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by ryandrake 1049 days ago
I think the usual "heated seats" example is a poor one, since it's so obviously an optional feature that not everyone would want to hack around.

Let's say instead that BMW decided all their car models would be physically 4 seaters, but in order to be allowed to use the back two seats, you had to pay a large monthly "sedan fee". And if they caught you using the back seats without paying, they'd sue you. Would anyone accept this? Likely no. And the reason you shouldn't accept this is the same reason you shouldn't accept the "seat heat" fee.
3 comments
Denvercoder9 1049 days ago
> Would anyone accept this? Likely no.

I wouldn't be so sure, it's all about the price. There's plenty of people that don't have a need for the backseats, and at a certain discount on the purchase price it becomes worth it to have two unusable seats in the back of the car. Think about the extreme case, in which the car is free: there are certainly people that would take that deal.

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beiller 1049 days ago
Not sure what you're getting at, but the back seat example here has all the same issues I pointed out above. They actually would weigh even more than seat heaters. I only gave some examples above of why it's bad but there are many more off the top.

Either way if I truly think I am right, then BMW, etc should just go ahead with this plan. It should be a money loser for them in the long run. But on second thought why burn all this CO2 just to prove a point. We should probably collectively put a stop to it sooner rather than later.

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ryandrake 1049 days ago
I agree with you 100%. Sometimes on HN we assume when someone replies to us they're disagreeing!
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beiller 1049 days ago
Haha yeah I wasn't quite sure from the response, so I just expanded on what I was saying before. I wonder if there is any examples of it being a good thing in any way shape or form.
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nichtverstehen 1049 days ago
No need to imagine. That's public transportation. You can physically enter a bus and sit there and get to places for free.

But you're supposed to get a ticket. Or is it fair game to use public transport for free because you can?

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