NEWS FROM THE FUTURE: Pay now, drive later may mean not driving at all

Dateline: July 15 2025

With the popularity of “mobility as a service” and subscription models for motoring, it has become commonplace for car companies to offer a variety of premium features as optional services — for a fee. For example, Tesla’s Full Self Driving package can be purchased upfront, or as a monthly subscription, with regular updates. And you can cancel if you find you’re no longer using it.

It’s a bit like Amazon Prime, where you get a number of “benefits” for a moderate monthly charge. And with more and more vehicle capabilities and comforts baked into the car hardware and electronically activated and controlled, you can unlock extra features on demand — if you sign up.

But now it’s becoming a bit absurd. BMW caused a stir back in 2022 when it offered heated seats for $18 per month, and a heated steering wheel for $10. And if you wanted to buy them outright, the app said that option was “currently unavailable”. Toyota pulled the same stunt with remote starting and parking, where you first had to subscribe to the connected car service. And because these software services are authorised over the air, they can be switched off if your payment doesn’t clear.

If it seems unfair that your standard battery pack has a limited range, which can be dramatically extended at the tap of a button, remember that’s a feature — you only need to pay for the more expensive option when you need it for a long trip! The car companies claim they are actually saving you money. You can risk jailbreaking the car’s operating system, but that will void your warranty, is illegal in terms of your purchase agreement, and could turn your ride into a very expensive brick.

Sure, if you work from home and hardly ever need a car, you can buy a “barebones system” for next to nothing and keep it in the garage for free. But don’t be surprised when you jump in and press the start button, and the car says: “That will be $20 please…”

• Published on July 14 2022

Your car needs a tech support plan

Would you buy a software-defined vehicle from a used car salesman?

Dateline: February 12 2024

If you’re like me, you love tech and you love cars. But you don’t like buying the latest model, with all the bells and whistles, only to see it lose a fifth of its value the moment you drive it off the showroom floor.

Like me, you like to buy a good pre-owned, pre-loved model that has been well looked after, and won’t put you in hock to the bank for five years of repayments. In other words, a great deal!

Which is a problem  if your car of choice is one of those high-tech models, with over-the-air software updates, and an embedded artificial intelligence autopilot. Your first question has to be: what’s the support plan? The last thing you want is a firmware failure, stuck on the highway in limp mode, or auto-steering into a ditch, because of a “system glitch”.

Yes, it’s true. Unless it’s one of those “vinyl” retro models, your ride is more like a supercomputer on wheels than a mobile mean machine. When the main display goes blank, you know who you’ve gotta call, and it’s not Ghostbusters or the dealer who took your money. It’s Tech Support.

And just like old computers, second-hand cars might have some unexpected hidden “features”, such as an out-of-date operating system, or optional extras with an expired licence; even end-of-support versions, or a history of being constantly hacked.

So if you’re scoping the market for a nice used car, don’t kick the tyres — check the support plan!

• Published on February 13 2020

• Despite appearances to the contrary, Futureworld cannot, and does not, predict the future. The Mindbullets scenarios are fictitious and designed purely to explore possible futures, and challenge and stimulate strategic thinking.