Oh I know exactly the problem they're trying to solve. It's the same problem most auto manufacturers solve by making sure their car stereos are absolutely nothing like DIN-sized: "you will pay through the fucking nose for something you don't want because swapping it out for something that doesn't suck atrocious balls will cost you thousands and thousands of dollars, pay up fuckball."

See, I stopped using Google maps cold when it started telling me "hey get off at this exit now get right the fuck back on again theoretically you'll save 31 seconds which we'll round up to a minute." Apple maps and Google maps suck equally hard in Seattle so there's no performance penalty there, but Apple doesn't try to "optimize" down to 30 seconds by rerouting you for no good goddamn reason. So I give no fux how beautiful Google Maps is on my truck, I ain't gonna use it because it's a wretched piece of shit that I hate.

It's the archetypal GM/Ford/Stellantis hubris: "we know cars better than you, otherwise you wouldn't have bought our product. Therefore, we know better about absolutely everything between the tires and the sunroof, pay us $400 a year for OnStar." And they do it because Recurring Monthly Revenue counts for oh so very much more than non-recurring revenue under GATT accounting rules so they're not selling cars, they're selling mobile subscription generators.

It will probably cost the same to consumers, but if it comes down to an F-150 vs. a Silverado, and you have to pay $30/mo to access Maps in the Silverado while the F-150 is free all but the most dedicated GM fans, a vanishingly small group of people, are going to go F-150.

Li'l story.

My wife drives a 2009 Honda Fit with like 150k miles on it. It's fine. The steering wheel looks like foam now because the outer layer has rubbed off? And there will come a time when it needs to be replaced? So I said "you know, the Mazda EV would be great if it weren't such a piece of shit but believe it or not, the 'Ford Mustang' is kind of compelling...?"

So we watched a review and got to this:

"No. Never. Not in a million years."

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People used to ask me all the time "what car should I buy?" I would tell them "decide what features matter to you and buy on those features. I don't care if it's cupholders, just know what you want and shop for it." There was a time I did eight engine swaps in a week? And I could not tell you the difference between an F150 and a Silverado these days. If I needed one? "fuckin' $30 a month to use directions" is really fucking compelling. That's the thing American auto manufacturers don't fucking get - the dipshit who puts a giant "MOPAR" sticker on a Mexican-built Italian design is a tiny portion of the market. It's mostly normies, women and people buying on value and appeal and "we can out-phone your phone" is the most arrogant, tedious bullshit an auto manufacturer can pull.

GM feels deeply entitled to their business. They always have. This is a decision that comes from a place of "people will never stop buying GM products for any reason" and they're mistaken. It's fucking amazing that they're looking at a demographic that's ambivalent about driver's licenses and going "you know what? Yeah they're totally paying for OnStar."