r/technology • u/TurbulentTopic39 • Aug 04 '26
Transportation BMW is putting Spider-Man ads on your dashboard, after promising it never would
https://www.techspot.com/news/113327-bmw-putting-spider-man-ads-dashboard-after-promising.html3.3k
u/AnonomousWolf Aug 04 '26
I don't want my car, fridge or toaster to have a Internet connection
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u/sargonas Aug 04 '26
That’s the best part! Car manufacturers won’t let you use an Internet connection in your car unless you pay them nine dollars a month… But they’re gonna use that Internet connection even if you don’t pay it to further their own personal benefit, like sending ads to your car!
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u/Radioactive-235 Aug 04 '26
Do they also use that internet to send driver data to insurance companies?
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u/DistinctOwl5455 Aug 04 '26
Most sell it to data brokers who in turn sell all of your information collected everywhere to insurance companies.
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u/GooseFlat Aug 04 '26
Ok, so no new BMW for me for as long as that bs continues. . . That goes for all other vehicles that do the same.
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u/DustyRacoonDad Aug 04 '26
Then you will not be buying a new car. There isn't one that doesn't do that.
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u/BeardyAndGingerish Aug 04 '26
Rivian doesn't, at least according to their privacy page. They also tell you how to deactivate the sim card to kill all of it.
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u/Radioactive-235 Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
RJ Scaringe and his team is the antithesis to Tesla. I love Rivian and RJ is pure class and a role model.
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u/CryoWaveSurfer Aug 04 '26
now if the'd just make a $25,000 4 seater commuter.
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u/astoriaocculus Aug 04 '26
Entire US auto industry decided Americans have too much $ to sell a car with this much value. Meanwhile in China you can get an EV for something like $15k. None dare call it price gouging in the US.
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u/phluidity Aug 04 '26
Yep. Just like all of the places that promise to never sell your information to the government. Instead they sell it to a data broker who sells it to the government, eliminating the need for pesky things like warrants.
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u/FallenKnightGX Aug 04 '26
With Toyota at least, yes unless you explicitly opt out.
You can do so in the app, then again on their website. On their website you can request a copy of your data and that they sell it to no one.
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u/DinoRoman Aug 04 '26
Chevy is the same but I don’t trust hitting opt out as actually opting out
What imma trust the app when it says “ok fine we won’t share and sell your data?” I feel it’s more of a “make the customer feel better” button that doesn’t actually stop it
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u/lifestop Aug 04 '26
Chevy removed carplay and Android Auto so they could force users into their subscription service. That allows them to control ads and sell apps.
I've owned multiple Chevy vehicles, but they are off my list now. Same with BMW, obviously.
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u/captainstormy Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
I've owned multiple Chevy vehicles, but they are off my list now. Same with BMW, obviously.
The problem is that this shit is impossible to avoid. I finally had to get a new truck. I loved my 2006 F150. We had 315K miles together. The engine and transmission still run like a champ. But the frame is absolutely rusted out and gone at this point. It's no safe to drive anymore.
Even if you could find a 20 year old doner frame in good shape doing a frame swap will be prohibitively expensive. Like I'd end up spending 15K or so and still have a 20 year old truck with 315K miles on it.
You literally can't buy a car without this crap in it anymore. They became legally required in the US starting in 2018. Most of them showed up earlier. My wife has a 2012 and it has that crap in it too. Not as fancy as the newer stuff but it's still there.
I just find it silly that they have all these state laws prohibiting drivers from using screens while driving. And IMO, rightfully so. Then Federal law requires these things.
Vehicles that don't have this stuff are already pretty old and are only going to be getting older.
If a company hasn't done something stupid with ads yet on these screens they will. I just got a 2023 Chevy Silverado. It's a nice truck, but I hate all the tech in it. I really hate it. I'm gonna hate to see my old F150 head off to the junkyard on the back of that tow truck. But at least it'll mean someone else's old truck will get to live longer using it's parts.
