The automotive industry is very different in 2021 as opposed to how it used to be when the Spice Girls were catapulted to worldwide acclaim with Wannabe. Automakers put a huge emphasis on services to rake in additional profits, which brings us to the Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan.
Alternately known as the S-Class of electric vehicles, the EQS is available with two flavors of rear-wheel steering. The 450+ and 580 4Matic for the United States market get 10-degree RWS as standard while the German specification makes do with 4.5 degrees. German customers who really want full rear-wheel steering will have to pony up 489 euros ($580) per year according to Auto Motor und Sport, which is a pretty shady business model.
Wasn’t the Three-Pointed Star supposed to be “the best or nothing” as they like to describe themselves? Couldn’t the bean counters offer 10-degree RWD as a one-time payment? Isn’t the brand-new EQS marketed as the absolute best EV in the luxury segment? We all know the answers to these questions, which is why the 489-euro subscription is all the more dubious.
The shadiness doesn’t end here. AMS mentions a three-year subscription for the princely sum of €1,169 ($1,380) while full rear-wheel steering for the S-Class retails at €1,550 ($1,830) for the lifetime of the car. In both cases, Merc requires the vehicle to be fitted with parking nannies that should come as standard on full-size luxury sedans from the best name in the biz.
Benz proves once again that it doesn’t really understand its customers by rolling out a Netflix-inspired subscription, but they’re not alone. BMW also comes to mind with their $80-a-year Apple CarPlay subscription, a greedy machination that backfired spectacularly in the Bavarian automaker’s face.
Tesla, meanwhile, democratized Full Self-Driving Capability by rolling out $99 and $199 monthly subscriptions whereas standalone FSD Capability costs $10,000. As for General Motors, the Super Cruise semi-autonomous driving suite costs $25 or $15 per month after the three-year free trial expires.
Wasn’t the Three-Pointed Star supposed to be “the best or nothing” as they like to describe themselves? Couldn’t the bean counters offer 10-degree RWD as a one-time payment? Isn’t the brand-new EQS marketed as the absolute best EV in the luxury segment? We all know the answers to these questions, which is why the 489-euro subscription is all the more dubious.
The shadiness doesn’t end here. AMS mentions a three-year subscription for the princely sum of €1,169 ($1,380) while full rear-wheel steering for the S-Class retails at €1,550 ($1,830) for the lifetime of the car. In both cases, Merc requires the vehicle to be fitted with parking nannies that should come as standard on full-size luxury sedans from the best name in the biz.
Benz proves once again that it doesn’t really understand its customers by rolling out a Netflix-inspired subscription, but they’re not alone. BMW also comes to mind with their $80-a-year Apple CarPlay subscription, a greedy machination that backfired spectacularly in the Bavarian automaker’s face.
Tesla, meanwhile, democratized Full Self-Driving Capability by rolling out $99 and $199 monthly subscriptions whereas standalone FSD Capability costs $10,000. As for General Motors, the Super Cruise semi-autonomous driving suite costs $25 or $15 per month after the three-year free trial expires.