Today I’m a bit angry, because a brand like BMW isn’t satisfied with the thousands of euros their cars already cost, and they’ve decided they need even more money. And in some boardroom, brainstorming ideas on how to squeeze the last coins out of their customers, a brilliant idea must have come up. What if we put ads on the car’s screen?
Goguma, why are you so mad if you don’t even own a BMW?
And at this rate, I never will. And it’s not just about money (the blog must be doing really well to buy myself a car, although, you know, the donation link is below, haha)—it’s that I don’t accept an ad being shoved into my car’s GPS screen. Besides how dangerous that is, it’s an abuse.
But you already have ads everywhere. What difference does it make, Goguma?
Well, the problem is that if we accept this, it’s going to become the norm. It’s one more turn of the screw—they’re not satisfied with the data they already extract from the car. Now cars even have a privacy policy, just like a phone or a tablet, which is absolutely ridiculous. As I said, they already collect data on your driving and location to look for patterns, and they could share it with, for example, insurance companies.
Well then, it’s just a matter of buying another car and done, right?
I don’t think so. BMW has been the first to dive in and see how its customers react, but if they don’t face strong opposition, more brands will follow, and eventually all of them will. Did you know many brands already have subscriptions for equipment?
I don’t believe it. Subscriptions like some kind of Netflix for cars?
Yes, really. Your car already comes with certain equipment installed, but if you want to actually use it, you have to pay extra. You have it, but to use it you have to pay more.
Well then, I just won’t change my car and that’s it
You won’t be able to do that in the long run. In many countries, including Spain, restrictions on older cars are increasing, under the excuse of pollution. All of this stems from the Volkswagen scandal, where the company installed a device in its cars to fake emissions data.
The industry has been clever at turning the situation around and establishing cars with a limited useful life. For environmental reasons, of course. Or could it be that they just want to squeeze every last euro out of us? And BMW already has a track record on this.
What do you mean, Goguma? Isn’t this the first time?
No, it isn’t. Back in 2022, they already tried charging a subscription for heated seats, precisely in South Korea. And I don’t know why—maybe because Koreans have a higher average education level—but they didn’t fall for it. The backlash was so strong that they had to backtrack barely a year after launching it. Luckily, BMW couldn’t pull it off this time, at least for now; I have no proof, but I have no doubt they’ll try again down the road.
But BMW said it’s not an ad, just optional animations
Honestly, I don’t even know what to say about this. Did the entire PR department really not come up with anything better than this?
They also said they would never put ads in their cars, and now they’re doing exactly that. They’ve lost their way and are torching decades of brand image for a couple of bucks.
So, what do you think? Would you pay for a car that shows you ads, or does it not bother you? Is it an ad or a multimedia experience? Leave your opinion in the comments.