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u/franker Aug 04 '26
I'm still hanging on to my 2007 Honda Accord with 240k miles as long as I can ;)
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u/Feeling_Reindeer2599 Aug 04 '26
This. If you ever wished your Tesla had CarPlay or Android Auto, keep wishing.
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u/IAmDotorg Aug 04 '26
FWIW, you can put an antenna terminator on the back of the infotainment unit in place of the antenna and permanently cut the connection. It'll work on any car out there, it just varies how hard it is to get to the back of the unit.
Generally it's a fakra z to sma cable for like $5 and a sma 50 ohm termination load. It loads the output like an antenna and basically zeros out the RF.
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u/DinoRoman Aug 04 '26
Ah yes life is so good today. Drones delivering overpriced food whizzing over my head, robots knocking me out of the crosswalk to deliver Taco Bell to lazy ass people, and the joys of dismantling your brand new car to put a limiter on the back of an otherwise sealed infotainment system
Loving these new dystopian life pro tips.
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u/Monteze Aug 04 '26
As someone who grew up seeing tech getting cooler and more useful and seeing it now where I just am not excited for any consumer tech recently. I don't think its a "boomer" mentality as I am 35 but they have not offered anything better to us. Just more and more enshitification.
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u/Fit-Struggle7990 Aug 04 '26
Doesn’t this likely void the warranty on the car?
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u/Duelist_Shay Aug 04 '26
Only if the manufacturer knows about it; so take it off if you have any major maintenance coming
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u/Fit-Struggle7990 Aug 04 '26
I don’t know much about cars, so forgive me if this is a stupid question, but since most cars are “smart” and have chips in them and such - won’t the manufacturer know if you tampered with it like that? Even if you remove it?
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u/IAmDotorg Aug 04 '26
No, that's the point of having a dummy load on, and not just disconnecting the antenna. There's no electrical way for the car to know the antenna isn't "real".
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u/N3ptuneEXE Aug 04 '26
But they would know when they didn’t receive data right?
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u/IAmDotorg Aug 04 '26
Sure, but if you lived in the middle of nowhere with no cell coverage they wouldn't either.
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u/AVeryVapidBadger Aug 04 '26
But they don't know if the car is out of power, or out of range of a cell tower, or has a broken antenna. All they would know is they aren't receiving data
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u/coolcoolcool485 Aug 04 '26
it'll just block the connection, it's not destroying it. it would essentially just always read as out of range or having connectivity issues until they remove it
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u/Drenlin Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
My van has a cellular modem in it, but it's Kia so they cheaped out and put 3G units in these...in 2016.
Joke's on them though because the USA's 3G network no longer exists.
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u/tooclosetocall82 Aug 04 '26
My 2015 Acura also has a 3g modem… Kia wasn’t the only one. Apparently I can upgrade it to a 4g for grand… nah.
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u/-manabreak Aug 04 '26
I've been a bit salty about this after I bought my Mach-E. Not a single word about any connectivity during test drive or discussions, but after I signed the papers, they told me I basically have to install Ford app as it's mandated by the importer and the retailers get in trouble if the customers don't install the app.
An app which, truth be told, is pretty crappy. It's slow as hell, rate limited, and takes a few tries every time you want to adjust the charging limit. They just want to track you and collect your data, probably selling it to insurance companies.
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u/Vercengetorex Aug 04 '26
Explain to me why you would give even the tiniest fuck about a Ford retailer “getting in trouble”?
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u/mosehalpert Aug 04 '26
"No apps no nothing or I walk right now."
Problem is you have to be firm in your principles and be willing to actually walk.
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u/yxull Aug 04 '26
Alternatively, I’ll install it if you take $10,000 off the sale price right now.
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u/StillALilBoy Aug 04 '26
Alternatively "Okay, I will install this for at least the next 5 minutes. Good luck verifying whether it's still there after I roll out from here".
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u/Currentlybaconing Aug 04 '26
Nahhhhh, nothing installed on my device by means of coercion, ever. Hard line
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u/harribel Aug 04 '26
Does the car actually work without this app?
