Mercedes locks faster acceleration behind a $1,200 annual paywal

[Eric]

Mercedes is charging $1,200 a year for faster acceleration

Gotta go fast? Best pay up.

www.theverge.com

The German auto manufacturer is the latest company to offer subscription services for features a vehicle was already capable of.

 

[Pumbaa]

This has to end. Now.

 

[Eric]

Tesla set the tone for this, want to boost your 0-60 acceleration from 4.2s to 3.7s? That'll be $2K and the change is instant once they remove the restriction.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Tesla set the tone for this, want to boost your 0-60 acceleration from 4.2s to 3.7s? That'll be $2K and the change is instant once they remove the restriction.

You're forgetting the addition $1000 for a new set of tyres should you use it once to often. I don't think I've put my BMW i3S in sport mode more than once!

 

[DT]

Tesla set the tone for this, want to boost your 0-60 acceleration from 4.2s to 3.7s? That'll be $2K and the change is instant once they remove the restriction.

It's worth pointing out, the Model 3 SR, Model 3 Performance, Model Y Performance, Model S LR and Plaid, Model X LR and Plaid, none of these have acceleration boost option (it's unique to the LR).

And it was nearly 2 years after the Model 3 was released, and the there have been multiple, free performance updates for the Model 3 LR and P models. The LR is kind of a unique design in that it had a decent amount of additional performance that could be uncorked due to some decisions about motors, battery, that were more about economy of scale, but wound up having additional perks.

People buy an LR with A level of performance for B price, the extra performance is not included. I look at it this way, would you rather pay $2000 more for a Model 3 LR with Acceleration Boost included standard, and have performance you'd just as soon not have, possibly burn through consumables quicker, I get it you're sort of "paying for nothing", but even as ol' school as I am about cars/performance, that concept of a purely software based "modification" doesn't bother me at all. Ford actually has performance packs for the Mustang, it's a tune and an air filter that are covered under warranty, it's not much different than the acceleration boost (change to the electronics/calibration).

If I could pay $2K and download a big performance boost for my P model, I'd do it right now.

The subscription model is a bit weirder vs. a one time purchase like Tesla offers, using the Mustang product I mentioned above, it would be like paying a subscription and if you stop, some Ford tech sneaks into your garage, removes the calibration and filter. At least with Tesla it's like installing parts, once they're in place, they're part of the car.

 

[Pumbaa]

A one-time payment is still questionable but easier to swallow than subscriptions.

 

[DT]

A one-time payment is still questionable but easier to swallow than subscriptions.

But why is it questionable?

(and I'm very specially talking about performance improvement by way of paid software updates)

You shop a car, it's (let's say) $50K, it has performance specifications of some 0-60/HP/TQ (whatever attributes you want to consider). That's it, you can buy it, or not buy it based on price + key performance metrics.

You're getting exactly what you're paying with a pre-determined set of expectations.

The additional acceleration has value, so that could be rolled into the base price making the car more expensive, possibly missing the Fed tax credit cutoff, it's going to use more electricity, i.e., more cost / less range, the extra performance and power makes a notable difference in the overall experience with the vehicle, and some people don't want it. So if it's the option of more people not opting for it and getting a less costly car, make the people who want more performance pay more.

At the end of the day, how it's delivered is sort of irrelevant.

 

[Pumbaa]

But why is it questionable?

Because feelings.

(and I'm very specially talking about performance improvement by way of paid software updates)

You shop a car, it's (let's say) $50K, it has performance specifications of some 0-60/HP/TQ (whatever attributes you want to consider). That's it, you can buy it, or not buy it based on price + key performance metrics.

You're getting exactly what you're paying with a pre-determined set of expectations.

The additional acceleration has value, so that could be rolled into the base price making the car more expensive, possibly missing the Fed tax credit cutoff, it's going to use more electricity, i.e., more cost / less range, the extra performance and power makes a notable difference in the overall experience with the vehicle, and some people don't want it. So if it's the option of more people not opting for it and getting a less costly car, make the people who want more performance pay more.

At the end of the day, how it's delivered is sort of irrelevant.

No, I actually agree, as long as the performance and features you get are clearly specified. Brings me back to good ol’ Airport Extreme 802.11n Enabler. Oh Lord the posts at the other place…

 

[Eric]

A one-time payment is still questionable but easier to swallow than subscriptions.

Tesla would have you buy a subscription for a crippled service where you'll likely never qualify for all of its features. Elon just goes all in on screwing people for every cent. I regret ever buying my car from that piece of shit.

 

[DT]

I regret ever buying my car from that piece of shit.

Used market is still pretty good, the next best option(IMHO) the BMW i4 (M40 or M50) availability has really opened up and while I have no need / see no need, for CarPlay in a Tesla, the BMW offers that option to supplement their car tech.

