Kinda blows my mind that uConnect is a subscription service you have to pay for. They want me to pay a monthly fee for safety features like 9-1-1 call, theft alarm notification, and roadside assistance. Can these auto manufactures get real. Why on Earth would I pay for something that SHOULD be standard?

 

So, everything should be free?

 

Well if it's a SAFETY feature then it should be standard. Remote start, lock doors from a cell phone and stuff like that sure...get some suckers to pay a monthly fee for it. But 9-1-1 call, theft alarm notification, and roadside assistance shouldn't have been included in uConnect. They should have been standard.

 

Its a luxury feature. Cars have been around for over a century now, and the nifty satellite communications for a couple decades. The various manufacturers have to pay folks to run those systems, so, expecting them to do so for free is just way out there in left field.

 

911 call is a luxury feature? Wow...just wow.

 

how long did cars exist before satellites, and before that cell phones? people go by just fine without 911 service built into the car. . . . . . and who doesnt have a cell phone anymore that you could call that way?

i would pay for the ability to lock/unlock from my phone, i do enough outdoor activities that a locked truck that i dont have to carry a key for would be awesome

 

Being able to have your TRUCK call 911 is a luxury feature.

As shrpshtr pointed out, the VAST majority of vehicles on the road, even today, do NOT have that ability. Some because they are older, and don't even have the capability, others because the owners simply don't want to pay for the CONVENIENCE. With the advent of cell phones, is the service even really necessary?

 

It's necessary in case of an emergency and you don't have your cell phone with you.

 

And what do people without cell phones do? What did people do before cell phones?

 

Everyone else and their cousin has a cell phone though. All it takes is for one of those passing drivers to call it in. If you are out in the sticks without your cell, then you do it the old-fashioned way. You hoof it to the nearest house, and ask to use their phone. If you are injured to the point that you can't do that..... then you hang out until someone misses you enough to report you missing.

Expecting a corporation to provide a convenience service for free, paying for all the personnel, and infrastructure to support it, speaks to me of a serious case of entitlement. It's OPTIONAL coverage. Unless/until the government mandates that kind of features on every vehicle, expect to have to pay for the service, if you want it.