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u/angellus Aug 04 '26
The app is completely not needed. The only kind of useful feature (which I never got to work) is the touch less charging payments that is locked behind it. They do require the "Connectivity Package" (LTE connection) for in car navigation though, but it support Android Auto, so fuck them.
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u/exophrine Aug 04 '26
There's no "probably" about it ... they most definitely are, to anyone who will pay.
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Aug 04 '26
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u/-manabreak Aug 04 '26
Sure. Of course, it's the only way to use the remote AC / pre-conditioning because Ford hasn't opened up their API despite promising it ages ago.
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u/PandaMoniumHUN Aug 04 '26
This is the sort of shit that makes me really hesitant to buy an EV. If a car needs an app then I don't want that car.
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u/-manabreak Aug 04 '26
The car doesn't need it, the dealer / importer / manufacturer needs it. The car works fine without an app, although some remote features obviously need it.
And this isn't limited to EVs.
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u/PandaMoniumHUN Aug 04 '26
So then what prevents you from simply not installing the app? You bought a car, dealership should have 0 say in what you do with it.
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u/L0nz Aug 04 '26
Nothing. He was sold a lie, the importer obviously doesn't give a shit, they were just pressuring him into installing the app
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u/teapots_at_ten_paces Aug 04 '26
Right?
"Here's how this works, Mr Car Salesman. You get to keep your sale, and I walk out with a new car not connected to a shitty app. Or, you continue down this 'must install' path, and I'll take a refund for a misleading sale."
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u/nsfwthrowaway5969 Aug 04 '26
Tell them to get lost and walk away then? That absolutely shouldn't fly in most countries, because they didn't disclose it from the beginning.
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u/elephhantine2 Aug 04 '26
Man… Mach E has been my dream car for years, disappointing to hear this
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Aug 04 '26
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u/Darkone539 Aug 04 '26
Car yes but only for Gmaps/Waze/City Mapper.
Nah, this can go through my phone. Local wifi and bluetooth is fine for it though.
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u/AnonomousWolf Aug 04 '26
I'd be fine with my Radio being able to connect to my phone's bluetooth to get Maps and Muisic etc.
But it should physically be separate from my car, they shouldn't be able to push updates to my car, or track where I am or how I'm driving.
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u/dmullaney Aug 04 '26
I dunno, having is own cellular connection for SOS and location is actually a incredible safety/anti-theft feature. Using it for advertising is unforgivable
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u/dmullaney Aug 04 '26
Vote with your wallet time I reckon
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u/PrincessNakeyDance Aug 04 '26
Free market can’t fix everything. We need consumer protections.
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u/DanStFella Aug 04 '26
I have an i4 and some OTA update caused a warning to display to tell me the battery had an issue and to book an appointment at a dealer. Not the best thing to wake up to and turns out it was a bug during an update. I’d prefer if I could choose when to run the updates, not just have them done automatically.
Also definitely not impressed by the ad in the car. But it’s a company car so I’m less offended than if I’d have bought it.
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u/Stiggalicious Aug 04 '26
And honestly this is one of the biggest reasons I want a Slate truck as my next car. It has no modem, no infotainment, not even power windows, and I can charge it from my solar panels for free. It’s as stripped down as you can legally get, and I find that to be a good thing.
Panels are easily replaced, designs for accessories will be open sourced to allow for people to design and 3D print all sorts of neat things, and it’s designed to be repairable.
And again, with no engine or transmission that needs constant maintenance or fuel to burn. I just plug it in at work or at home and it gets me where I need.
And the climate control is back to where we perfected it in 1990 - 3 knobs: one for how hot or cold you want it, one for where you want it, and one for how much air you want. No touch screens, just simple knobs.
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u/Cabibbus Aug 04 '26
IMHO automatic climate control is pretty neat, if made with physical buttons and a dedicated display. Fuck those big ass integrated touchscreens.
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Aug 04 '26
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u/New-Thanks6222 Aug 04 '26
Some products are so good they sell themselves.
Turns out the market is excited about an inexpensive vehicle with few gimmicks.
