You know what’s kind of fun? Being angry. Indignantly angry. Righteous anger, vented with gusto and vigor, and more than a little sprayed saliva. It’s cathartic! It feels good to vent! And oh boy, do I get to vent on the podcast this week, as I rage fecklessly against the miserable practice of pumping ads into your car’s center stack screen, an atrocity most recently committed by BMW as they shoved a Spider-Man movie trailer into BMW owner’s faces.
I’m cross about this sort of thing, so very very cross. Your car is your own little island of solitude in a chaotic world, a cocoon of comfort, and the last thing you need is to have yet more advertising blasted at you.
You’re paying for your car! A hell of a lot of paying, especially in the case of BMW! It’s such a kick in the nuggets to be paying for a premium land-motorcraft, and then it starts to try to sell you some crap – that’s the sort of thing that you get when you, say, sign up for the lowest-tier streaming service subscription or something, not
I’ve gone over this before in some detail, I realize, but I haven’t done it verbally, so you can hear the tired resignation in my voice, at least not yet. But that’s where our podcast, Carbage Time, which you can listen to right here, comes in:
Listening is great, sure, but what if you want to listen and see, see the veins bulging in my forehead, the way my eyes unfocus when I’m ranting, and the subtle look of dismay on Matt’s face as the realization that his professional fate is tied to me slowly dawns on him? What then?
Well, in that case, you can watch our podcast here!
In the podcast, I mentioned a hideous, dystopian idea I had about 20 years ago, and how painfully plausible it feels today. It was an idea for how one could make free hearing aids, as long as the person who uses them agrees to hear three minutes of ads blasted into their ears at twice normal volume every hour.
It was a nightmarish concept. This was before every tiny device had an internet connection, so I had thought the ads could be stored in flash memory in a unit with the battery, getting replaced every month, and new ads would be on the battery/ad pack.
A modern version would just have a cell connection to stream the ads. Either way is horrible, and, really, not so different from having ads played on your car’s dash. Except at least in the case of the hypothetical hearing aid, you’re still getting something (hearing) for free. In your car? You’re still making payments and you’re getting served ads. You get nothing.
If BMW is going to send ads to your dashboard, you should have to pay less for your car. Period. Our attention isn’t free, and they know that, because that’s what they’re selling: our attention. But that’s not what’s happening, and I’m sick of it.
I go over all this in the podcast. Give it a listen! Maybe you’ll find it a bit cathartic as well? Yell along with me! To listen to more podcast episodes, you can go to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or you can use the RSS feed and point your favorite podcast player at it.
The problem is, there are too many people today who think, “I gotta have an ad when I start my BMW? Okay fine, whatever…”
Same as all of us thinking “I gotta pay $60K for my new car cuz it’s got all this silly shit designed into it I never asked for? Okay fine, whatever…”
Stop it, people.
Had a ‘26 X3 loaner while my ‘19 was occupying space at the dealership (for 2.5 months…a story for another time) and I got served a 4th of July advertisement. Thought it was just one of the hideous electrical gremlins of that particular loaner but I guess not -_-
I’m assuming from the article Beau don’t sell me Beemers?
I imagine he won’t be upset if a handful of potential BMW customers read this and consider an Aston Martin, Ford, Genesis, Honda, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Lotus, Mazda,
Polestar,Porsche, Volkswagen, or Volvo instead, from the list on Galpin’s site.I would have thought he had a bigger selection than this?
J/K
Well, of course – those are just the new cars! JLR Van Nuys currently have a LeMans Blue ’00 M5 and a ’25 with an orange interior. 🙂
I want to know where the surveillance capitalism and enshittification stops working. Every new device collects more information about us, every new screen (including the ones we didn’t want or ask for) displays ads.
At what point do companies accept that it’s too much? Is the general population really willing to accept or look past this?
Everyone was mocking how terrible the Mercedes GLA passenger dashboard looked without a screen, but I’d take that every day of the week and twice on Sunday over a screen that’s going to show me ads.
When it burdens people’s lives enough for them to care (unlikely) or until we either hit a utopia or anarchy.
