There are two cynical abominations happening in new cars right now – subscription "services" and data selling. And if automakers don't start sorting this out, there's going to be hell to pay. There were two recent major incidents that give us a big clue about how things are going in general – BMW tried making heated seats a subscription feature, and General Motors got a five-year ban from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from selling recorded data about geolocation, driver behavior, and more, from vehicles and subscriptions it has sold.

 

The BMW incident –where it was raked over the coals for trying to make heated seats a subscription service – and GM getting hammered by the FTC after it was caught selling customer data, are just a sign of what's to come if customers and legislation doesn't push back. It's not just automakers double-dipping, it's changing what a car fundamentally is and, at this point, if you're paying a regular subscription to use equipment and software already in the car you paid for, and your data is being sold to third parties, do you actually own your car?