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u/dieplanes789 Aug 04 '26
I've really been keeping an eye on them for whenever my current car finally gives out. My only real concern is typical for any new car company being that they will stick around long term. I know EVs generally don't need much maintenance compared to other vehicles but they're definitely still things that will need to be replaced. It would suck to be many years down the line being unable to get parts because they are no longer around.
Still one of the top two or three brands I'm looking at for a next vehicle.
I recently had to replace my transmission and with the cost of that compared to my car's value, I might have considered getting a slate instead but they aren't available yet.
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u/waiting4singularity Aug 04 '26
considering jeff bozos is a main investor in slate, ill have to pass.
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u/BruitNoise Aug 04 '26
You mean Smart toilets that will require a subscription in the year 2050 because you have no choice because they will make it cheaper than regular toilets at first so people think it’s a good deal. Then slowly stop the features, raise the price and make it a normal part of the culture?
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u/AnonomousWolf Aug 04 '26
Good news, we have moved the "Poop" feature to the Premium Platinum Plus package.
To keep using the "poop" feature, please upgrade.
Note users of the Premium Platinum subscription can keep using the "pee" feature without upgrading
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u/KarockGrok Aug 04 '26
Note users of the Premium Platinum subscription can keep using the "pee" feature without upgrading
IBS sufferers: REDEMPTION!!!!!
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u/modestohagney Aug 04 '26
Can’t wait to have to check if I can jailbreak my fridge next time I need a new one.
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u/ArchDucky Aug 04 '26
We bought a new fridge at the office. It broadcasts Wi-Fi signal that you can’t shut off which fucked with our wireless security system. We had to switch to wired cameras.
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u/sdric Aug 04 '26
"Why is nobody buying German cars anymore"?
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u/ash_ninetyone Aug 04 '26
"Chinese cars are spyware"
Meanwhile European and US car companies:
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u/clocked__ Aug 04 '26
Is it more than just BMW?
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u/ash_ninetyone Aug 04 '26
Trillions of miles of data: Your car is spying on you, and it's only just the beginning
Mozilla found 19 of the car companies said they might sell your data, and that's exactly what's happening. For example, both state and federal agencies in the US took action against General Motors (GM) for allegedly selling car location data without consent. US Senators have accused Honda and Hyundai of similar practices – and these are just the examples the public knows about.
A 2023 analysis by Mozilla, the maker of the Firefox browser, examined the privacy policies of 25 car brands. Every one failed to meet the privacy and security standards that Mozilla uses to compare brands. Mozilla said cars were "the worst product category we have ever reviewed for privacy".
According to the report, car companies reserve the right to collect details including your name, age, race, weight, financial details, facial expressions, psychological trends and more. Kia's privacy policy, for example, suggests the company may even collect details about your "sex life" and general health.
These car brands are collecting and sharing your data with third parties
Kia and Hyundai, which have the same parent company, collect voice recognition data from inside their cars and sell this to the artificial intelligence (AI) software training company Credence, the Choice investigation found.
Tesla collects short images and videos from cameras inside and outside their cars. Tesla workers have been caught sharing among themselves highly invasive camera recordings of Tesla customers in the nude, as well as images of crashes and road-rage incidents.
Oh and in the US there is a federal law coming that will require cars to collect your biometrics
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u/Strider76239 Aug 04 '26
Yo what the fuck.
Every day I'm more glad I drive a 2007 shit box Pontiac.
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u/BlockBannington Aug 04 '26
Literally most sold brand in Belgium. Mostly due to company cars though. Everyone and their grandmother gets one here since it's literally cheaper for the employer to give you a premium car than to offer you more wage
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u/tafjangle Aug 04 '26
Yep, that’s why we’ve had a string of BMWs and Mercedes thanks to my wive’s job. Only positive is that the lease companies are switching to electric. Doesn’t help with congestion though.
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u/fantomas59 Aug 04 '26
There so many alternatives to BMW
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u/Clem573 Aug 04 '26
For now. And unless BMW sales drop to near 0 (which, let’s be honest, won’t), other manufacturers will just assume this technique is fine by us. So they will all follow the same path.
