More and more we have companies that insist that you need to keep paying for what you have purchased.
Monsanto’s business model for its genetically modified seeds typically requires farmers to purchase new seeds annually rather than saving and replanting seeds from previous harvests.
Intuit charges a subscription fee for QuickBooks, where in the past you bought a copy and used as you wish. Updates would stop after a while. Microsoft and Adobe did the same thing.
Everyone keeps sticking their hand in your pocket to grab your dollars.
It looks like the automotive industry is looking at the same model. Though there is a slight twist. Before the cars started falling apart once the warranty ended, but you could drive it for as long as you wished to fix it.
Those days may soon be gone. Just read this speculation recently:
“How long will manufacturers offer replacement modules and software for older cars?” wonders Tom Wilkinson, a former GM employee living in Michigan. In the future, cars might come with a fixed lifespan, perhaps “10 years or 150,000 miles,” Wilkinson said. “After that, the [automaker] would brick them, if for no other reason than to avoid the decades-long liability….”
This form of planned obsolescence is terrifying. The sheer planned waste.