Needing OnStar for supercruise is BS. That kind of tied service should be banned. If I buy a car with assists, they should keep working without me needing to constantly pay.
I try to compare that with my late mother's habit of gifting her senior friends copies of her latest cassette of Blue Spanish Eyes, transferred to a 99¢ Walmart blank.
Seniors refuse to see that they don't own the rights to copy. Ask them how they would feel about living in a commune where they could have stuff but anyone in the commune could use if free. If anyone, at any time, could walk into their yard and use their $5000 BBQ, or maybe swimming pool, invite their friends, would they be OK with it? Wouldn't they prefer someone else putting out the capital?
Copying Photoshop etc is similar but bigger numbers and better protected.
The car stuff is different in that the stuff is automatically installed at a relatively low cost. You own it. I don't think you need to return it to the manufacturer if you sell or scrap the car. You just can't use it without paying for their permission. Control modules screw you if you tamper.
I don't think a control module can tell if you're running a $40 aftermarket heated seat cushion but other options can only be run through the car's paid system.
MS Office is copy written but you can subscribe for ~$100 a year with full service or for double, buy it outright doing your own maintenance. Maintenance without the manual isn't easy and there is a subscription for the manual. Gotcha!
A mechanic friend refused to service Land Rover because he would only get one or two repairs a year and the subscription fees for the manuals couldn't be justified.
I'm reviewing my position on EV's as I see my ICE maintenance costs go up. My dealer moved to more posh surroundings and I'm getting more posh bills.
Range anxiety used to point me towards PHEV but having an ICE on board means more complexity. Electric motors, if not abused, last for decades as my 70 year old beer fridge and 60 year old freezer will testify.
PHEV, because it has an ICE, I am uncomfortable with oil sitting around being not being used enough. More hoses, fuel systems, wiring, sensors, filters and relays. It's not like a Briggs and Stratton lawn mower where you run it for years because replacement is a few hundred dollars.
Battery range is cured by attitude adjustment. Battery stability and complexity are more the issues for me. Can I get a replacement in ten years? Will the manufacturer support changes.
What are the realistic fire risks? Fire departments fill out incident reports so what are the numbers?