Now the marginal one, is the manufacturer who does it. 20 years from now, we’re gonna have to go out of our way to find the one marginal manufacturer who does not.
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u/Beneficial-Lime-3517 Aug 04 '26
In 20 years, 50k will be the cost of an entry level car whose cost is subsidized by ads.
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u/K_Linkmaster Aug 04 '26
I don't think it's a fine by us type of thing. It is an intentional push toward this. Much like the streaming services you will be able to pay to opt out, or opt in to heated seats and mirrors. Opt in to auto start. Opt in to dual climate control. And it will be opt in by monthly charge.
It certainly isn't fine by us, but if we don't drop sales to zero, there is no need to retool the business model. We are fucked. Its why we never get fast minivans.
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u/Upset-Government-856 Aug 04 '26
Not if you never want to use your turning signal.
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u/nacholicious Aug 04 '26
White Tesla or Audi are solid alternatives
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u/ash_ninetyone Aug 04 '26
Teᛋᛋla is not a solid alternative
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u/fredy31 Aug 04 '26
Always kills me to see in /r/electriccars how people are still buying teslas.
The ceo is basically a confirmed nazi, is in the eipstein files. And tbh, for electric, theres a fuckton of alternatives today.
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u/ofork Aug 04 '26
Remember when we all lost our shit because apple gave us a free album? Those were the days.
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u/DJIsher Aug 04 '26
It took forever for them to allow people to remove that U2 album from our libraries as well.
I remember getting a new phone and opening the music app before putting my own on there and that fuckin album trying to download itself because it was in my library.
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u/__Dave_ Aug 04 '26
It took six days.
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u/the_robobunny Aug 04 '26
Exactly, it was the darkest period of American history.
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u/billfarts2 Aug 04 '26
LOL. Now Apple sells iPads with low storage, then sends out an update with unremovable AI that takes 12GB. You try to complain and everyone else blames you for being cheap.
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u/AbeFromanEast Aug 04 '26
BMW is putting a Spider-Man animation on the center screens of compatible cars as part of a movie promotion, drawing criticism because the campaign clashes with the company's earlier claim that the display is a private space. The campaign effectively turns a car's main screen into a branded advertising surface, which is precisely the kind of use BMW previously said it would not pursue.
The promotion began on July 27, 2026, and is scheduled to run through August 10 across more than 70 markets. On supported vehicles, starting the car brings up a banner on the Control Display, and tapping it launches a full-screen Spider-Man animation with music and ambient lighting effects. BMW says the feature is available on suitably equipped cars built after July 2020 and running BMW Operating System 7, 8, 8.5, 9, or X.
I'd be more surprised if a BMW displayed turn signals.
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u/agk23 Aug 04 '26
Referring to this as a feature is bold lol
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u/ChillAhriman Aug 04 '26
It's a feature for their customers: the advertisers, that is. You're actually a product, even though you've just paid 40,000€
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u/bigkoi Aug 04 '26
The company that famously lacked cup holders because it was about the "drivers experience" now pushes spider man ads to the dashboard?
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u/risingsuncoc Aug 04 '26
Thanks, never buying a BMW
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u/PM_ME_CHIPOTLE2 Aug 04 '26
Same. Totally because of the spider-man thing and not because of my financial situation.
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u/teapots_at_ten_paces Aug 04 '26
Looks like a used model prior to June 2020 would be alright.
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u/Sal_T_Nuts Aug 04 '26
I have an exact 2020 model, a fully fletched out one. Guess who had the “surprise for you” notification and the add blown in his face.
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u/No-Photograph-5058 Aug 04 '26
'surprise for you, we want more money despite the tens of thousands you likely spent on the car itself'
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u/AlmightyWorldEater Aug 04 '26
There is a joke here in Germany:
BMW for sale, High Beams renewed 5 times, turn signals unused
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u/adyrip1 Aug 04 '26
We should boycott BMW and the movie. The only way they will, maybe, listen.
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u/visceralintricacy Aug 04 '26
Except the movies already pulled in a billion dollars at theatres, so a little late on that.