Nope the new generation actually believes FREE is FREE.
When it stops making them money.
I mean, honestly, don’t BMW owners kinda deserve this?
It’s a punishment for not using turn signals.
“You know what’s kind of fun? Being angry. Indignantly angry. Righteous anger, vented with gusto and vigor, and more than a little sprayed saliva. It’s cathartic! It feels good to vent!”
And that’s how the dark side gets ya.
Darth Torchinsky using his lightsaber to saw the power converters out of a T-16 Skyhopper
Pretty sure he calls it his Schwartz.
BMW Upper Manager: We lost the revenue stream from heated seat rentals that I had promised to the CEO. Now he’s on my ass. What can we do?
Underling: Well, we could…nevermind.
UMgr: What?
Underling: Forget it. Bad idea.
UMgr: What. I need SOMETHING. Tell me. Now.
Underling: Well, … we could… … I mean we have the ability to…
Umgr: WHAAAAAT??!
Underling: <tiny voice> wecanrunadsonthecenterstackbut
UMgr: YES! I’m so glad I thought of that!
Just called the dealership and cancelled my order.
They were nice, albeit a bit confused saying I had never placed an order in the first place, but that WILL SHOW THEM!
You don’t want me to buy a BMW? Done! Easiest request I’ve ever filled in my life. Now ask me to not hit myself in the face with a shovel. Done!
Came for Torch’s rant, unexpectedly stayed for Matt’s rants torchuring Torch. (FWIW: Matt you are wrong on the internet, and it makes me mad! (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ )
It’s estimated that 60-70% of BMW drivers lease versus buy or finance their cars, therefore these cars are still BMW property. I don’t like the idea of being force fed ads at all, but …
You are technically correct, which is the best kind of correct.
Futurama!!
A leasehold interest in chattel conveys the right to exclude others, even the owner/lessor
That’s because the rich and nouveau riche have left BMW. NOW they just have Nissano richo
Hehe, Torch said “ATM Machine”.
Also, BMW and in-car ads can ef all the way off.
Those BMW Motor-works and their add-on ads.
Actually it is Bavarian Motor Works not Bavarian Motor Works Motor Works
It’s not quite the same thing, but I absolutely agree that being in the car is a little island of peace and solitude that I don’t want anything to infringe upon. Even stuck in LA traffic with some pushy/crazy people on a too-bright afternoon, having some classical music on low and the AC on high keeps me from losing it (my mind).
One of the nicest things about not owning a cell phone is that nobody can interrupt my efforts at calm and peace under trying circumstances. Having to endure advertisements during this might make me snap.
You don’t have a cell phone? Like seriously? How does one do that?
It’s easy: you just don’t have one. 😉
There are the very occasional times when it would be handy, but not actually necessary.
I’ve got the internet and a landline at home and that’s plenty of connectivity. I don’t need to be reachable every second of every day, including in my car, out walking the dog, using the bathroom, etc…
Being disconnected sometimes is quite a pleasure actually. 🙂
Oh,yes,definitely. I am just amazed that is still possible. I have thought about at least swapping my phone out for a not-smart phone,but I fear even that would be a stretch because of work. Good for you that you are able to do it man.
Full disclosure: several years ago (pre-Covid) I did get a cell phone because the guy I was working for insisted on it. It was Android, but so incredibly old/slow that it was impossible to run any apps, let alone surf the web, or even get email on it.
I just used it as a phone to answer when he called me to let him into whatever building we were working in that day (I always arrived an hour before he did). I stopped working for him after the pandemic, and I think the phone was 3G or something that’s not supported anymore (like how traffic info stopped working on BMW i3s, some VWs, and other cars with those modems some years back).
I do find ‘light’ or ‘simple’ phones interesting, especially those with e-ink screens, but TBH, I just don’t need it. If I was in a work situation again (I’m semi-retired now, at least I think I am) where being constantly reachable was necessary, I’d probably consider one of them.
I thought we should not get new BMWs because they were ugly, heavy and overpriced for what they are offering.
