Nothing quite says “high-performance muscle car” like a popup ad for a Mopar Extended Warranty covering your whole center console. That’s right, Dodge Charger owners are now experiencing an exciting new feature: pop-up ads that appear every time the vehicle stops at a light. This absolute garbage feature was spotted in the wild, take a look here.

  • @[email protected]
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    113 months ago

    I’m surprised Dodge is trying this considering the thousands of memes of BMW implementing pay to use features on their vehicle ever since they added subscription heated seats.

  • sixty
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    3 months ago

    It’s so insane how seemingly every company wants to fuck over all their customers these days. Their obsession with fucking infinite growth.

  • LupusBlackfur
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    284 months ago

    Oh, look…!!

    Yet another good reason I’ll not buy a new car. 🙄

    Perfectly happy with my current 03 model thank you…

    • @[email protected]
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      44 months ago

      I said that about my older reliable car. Until I was rear ended at a stop light and it was totaled. During a time that used cars were more expensive than new. (I did find an 8 year old Corolla with high miles and lots of body damage for $18k though!)

      I went without a car for nearly a year. Had to buy one when my partner was forced back to work in the office.

      Peeking at the used market, it’s still not great where I am. Better than 2022-23 at least.

      • Lka1988
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        23 months ago

        That happened to me, too. During covid pricing, I had a 1992 Ford Taurus that I absolutely loved (and hated, but that’s a different story), and got rear-ended on the freeway at the tail end of 2021. Wasn’t severe and the car was drivable, but insurance still totaled it. The kicker is that even though I only paid $1000 for the car, insurance gave me a whopping $4700.

        I managed to snag my current 2008 Toyota Sienna for $4500 when most were going for $6-8k. It needed some work at first, but it’s a solid car and serves as our family hauler and handles multiple roadtrips a year like a boss (split custody, yay 🙄).

      • LupusBlackfur
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        34 months ago

        A wreck like that is my one fear…

        Doesn’t take much of a hit to “total” an older vehicle like that. 🤷‍♂️

        • @[email protected]
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          44 months ago

          It really doesn’t. I also dislike the fact it can be more difficult to find some parts for older cars too, so even if you wanted to salvage, it may not be viable.

          • LupusBlackfur
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            34 months ago

            Haven’t run into the “finding parts” problem…

            That may be a regional feature though. Driven older vehicles my whole life and never had too much trouble finding parts… even from junk yards if necessary.

            I have many junk yards within 50 miles, most within 20. 🤷‍♂️

            And I’m familiar with local/online companies that provide NOS as well as new fab for older vehicles.

      • @[email protected]
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        34 months ago

        My ‘15 car is amazing except for the fact that it only has slow-ass laggy Bluetooth and NO AUX JACK

        • @[email protected]
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          44 months ago

          The removal of 3.5mm jacks with no simple, universal, physical way to connect an audio device has been such a thorn in my side.

      • LupusBlackfur
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        94 months ago

        😂 🤣

        Yeah, mine did too…

        I updated the “entertainment deck” to a unit with aux, usb, sd card, and Android Auto (which is what I really wanted).

        All good!!

  • @[email protected]
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    1084 months ago

    Damn, I would be pissed if my car started showing ads. I hope this enshitification doesn’t spread.

    • KayLeadfootOP
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      704 months ago

      Dodge dropped 29% in sales in the USA last year, and something tells me, this isn’t going to have folks lining up to buy Chargers in 2025. Watch the free market* take care of this one.

      *Unless you’re Tesla, in which case the market costs $277 million to purchase.

      • Ulrich
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        64 months ago

        Their new $85k Charger will surely save them…

      • @[email protected]
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        34 months ago

        Hornet, Journey, Charger. That’s it. Hornet is a piece of cheap, charger has ads. Journey…?

      • @[email protected]
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        114 months ago

        I think that has more to do with ending production on the LX Platform Challenger / Charger tbh. They haven’t quite managed to gather the same hype among domestic car nerds with their replacements as those old boats had.

        • Lka1988
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          23 months ago

          Despite their reputation, the LX platform was serious value, offering stupid power for cheap. It had the “classic American muscle car” vibes, and responds nicely to modifications.

      • @[email protected]
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        74 months ago

        Free market doesn’t work if all car brands are owned by like 5 companies and all of them agreeing to add ads.
        That is why we need to regulate cooperations as well as enforce them properly.

    • @[email protected]
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      264 months ago

      Narrator: “It spread. A lot. Like, a lot a lot. Really you wouldn’t believe how much it spread. It spread like Domino’s™ all new creamy red sauce on only the freshest of dough seasoned wi—”

      *car crashes*

  • Monkey With A Shell
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    164 months ago

    Also known as how to ensure a robust used car market until they pull their head out of their ass.

  • Singletona082
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    104 months ago

    Welp. That sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen. Of the class action variety.

    • @[email protected]
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      44 months ago

      Oh, I thought you meant a lawsuit from me. When I, a pedestrian am crossing the street with my walk signal, when suddenly, the guy at the opposite side of the intersection just starts driving at a red light because he was distracted by McDonalds. Didn’t even realize his foot was on the pedal, and now I got run over.

      • @[email protected]
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        54 months ago

        I’m pretty sure the point of showing the ads only at intersections is, that the car needs to be in a standstill

        So they kinda give you “entertainment”, while you’re waiting

        Obviously a completely shit move, but I’m afraid, we can’t hit them for safety issues here

        Maybe more relevant would be, that people will miss the green light or produce more traffic jams, because that they’re clear to move on

        (Or did I miss something how/when they show their stupid ads?)

    • @[email protected]
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      84 months ago

      Don’t worry, on the mountain of paperwork you sign when you buy a car there’s probably an arbitration clause somewhere.

      • @[email protected]
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        114 months ago

        For me right now? Mazda. They have always been enjoyable to drive, and if you look at their interiors in everything from the MX-5 and Mazda3 up to their big family SUVs, you see physical controls in the foreground and a moderately sized infotainment screen up and back. Good location for glancing at it, and not for using a touch screen for everything in the car.

        I’ve been commuting in a 2012 mazda3 for several years and it’s been fun to drive and mechanically reliable. Also very fuel efficient with one of the early Skyactiv branded drivetrains.

  • Da Cap’n
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    73 months ago

    Whenever I upgrade my car, if it has this “feature “ I will immediately change out the system.

  • @[email protected]
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    694 months ago

    I thought GM foregoing CarPlay in favor of their own proprietary UI was a great way to kill sales, this is absolutely genius. Way to ensure I would never purchase your products!

  • @[email protected]
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    164 months ago

    I get that this is the point of the article, but wow seeing an ad in your car makes it look cheap as fuck.

    There’s a chance I might tolerate it on a rental, but not on something I own. Absolutely not.