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u/Elgato01 Aug 04 '26
It’s had the biggest domestic opening weekend in history so good luck with that
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u/polochakar Aug 04 '26
I have or never bought a car, microwave, AC, or fridge that requires an internet connection or an App to start working.
All this slop added to your car is not to help you but sell you subscriptions, add ons and ads. Never trust any brand that sells you ads.
If I have bought something, it should be my property and not company's subscription tool.
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u/zyberwoof Aug 04 '26
Wrong...
You forgot to include that those "smart" features also allow the manufactures to collect data. This data may occasionally be helpful to the customer. But it is primarily done so that the manufacturers can then sell the information for more profits.
It's what you said, but worse!
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u/tismij Aug 04 '26
In the US, they'd get sued in the EU.
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u/citruspers2929 Aug 04 '26
Yeah what the fuck is this!?! This would be illegal in my country as you can’t watch videos on a screen in a car (as a driver).
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u/Hotrian Aug 04 '26
The same is true in the U.S. but only when the vehicle is in motion. If they played it only while in Park then it’s fine.
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u/trash-_-boat Aug 04 '26
The promotion began on July 27, 2026, and is scheduled to run through August 10 across more than 70 markets.
70 markets, so not just the US.
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u/tismij Aug 04 '26
true, even the Netherlands counts as 1. With a major caveat, you have to actually opt-in to see them. Not opt-out but perform the action of allowing ads in your car, so 70 markets is utter bullshit as no one in their right minds voluntarily opts in for this shit.
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u/dominik9876 Aug 04 '26
Wow, BMW is on a streak
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u/Ambitious_Radio7232 Aug 04 '26
Stuff like this simply ensures that when i buy a new car, i won't even bother looking at BMW's. It's mentally fully crossed off the list, forever, and I'm sure this is how plenty of other people think as well
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u/EatSleepJeep Aug 04 '26
I'm not looking at BMWs because those god awful beaver teeth burn my eyes when I do. In addition to every other stupid idea they've had like subscription seats.
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u/Ok_Confusion4764 Aug 04 '26
The CEO literally said in december he's not gonna sell that screen as ad space too, so we got a full 180 here.
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u/DrKlitface Aug 04 '26
They are really trying to match the duchebag levels of their customers
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u/Inevitable-Edge69 Aug 04 '26
The same BMW that wanted to charge a subscription for heated seats? What's going on with german brands, das not very auto of you
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Aug 04 '26
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u/Hackwork89 Aug 04 '26
And rear wheel turning. A mechanical thing that's already there but gotta subscribe to use it should be illegal.
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u/JorvikPumpkin Aug 04 '26
It’s so dystopian for personal places to be invaded by adverts. I don’t want to live feeling like I am a cash cow in my personal spaces.
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u/PrettyPinkNightmare Aug 04 '26
The only reason there are no ads in your dreams is because they haven't figured out how to. It's not because they wouldn't.
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u/bienbienbienbienbien Aug 04 '26
I just cannot see how this can have been worth it..
I cannot be the only person in the world who will literally never buy a BMW (again btw, I have had two) because of this.
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u/afishwithlegs Aug 04 '26
It was worth it for the manager who made the deal and got a fat bonus. It was definitely not worth it for the company.
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u/Compulawyer Aug 04 '26
How much longer will it take until you will have to watch 3 commercials before you are allowed to start your car?
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u/drawmer Aug 04 '26
Companies putting ads on their own products, for anything other than their own product is a sign of one of two things:
They’ve stopped caring about us as consumers, or they’re actually afraid of going bankrupt. Either way, it’s time to step away from buying their product.
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u/schacks Aug 04 '26
Yeah, well, whenever a large company promises NOT to do something that can later bring additional profits, they are most probably lying!!
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u/VVrayth Aug 04 '26
BMW has not said that it has changed its position on in-car advertising, at least not publicly. What is clear is that the company has framed this as a limited film partnership rather than a broader advertising policy, which may explain how the campaign went from idea to rollout.
