and I use the bold, work great, no need to upgrade. I just don't like where this is headed considering the suggested retail of these new units are the same as the old, fully functional units.

Nothing surprises me anymore. It's another reason I won't buy any vehicle made in the 21st century. I saw on another forum someone needed a taillight for their humvee and because they have computer chips and there is a shortage the taillights were running 3 grand each.

 

[BAZININJA]

Someone was just telling me about the heated seats subscription deal the other day. What a freaking ripoff!! It's bad enough that we get rooked into an extended warranty because of all the fancy sensors and cameras that'll go out of whack if you hit a pothole just wrong, and now this. The only thing I see working is a massive--and I do mean massive--consumer boycott or they'll just keep nickel-and-diming us to death. I admit that I choose to subscribe to satellite radio, but it's much more of a luxury than heated seats. But if want to update my navigation maps, it's $100+ to get the SD card. Just wait 'til they make us have a subscription so the A/C will work. That's when the general uprising will begin. Sure glad I've got a convertible.

 

[hogcowboy]

We all know that motorcycle manufacturers eventually stop making parts for old models.

It's called "planned obsolescence". And it's been part of industry since at least Henry Ford.

 

[Traveller11]

Ford is coming out with a system that will lock you out of the car and self drive itself back to the nearest dealer if you miss your payments. Tesla can already lock you out but they have to send someone to get it.

Ford wants to allow your car to lock you out — and even drive itself to an impound lot or scrapyard — if you miss payments

The car would first lose the use of features like GPS and A/C. As a last resort, it could lock the driver out and drive itself away for repossession.

www.businessinsider.com