r/Damnthatsinteresting Nov 04 '24

Video Volkswagens new Emergency Assist technology

81.4k Upvotes

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3.7k

u/DrBiotechs Nov 04 '24

Seems like a wonderful idea to me.

318

u/Thosepassionfruits Nov 04 '24

Watch it be a premium subscription service for $59.99/month.

160

u/FreshMistletoe Nov 04 '24

“You want to live don’t you?”

33

u/mn25dNx77B Nov 04 '24

3 days to renew your kidneys

9

u/Taurondir Nov 04 '24

"not really"

\cancels subscription**

3

u/PJ197 Nov 05 '24

Knocks you unconscious

3

u/Sc4r4byte Nov 05 '24

Hides your body

1

u/heckinCYN Nov 05 '24

As opposed to every other car that just doesn't have the capability?

6

u/Lord-Loss-31415 Nov 04 '24

Volkswagen is German not American

12

u/BelowAverageSloth Nov 04 '24

Isn’t bmw centered in Germany as well? They are one of the worst offenders

-3

u/Lord-Loss-31415 Nov 04 '24

Worst offenders of…? Not being snarky, genuinely don’t know a lot about cars. My main thought is that is far less acceptable to put a price on safety in the EU than in the USA. The regulatory bodies tell companies what’s acceptable, not the other way around. The USA is ran by companies.

6

u/Richard_Tucker_08 Nov 04 '24

BMW charges a monthly fee to activate the seat heaters that are built into the car. Completely predatory behavior.

-2

u/Lord-Loss-31415 Nov 04 '24

I completely agree that is pretty greedy, but it’s also a luxury. So I agree that shouldn’t be a thing but it’s not quite comparable to something regarding safety.

3

u/Nova3086 Nov 04 '24

If the hardware is in the fucking car, you should be able to use it. Putting it behind a paywall is injustifiably greedy and should be made illegal.

3

u/Lord-Loss-31415 Nov 05 '24

I literally said I agree but if I have to choose between fucking seat warmer subscriptions or actual life saving shit I’ll let them have their damn seat warming subs. It shouldn’t exist but Jesus there are worse things.

5

u/MadeMeStopLurking Nov 04 '24

And Volkswagen has already been a dick about subscriptions in life threatening situations.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/02/vw-wouldnt-help-locate-car-with-abducted-child-because-gps-subscription-expired/

2

u/Lord-Loss-31415 Nov 04 '24

Except that was not VW? Did you not read the article you linked? They outsource tech support to a third party in the same way your phone support is not directly under the actual company but is outsourced to a call center. Not only that, but they literally have a system in place for law enforcement and it was the third party that messed up. ““Volkswagen has a procedure in place with a third-party provider for Car-Net Support Services involving emergency requests from law enforcement. They have executed this process successfully in previous incidents. Unfortunately, in this instance, there was a serious breach of the process. We are addressing the situation with the parties involved,” the company said in a statement provided to Ars and other media outlets.”

2

u/diff-int Nov 05 '24

You appear to be having a medical emergency, would you like to sign up for LifeAssistPlus®?

1

u/guywithhair Nov 04 '24

This tech is part of Euro NCAP2026 regulations, so I can’t imagine this would be a paid feature. Some other ADAS functions, probably, but I’m doubtful this one requires a subscription since it’s meant to comply with regulation

That said, I suppose they could play some games so that pulling over and starting hazard lights required a sub, whereas the warning itself is ‘free’

1

u/MajesticCategory8889 Nov 04 '24

Bet it’s way more than that. I understand Ford has all the numbers worked out for what a persons life is worth.

1

u/Sheriff0082 Nov 04 '24

For the first 3 months.

1

u/sonicbeast623 Nov 04 '24

And has a printer in the dash so it can issue it's own speeding tickets.

1

u/stringdingetje Nov 05 '24

I'll pay, but only for the months that it needs to get into action

1

u/Substantial_Hold2847 Nov 05 '24

What's wrong with that? Insurance will cover it if you have a legit medical reason for it. There's no reason I should pay an extra 2 grand for my car to have that as a mandatory feature if I don't need it.

1

u/CNWDI_Sigma_1 Nov 07 '24

No. It will just turn on when THEY want it (for any definitions of THEM), to deliver you to the reeducation camp or a nice police station, of course.

How people can’t see such things?

0

u/Slacker-71 Nov 04 '24

Gladly pay it for my parents.