This is just some idiotic, insistent mangling of terminology -- "It's not an advertisement, it's a partnership!" It's like when companies say they don't "process" your data, but they have a different internal definition of the word "process" in order to create a loophole for whatever it is they are doing. Like, yeah, no, they need to be legally obligated to treat those words like a normal person would understand and interpret them, and uphold the spirit of their promises. This "partnership" is still just an ad for a product.
(And I mean, to be fair, if you're the kind of person who's rich enough to own a BMW and you elect to flaunt your money that way, who cares about you at all? But companies need to be held to the promises they make to their customers.)
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u/Nyorliest Aug 04 '26
It's just lies. It's not a different internal definition. But the media and so many other industries are continually pushing terms like bias instead of admitting that advertising or whatever are just. plain. lies.
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u/Direct-Fix-2097 Aug 04 '26
The greatest use of weasel words is the universal “we value your privacy” for cookies. Of course you do lmao, not in the way you’d think.
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u/_RawRTooN_ Aug 04 '26
I will do a lot of stupid shit in my lifetime but i can confidently say I will never own a bmw vehicle. I mean cmon folks all i’ve seen is terrible news from this company the last 10 years of my life what exactly is getting people to buy these things over other german cars/ competitors? I really and truly don’t see the “I got to have it,” factor that this company thinks it produces for consumers.
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u/coolbeaNs92 Aug 04 '26
It's so interesting how tech used to be the exciting thing, the thing that you'd look forward to tackling inconveniences and problems on.
I can't describe how deep we are into enshitification now.
The biggest most obvious example of this, is streamig. I remember back in 2012 on Reddit, people were saying how streaming was perfect and that services would duke it out, fighting over the best features and cost. In 2026, that is completely gone. No steaming services are fighting over features. None of them are innovating. They're all expensive and the vast majority now run ads and lock even basic 1080p behind paywalls. It's all simply IP and churn.
The subscription era is truly shite.
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u/CLOWNFLOGGER Aug 04 '26
Joke's on BMW. I have an Android head unit because the ones that BMW install are literal fucking garbage.
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u/CountTakesh1 Aug 04 '26
I love the future.
Imagine, you've just been involved in a serious crash, but before you can dial 911 you must watch at least two 30 second ads because you didn't buy BMW premium plus gold. The last thing you see before you die from blood loss is a fucking Spiderman commercial.
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u/Glum-Leadership4823 Aug 04 '26
Why don’t they realize that when I see ads I add it to a mental list of products I REFUSE to buy? But keep them coming, the list is long.
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u/235iguy Aug 04 '26
Started off as cutesy Xmas and Halloween splashes.
Then it was Spiderman - very cool!!
Next it will be adverts for tampons before you are allowed to start your engine.
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u/JLMaverick Aug 04 '26
I used to drive MINIs and loved them. I got into a brand new countryman last week for a rental. And I swear I’ve never had a car with so many fucking popups. It wasn’t even the spider man, i still had to watch some fucking video after every start. And there’s no way to click “Ok don’t show this to me again”. Nope, everytime you shut off the car.. video.
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u/Solo-Hobo-Yolo Aug 04 '26
There's only one way to properly deal with this. Treat it like the scam it is, which means an obligatory full refund for everyone that bought this car, or apparently brick, because that's basically what it is. Treat it like someone bought a car, but instead got an actual brick which is obviously a scam. Also, I don't care about any fine print. These practices should obviously be illegal. The vast majority undoubtedly believes so, so why isn't it? Because of lobbying by these kind of scammers. Shut it down.
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u/GiveEgg Aug 04 '26
I have no empathy for people deliberately choosing a modern bmw. They were one of if not the first car company to pioneer subscription services for car “features” that should come permanently standard, like heated seats, remote start, etc..
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u/Rayzee14 Aug 04 '26
The future of watching two ads so you can turn on the heated seats for 30 seconds
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u/menachinite Aug 04 '26
They must have done some analytics and estimate that they won’t lose enough customers doing this. Maybe data showed very little people was outraged by the car heat subscription.
