"Subscription to a variety of in-car features"
Fuck you.
this post was submitted on 07 Jan 2025
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Electric Vehicles
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Given Sonys general fixation on weird expensive niche features, I wonder if there will be any market for this thing.
$90k AND a subscription? They can fuck off elsewhere.
Both prices include a complimentary three-year subscription to a variety of in-car features, including the company’s Level 2+ driver assist and an AI-powered personal assistant.
At least you won't need and probably won't want either of those things.
Story time. I had to drive my MIL's CRV home (2hr highway) recently. A quarter of the way there, the cruise control/other "driver assist" functions failed because the sensors behind the big H emblem on the front couldn't see through a bit of dust on the front and still wouldn't work after an attempt at spit shining.
And they live on a gravel road, so it apparently happens often.
I never understood why they bought that car.
Sounds like the dust was not the problem.
And on top of that a ridiculous name?
A feelya
I’m not buying a car that offers subscription “features”. SiriusXM is bad enough.
Just what we need. Another 100k EV. Why can no US automaker make a small EV hatchback or sedan with good enough range for 20-30k? I sure wish I had the freedom to buy a BYD Dolphin or Seagull.
The battery pack is basically the expensive part. For a US car maker a 20k econobox EV doesn’t make sense. The margins are just too small because the battery eats most of the cost. BYD can sell these small cars because they get the batteries for much cheaper since they produce their own batteries from scratch and the Chinese government subsidizes their battery industry.
This is effectively a startup, as Sony doesn't yet have any of the infrastructure needed to manufacture these. Tesla started out with $100k+ cars as well.
As for legacy automakers? Well they don't make cheap anything anymore. Just giant trucks and SUVs.
You can buy a Nissan Leaf for <$30k but I would not recommend it at all until they add some sort of active cooling to their batteries. They're an absolute joke without it. But it is a valid demonstration that it is possible.
That's very true. The recalls for the Leaf and Volt also concern me. They do not seem safe or reliable. I totally get that China isn't the standard-bearer for quality, but they definitely have more experience making EVs. I feel like anywhere around $30k is steep for the Volt and (considering your insight on battery cooling) way too much for the Leaf.
The recalls for my leaf have been: rear camera issues, 15m fix, an issue with my OS that was a 20m fix, and the battery melting once in 110f weather because it was made wrong AND they don't have active cooling, which took 9 months to fix because they're a garbage company, but that issue only impacted my model year and the batteries from a specific factory
The real issue with the Leaf is the pathetic range and the CHAdeMO connector that they still put on their cars despite that losing the war back in like 2019
The Leaf is so close to being reasonable its just needs to be $10k less
The Bolt is returning later this year and is rumored to be sub 30k.
That's fantastic to hear. I hope they got the battery issues fixed and they last 150k+ miles.
About 6 figures for a single vehicle and only limited time access to car features without paying more every year after that? Are EV companies insane!? No one even wants AI, I certainly wouldn't pay for it! Where are the affordable electric vehicles made for the working class, not tech bro millionaires??
Driver assistance is one of those times I think AI is actually smart and works well.
The consumers who buy subscriptions are the problem. If this isn't a total flop because of the subscriptions, it proves it's the people who are insane
I mean for a lot of things there just aren't any real options. Lots of software packages are no longer available without a subscription. Heck, I've been looking for an app to guide me through evening stretches and I can't find anything that's just a single purchase.
I'd pay not to have AI in my car. Or just avoid any that does
Don't give them any ideas
Afeela is starting to become a little bit more than just a feeling. The electric vehicle, which is a joint venture between Sony and Honda, is finally available for preorder. And it only took five years to get here.
All those people that downvoted me yesterday because I said EVs take time need to pay attention to that bit.
Tesla released the Roadster in 2008, and Nissan released the Leaf in 2010. It's currently 2025. The Tesla is almost old enough to vote, so it seems like they've had a significant amount of time.
The point here is the time from when you say "go" to the time you are ready to sell. That's 5 years.
Inb4 Lemmy's famous misreading: Yes they should have started earlier. That's not the point here.