I will add invasive advertising to the insult list.
….and in the shop and costing an arm/leg
I wouldn’t buy a BMW because they don’t make a regular cab, 4wd pickup truck with an 8 foot bed.
Look man that’s fair but I do think they still make a brown manual wagon for some markets.
Correct me if I’m wrong.
But is it also diesel?
I mean I think “other markets” pretty much explicitly implies it’s available as a diesel. But I’m unwilling to go look.
But the grills
Yes they do. (Thumbs up)
Volvo sent out emails (and an alert in the app) to upgrade performance of the car. one time charge
https://www.reddit.com/r/XC40/comments/1fljk0i/polestar_upgrade/
https://www.reddit.com/r/VolvoRecharge/comments/1gc4kkb/polestar_upgrade_worth_it/
If only Volvo would bring back the $300 off promo from that 1st link
It piss me off all these new subscriptions that you still get ads because its “cheaper”…. no, they raise their normal prices and release these “value” packages with the same price as before.
All of my cars are a bit on the older side. I might be able to afford something newer, but I’m a cheap bastard so I am allergic to buying anything new or nice.
Having said that, I feel like I’m going to end up being one of those people who says stupid stuff like “I’m just going to keep my old cars forever” knowing that as soon as a $3000 repair bill shows up, so does forever. I don’t want to have to keep my cars forever, but I really do not want all of the nonsense that’s getting shoved into cars in the past five years.
I don’t want subscriptions, I don’t want apps, I don’t want survellience, I don’t want advertising. I just want to drive my car and enjoy it. I work in technology and I love tinkering with it as a hobby. As a result, I’ve come to appreciate things where I can decide what I want with the limits only being how hard I’m willing to dig in. HomeAssistant is a wonderful example of this sort of thing. While I don’t envision that there will be an open source car anytime soon, I am distraught by the notion that it will be beyond closed source, it will be locked down and paywalled for every little thing.
I currently have a 19 volvo with a stupid message that says “service volvo on-call”. A backup battery for the system telemetry (hate it) has a 7 year timer that is meant to have you replace the battery. It doesn’t matter if the battery is dead or good, the message appears. There is NOTHING I can to to reset or remove the error. I must take it to the dealer and pay them about $250. To close an error message.
I’m sure my experience is not unique and will only get worse unless there is something that stops this crap. You can’t expect people to stop buying cars, we gotta get to work and stuff. If all the manufacturers do it, your choice matters for nothing. I’m not sure how the hell this stops, I’m so tired of having to rely on useless lawmakers for everything since all they seem to do is enrich themselves on the public dollar.
Lawsuits? Somehow make it cost more money for the manufacturers to do this than it’s worth? I don’t know.
My proposal for tort reform is to add prison time for ceos, etc.
Better off add prison time for lawyers. Pass a law if your client is guilty you serve the same time with them
A one time $3,000 repair bill is cheaper than 70 $1,000 car payments plus insurance
“I might be able to afford something newer, but I’m a cheap bastard so I am allergic to buying anything new or nice.”
That’s OK
We accept you, we accept you.
One of us, one of us.
Gooble-gobble, gooble-gobble.”
“Having said that, I feel like I’m going to end up being one of those people who says stupid stuff like “I’m just going to keep my old cars forever” knowing that as soon as a $3000 repair bill shows up, so does forever.”
Especially if that $3000 repair bill shows up on a < $3000 car. The it's definitely time to move on.
FWIW my 4cyl 5AT Gen7 Accord has been extremely reliable for 20 years. Mine is the SE which is one step above the VP base. That one came with steelies if that's your thing for driving in salt. There was also an Acura version if you want something a bit nicer and an EX that splits the middle.
It's mostly DIY friendly with most jobs costing $$ some even $. Changing light bulbs is a 10 minute job. Most parts are easily sourced on Amazon. When the A/C went out a couple of years back I found replacing the entire AC system would have cost under $500 in parts; fortunately it turned out to be a $5 fill valve so the entire DIY job cost about $30 for that valve and couple of cans of R134. The tools were borrowed from Autozone. The headliner I replaced with $100 in OEM headliner fabric and spray glue. The job was a half day driveway affair. There are lots of DIY YouTube videos for other such jobs.
