> Imagine pulling up to a red light, checking your GPS for directions, and suddenly, the entire screen is hijacked by an ad.
I don’t like this kind of exaggeration because it misses the core issue. And because the argument can easily be refuted, e.g., ads are only displayed when the car is parked.
The real issue is that a car remains operational, and the manufacturer continues to profit from it long after the purchase by ignoring the owner's right to self-determination. It’s not just about distraction from ads but rather about the fundamental business model of manufacturers. They retain control over the vehicle and use it to generate additional revenue—often at the expense of user freedom. Many essential features are locked behind paywalls or tied to subscriptions. The buyer owns the car, but not full control over it—and that is the real problem.
The sentences immediately preceding and following the one you quoted make it pretty clear that this is not an exaggeration:
> These ads appear every time the vehicle comes to a stop. Imagine pulling up to a red light, checking your GPS for directions, and suddenly, the entire screen is hijacked by an ad. That's the reality for some Stellantis owners.
Objecting on the grounds that it appears every time you stop will just lead to the "fix" of only displaying it when parked. If you still don't want that, target your objection more precisely.
There's such a thing as metonymy, where a word might represent something larger than the specific thing referred to. In common English, people use 'GPS' to refer to the capability of being able to use a human computer interface such as a busybox-backed touchscreen to navigate with the assistance of satellite based location services.
Used in a sentence, "Hey does the rental car come with GPS?" "Of course, it's not 2008 anymore"
I don’t like this kind of exaggeration because it misses the core issue. And because the argument can easily be refuted, e.g., ads are only displayed when the car is parked.
The real issue is that a car remains operational, and the manufacturer continues to profit from it long after the purchase by ignoring the owner's right to self-determination. It’s not just about distraction from ads but rather about the fundamental business model of manufacturers. They retain control over the vehicle and use it to generate additional revenue—often at the expense of user freedom. Many essential features are locked behind paywalls or tied to subscriptions. The buyer owns the car, but not full control over it—and that is the real problem.