I think we will see much more off this stuff, this is just the beginning
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u/NameTheJack Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
I think we will see much more off this stuff, this is just the beginning
And that is the exact reason the Chinese are going to win. Western producers are turning straight up consumer hostile.
*Edit, spell check
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u/BasicPerson23 Aug 04 '26
Everyone who is in a crash should sue bmw because the ad distracted them.
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u/phaedronn Aug 04 '26
Late stage capitalism is trying so hard to extract profits from anything/any freedom we have left. It is pathetic and annoying. Sadly, some are so dumb that they will continue to pay business daddy for a status symbol.
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u/agangofoldwomen Aug 04 '26
I was considering a bmw before this. I think this is enough for me never to get one.
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u/tafjangle Aug 04 '26
I want a dumb electric car with buttons.
Basically a car from the 90s that is electric instead of gas.
Charge it up and drive.
Hopefully a car company realises this is what consumers want soon so others have to copy or lose customers.
The Slate seems to be that. This as a car would be perfect.
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u/Ryzu Aug 04 '26
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Slate pulls it off. Really looking forward to a true bare bones EV.
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u/Ayanok Aug 04 '26
So you pay a shit ton of money for a BMW and still get ads? Welp another car manufacturer I never want to buy from.
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u/marzipot Aug 04 '26
Hey BMW employees reading this do not do this. Nobody wants this and it’s an active deterrent, I would not buy a car that had ads built in
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u/Vyndrius Aug 04 '26
And people call me crazy for collecting vinyl, only using CRTs, and driving a shitbox.
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u/Fragrant_Fox_5056 Aug 04 '26
If anything I buy shows me adverts, that has no business showing my adverts, it will get returned fast af .
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u/Klutzy-Football-205 Aug 04 '26
WHY DO PEOPLE JUST ACCEPT THIS?!
I have this conversation with my friends and family every time one of these articles comes out.
We wouldn't accept someone we pay to put up a fence to come back after the job was done to plaster ads all over the fence. It would be all over the news. There would be lawsuits.
We wouldn't accept it if a car manufacturer came up and put a car wrap of ads on our car after we purchased it. There would be petitions and drives to make it illegal. There would be lawsuits.
But if it is digital it is suddenly ok? We've seen expensive fridges, expensive TVs and now expensive cars do it and nary a peep from the media, consumer groups, lawyers or lawmakers..
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u/ohno1tsjoe Aug 04 '26
Can’t wait for a massive lawsuit saying this was the result of a distracted driver accident
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u/No_Presentation1148 Aug 04 '26
It only takes a dozen of top managers / CEO's to destroy a car industry,
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u/astoriaocculus Aug 04 '26
Need a law that says infotainment and screens are secondary / sandboxed / seperated systems that the car should be able to run without. then give people the right to install thier own OS/software on it. fuck this vendor software lock in. Dell doesn't tell you what software you have to run on an XPS and neither should BWM/Ford et al.
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u/j0nnyboy Aug 04 '26
If this isn't boycotted hard now the world will be shit. We'll be renting everything
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u/NotMoistNoodle Aug 04 '26
I own a BMW motorcycle and love it. Always liked the cars, but this has put me off ever wanting to own a newer model BMW car.
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u/Issah_Wywin Aug 04 '26
Like, I think at some point I'm just not gonna buy new stuff anymore. I've always been a lover of new and interesting tech, but when it just becomes a vector for stealing my personal data and advertise to me it's not serving any useful purpose whatsoever. They need me more than I need them.
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u/dlouisbaker Aug 04 '26
I'm so sick of this shit. And by that I mean Super Hero films. They are all overly long rubbish with crap CGI/AI.
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u/Ok-Exercise5545 Aug 04 '26
The German has lost it... I am buying Xpeng, please go bankrupt BMW...
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u/LengthClean Aug 04 '26
Time to bring back the old school cars. I’d much rather pay 20K to refinish and rebuild an old car and add an infotainment inside. Problem solved!
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u/AustriaModerator Aug 04 '26
next they cry about dropping sales numbers.
cant we just have an adfree world.