Furthermore it has no infotainment but if you desire you can add in an aftermarket unit. The biggest one is a 12" vertical Teslalike unit that still has physical HVAC controls. If not you can play music through the stock head unit with a $10 wired or bluetooth adapter or make mix CDRs. To my ear even the stock stereo sounds fine.
This is but one example of what you might be looking for; an older car that hits the sweet spot of just modern enough to have what you are looking for, customizable to add the stuff you want but it doesn't have, old enough minimize running costs (road taxes, insurance), very reliable but no subscriptions, no ads, and no payments.
Oh and as a bonus?
SIDEWALL!
Note that it is unlikely that the $3000 repair will be followed by another one for another five years and any replacement vehicle is either going to cost more than $3000 or not be as good as your repaired car would be.
For the price of a new BMW I can have my old truck retrofitted to the nines with a Dakota Digital dash, disc brakes, brand new interior, three point belts, 15/10 rust repair, a clearcoat, AND I can buy a Corolla on top.
WTF, BMW
Also, they make Jaguar pattern rear suspensions for trucks rated up to 1200 HP.
Not as cheap as they once were, but a recognized upgrade.
https://kugelkomponents.com/independent-rear-suspensions/
But if you do that you will have 2 reliable vehicles, but if you buy the BMY you will have an unreliable POS that isn’t worth the money you paid for it
I can’t imagine people getting past the giant price tag and hideous overall design to even have to worry about in-dash ads.
Apparently they are selling like hotcakes. A car enthusiast website does not reflect the overall market by a long shot.
Yup, modern BMW is the car for our time.
Depressing.
I peeked out from under the rock I live under. I can confirm that this is correct.
Sorry I’ll go with the waffles.
You do realize it’s mostly European countries buying the BMW. The same countries where obese hairy men wear speedos unironicly?
I promise I won’t buy a new BMW and it is to support Torch, not because I don’t actually want a new BMW.
You can now go to college and get a degree in influencing, so I suppose influencer is now a real job. I hate this reality.
They probably drive BMWs.
That’s covered in Influencer 101.
They call themselves content creator… I got invited by a close friend to some sort of private event for a new music band, when we got there, she had to provide her instagram page name, thats how they book their spot. For myself, I had to pay lol anyway they made her seat in front row because that was for content creator people and what they should record, post online, etc.. all these instructions. Me? Sitting at the bar drinking haha
In that scenario, I’d rather be you.
We continue to inch towards our inevitable WALL-E destiny.
It’s WALL-E, Idiocracy and 1984 combined in a venn diagram overlap from hell. Great movie as social commentary by the way. I really like WALL-E.
Probably best seat in the house because good band, food, car, condoms, etc doesn’t need influencers
Actually it’s more like getting a degree to be an Independent Contractor. No one hires you, you get paid on spec.
Yeah, I’ll never, ever consider “influencer” as a real job at all. They are useless parasites who contribute absolutely nothing to society. I can’t imagine ever doing that and being them and then realizing “wow, I just wasted my whole life not doing anything worthwhile!”
I thought we had a device on the dash that regularly delivered ads, locally sourced, for free, directly and wirelessly to your car, and people just accepted it. Or tuned into NPR. Because, y’know…it’s a radio.
Even Bluetooth streaming has ads now. Do we really need distracting video ads now, from the manufacturers?
…glad I can’t afford a BMW.
The streaming ads are OK for now because I can skip through them. The terrible part about them is maybe 1 in 100 in tailored to me. They are either other podcasts I have no interest in listening or location specific business ads except somehow they think I’m in a different city in a different state that happens to share the same name as the city I work in. So I get ads for businesses that are 4 hours I’m driving away from, and thus very unlikely to patronize. Lastly, some are the most pointless public service ads, the most recent they are attempting is about how I need to ask everyone I visit if they have an unsecured firearm at home.