I say go for it.

 

[thekev]

You're getting exactly what you're paying with a pre-determined set of expectations.

The additional acceleration has value, so that could be rolled into the base price making the car more expensive, possibly missing the Fed tax credit cutoff, it's going to use more electricity, i.e., more cost / less range, the extra performance and power makes a notable difference in the overall experience with the vehicle, and some people don't want it. So if it's the option of more people not opting for it and getting a less costly car, make the people who want more performance pay more.

At the end of the day, how it's delivered is sort of irrelevant.

You talk about it like they're independent variables. They're likely to start with this, then slowly start carving out additional features that would have been standard and expected in favor of making them add-ons. They're likely to get away with it as long as it becomes an established norm among car manufacturers, similar to how splitting off what should be standard content as paid DLC became standard practice amongst video game publishers.

 

[DT]

You talk about it like they're independent variables. They're likely to start with this, then slowly start carving out additional features that would have been standard and expected in favor of making them add-ons. They're likely to get away with it as long as it becomes an established norm among car manufacturers, similar to how splitting off what should be standard content as paid DLC became standard practice amongst video game publishers.

Well, I guess I'll wait and see if that actually happens, acceleration boost has been offered on the 3Y LR (the only models where it's applicable) since 2019, and the FSD related tech (like most other manufacturers) is a tech add-on with the connectivity.

So in 2022 they haven't alacart'ed things like heated seats, or other general hardware options.

If they do, I have the option to buy something else.

 

[Eric]

Used market is still pretty good, the next best option(IMHO) the BMW i4 (M40 or M50) availability has really opened up and while I have no need / see no need, for CarPlay in a Tesla, the BMW offers that option to supplement their car tech.

I've purchased the car so he's already got my money, when it's reasonable and practical I'll trade it towards something else. Just wish I had known what a maniac he was going to turn out to be a year ago.

I say go for it.

Appreciate the support for me to lose tens of thousands of dollars but I'm upset, not stupid.

 

[DT]

I've purchased the car so he's already got my money, when it's reasonable and practical I'll trade it towards something else. Just wish I had known what a maniac he was going to turn out to be a year ago.


Appreciate the support for me to lose tens of thousands of dollars but I'm upset, not stupid.

I thought you might be ahead with the used market still being pretty good, definitely not suggesting taking a big hit. It was more support for doing something that seemed to be what you really wanted.

 

[thekev]

Well, I guess I'll wait and see if that actually happens, acceleration boost has been offered on the 3Y LR (the only models where it's applicable) since 2019, and the FSD related tech (like most other manufacturers) is a tech add-on with the connectivity.

So in 2022 they haven't alacart'ed things like heated seats, or other general hardware options.

If they do, I have the option to buy something else.

You do have that option as of right now. My point was that they may be testing the waters. It's only a choice when it's not standard practice among available car manufacturers. As of now, it doesn't have any impact on me, as I hate Mercedes.

 

[fischersd]

But why is it questionable?

(and I'm very specially talking about performance improvement by way of paid software updates)

You shop a car, it's (let's say) $50K, it has performance specifications of some 0-60/HP/TQ (whatever attributes you want to consider). That's it, you can buy it, or not buy it based on price + key performance metrics.

You're getting exactly what you're paying with a pre-determined set of expectations.

The additional acceleration has value, so that could be rolled into the base price making the car more expensive, possibly missing the Fed tax credit cutoff, it's going to use more electricity, i.e., more cost / less range, the extra performance and power makes a notable difference in the overall experience with the vehicle, and some people don't want it. So if it's the option of more people not opting for it and getting a less costly car, make the people who want more performance pay more.

At the end of the day, how it's delivered is sort of irrelevant.

It's offensive when they're just flipping a flag in the chip. (basically tweaking sport mode). Something that you could do yourself with your phone and the right software (and the plug for the diagnostics port - but they WE would void our warranty, as it isn't a factory configuration.

 

[Eric]

It's offensive when they're just flipping a flag in the chip. (basically tweaking sport mode). Something that you could do yourself with your phone and the right software (and the plug for the diagnostics port - but they WE would void our warranty, as it isn't a factory configuration.

This is the main point with both Tesla and Mercedes, they build in crippleware that you have to pay to unlock. I have no compunctions about using third party hardware/software when it comes to this, what the manufacturers are doing is unethical so there's no reason we should be loyal to them.

 

[Yoused]

what the manufacturers are doing is unethical so there's no reason we should be loyal to them

The manufacturers seem to have enough pull in the market that they can do WETF they want. If we had proper cottage-ish industry instead of massive corporate dominance, this kind of BS would never fly. The thing about BEVs is that they are ideal for industry balkanization, but with structures like NHTSA and DOT firmly in their grip, independent car makers are SoL.