New Toyota car owners will need to pay a $8/mo so their key fob can remote-start their car. Cars before 2018 are excluded, because their internal 3G networks are about to go offline, disabling Toyota's remote control. https://arstechnica.com/cars/2021/12/toyota-owners-have-to-pay-8-mo-to-keep-using-their-key-fob-for-remote-start/
Every car maker is looking for ways to turn a one-time car purchase into a subscription, because technology now grants them remote control of your car. I wrote more about this phenomenon here: https://puri.sm/posts/locked-in-a-remote-control-car/
I'm so glad my vehicles are in good shape, and from before this era of always-on networks and remote control. If I needed a car, I wouldn't buy a new one.
@kyle I am so torn. I feel like one of the plug-in hybrids is the responsible choice, but HELL NO I don’t want someone else in control of my car. It’s mine or it isn’t, screw subscriptions.
@Stacky My hope is that by the time I do need to get a different car, either the current situation w/ remote control will improve, or else there will be more off-the-shelf EV conversion kits available for older cars.
@Stacky There's also an ecological argument to be made for refurbishing and converting existing gasoline cars where the environmental cost of making them has already been spent, instead of throwing them away in favor of spending that cost to make a new car.