The problem with localized internet service ads is that, like search engines, they seem to use whatever major service hub the ISP is using, especially mobile internet. My internet at home is provided by a company 15 minutes to the north, but they feed into a hub in Chicago. Guess where a lot of my searches for “X nearby” send me?
I mainly listen to NPR shows and podcasts on their app when commuting, so the closest thing to an ad I get is some company underwriting.
You actually listen to the ads? Nothing will shut them down quicker then posting you won’t use them.
That’s guaranteed to get you on a list of suspicious persons.
I have no problem with streaming ads because none of my cars has anything past a radio/CD Player
So you just get regular radio ads, got it.
The problem in my area is most of the radio stations have either gone away or switched formats to ones I don’t like. I stopped using CDs as soon as USB drives came out (and now I use my phone for storage) because (a) it’s a lot smaller to hold all of my music and (b) no concerns with damage/theft.
I even stopped listening to the radio.
I did that for awhile, but my FR-S was too quiet inside.
My little engine is its own chamber music. 🙂
You can get a good deal on SiriusXM and at least the only commercials (that they lie don’t exist) are just for more SiriusXM and there is the occasional DJ talk.
Stick with community radio and college radio stations. No commercials, real DJs, and actual variety in music. I listen to a fair amount of radio and have heard maybe three true commercials in the last five years.
There are occasional pirate or true independent radio stations still.
Probably many web and sat feeds out there.
The fcc is a disgrace
don’t have any non-NPR Affiliated college stations around me. That said, when they DON’T run The News (weekend afternoons/evenings), the NPR station DOES have some nice varied Music. Not counting the 24/7 Classical sub-channel.
Only drive at night with AM, should pick up all the independent stations within a few hundred miles.
If they had a wider range than 20 feet I would
AM/FM RADIO had ads, still does
Honestly, you know what really stands out to me? That it’s a Spider-Man ad.
This isn’t random. This was a very calculated decision by both an ad platform, and by the company seeking ads, that they were thinking, “Yes, you know who REALLY wants Spider-Man? Drivers of modern BMWs.”
What does that say about people who drive modern BMWs that they’re a specifically targeted for Spider-Man ads? Anyone in advertising, please chime in!
Isn’t the BMW model showing the ads in the movie? I thought that was the connection
That I don’t know, but the issue is that actual vehicles, that people actually own, in the real world, are playing advertisements.
https://consumerrights.wiki/w/BMW_Spider-Man_in-car_advertising
Superhero movies are kinda in a tough spot – they’re both incredibly popular and incredibly hard to advertise in, since they don’t really take place in our world but look like it.
So you end up getting these tortured product placements that seem at best cringey and nonsensical, and usually do little to move sales. Like, I’m sure almost nobody actually bought Acura crossovers b/c a fictional government agency has them in their motor pool.
Imagine for a moment The Avengers after credits scene where they are eating Shawarma, but instead of some random place, it is McDonald’s and it’s product placement for McDonald’s new McShawarma.
John Steed and Emma Peel.
A ridiculous number of military and military adjacent buy jeeps.
However, I don’t recall anyone in special operations with a jeep.
I heard there was a film actor at a con in an unknown, but official studio Deadpool costume interacting with everyone.
We are way past the twenty minutes into the future mentioned in the Max Headroom world.
The one where they find a modified TV.
“That TV has an off switch!”
“That’s illegal, isn’t it?”
One of my happiest Tubi additions this year has been Max Headroom. I loved it in prime time back when, and I think I appreciate it even more now, not the least for how expensive it must have been to produce. I love it when tv shows swing for the fences like that.
Some of the best and most predictive episodes were never broadcast here.
There were talk shows in USA and UK, then the movie.
Then the drama series.
Rather alarming how accurate the show was.
Yes they do. The IMSA GTP BMW at this weekend’s Road America 6 hr race was sporting a Spiderman livery.
Seriously, BMW can just F all the way off. The subscription heated seats was infuriating; ads are completely unacceptable.
But you get three free months of heated seats if you opt into the ads. /s