Well folks, it finally happened. The screen in your pickup truck… your last bastion of peace from the chaos of unskippable advertisements… now plays popup ads. Not even subtle ones. We’re talking full-dash, head-unit-commandeering infomercial panels in your RAM 1500, like you’re driving a Times Square billboard on wheels.
Here I am extremely pissed at the people who made it where my dogs trigger fasten seatbelt beeps in a old Tacoma.
You don’t have a car harness for your dog? Even if you don’t give a shit about your dog dying (I know you do) you should at least be worried about the 50lbs dumbbell flying around the cabin in your next crash.
What? This is a thing?
harnesses? yes, definitely a thing. has been for a while
This is why the argument that paying for something would prevent ads falls apart. If they can squeeze more money out of people then they will, even if those people are paying $80k+ for the damn thing.
Yes I hate that argument and it’s not true. Cars are collecting tons of data and we pay for them, people “pay” for Windows one way or another and it’s collecting data.
Okay, cool. Hey, I’m now taking bets on how long until someone uses the ads to inject malware into a car or truck …
Unless it’s a tesla, it probably wouldn’t do much aside from bricking your entertainment and navigation
One of their sister brands, Jeep, had a hack through the infotainment that let them control the CAN bus and disengage the transmission
https://www.wired.com/2015/07/hackers-remotely-kill-jeep-highway/
Good old Mopar…
You’d still be able to hijack the GPS and the mic, making it a perfect tool for abusive spouse!
“abusive spouse” funny way to spell "government and “techbros”
potæto, potàto
The entire motor controller of ICE vehicles is computer operated today and connected to the infotainment system, they could probably brick the engine too.
Hasnt Jeep being doing this since at least last year? Every time you stop at a light or whatever you get an ad for Sirus radio.
Good. I’ve seen those RAM vehicles, they’re all american “tiny penis wagons” as I like to call them. Ridiculously pointlessly gigantic vehicles, all the better for running down children and guzzling petrol.
The tossers who drive those don’t deserve good things.
I mean yeah but yeah nah. I’m all for blaming the meatbags who buy this shit for fun but there are still enough people who buy entry-level RAMs as work trucks (might even be a good choice for all I know).
Besides, if Stellantis is continuing to get away with it other brand might catch on… I can totally see VW or BMW pull this crap.
Huh it’s funny my 2011 3500 ram 6.7l fully loaded bed get about the same if not better fuel economy as my 2023 toyota highlander with a 2.4l 4cylinder. I think you just formed your opinion without much experience of shit that goes on around you and are just regurgitating things you have read online.
I find it realy hard to tow 20,000 pounds of hay or horses with a ford edge, so I have a 2500 6.7 and drive it only when towing. just because people dont live the same lifestyle as you and need the same gear as you does not invalidate their needs.
We get it, you like to perpetuate toxic masculinity.
Such delicious irony.
I believe the Dodge Ram had the highest drunk driver rate for several years in a row (maybe still does). So yeah…
Remind me later.
Never buy a new car
OH. And espn thought of this in 2011
Time to go get a Kei Truck and put an Android tablet in it.
Kei Kei’s delivery service.
I sometimes feel shortchanged as an American (no healthcare, FUUUUCK), but I only get real mad about it when I think about how we don’t get Hiluxes and Kei trucks.
Order a Slate pickup. Buy what you want and only what you want. And add things later as you want or buy that tablet from amazon and a bluetooth speaker and install it yourself.
I think all people that see that ads need to pickup a phone and call them asking stupid questions and waste their time, they clearly ask you to do that.
Apart from how insane it is to put obtrusive ads on a car dashboard, having to link your phone to your car and then call a phone number to opt out of touchscreen display ads is 🤯
There is going to be a reason that they’ve set it up like that.
It wasn’t asking them to pair their phone to call the number to opt out, it was asking them to pair their phone so they could call the number to buy parts for their truck. You’d have to manually dial the number to opt out.
When calling that number, the caller will need somekind of proof that they are in control of the car that they are trying to opt out of ads. Afaik, the easiest way to accomplish that when requiring a phonecall, would be pairing phone and car. But obviously Stellantis is not going for easy with this setup, so this is purely speculation on my part.
Someday in a few years there will be an accident in the opt out service that routes 95% of attempts into a 500 error screen. All they have to do is underpay and never check on the server admin for that service for years until they don’t care.
At that point, I would opt out with a hammer.
I remember a while ago when this started appearing in chargers and they tried to act like it was an accident.
This is the defacto stance of advertising agencies doing horrible things.
“OOHHHH, You mean you DIDN’T want ads on your coffee maker or vibrator??? Our bad. This was a technical error we will fix immediately!”
They don’t admit it’s a mistake, call it an error, or try to fix. They call it a feature.
Vote with wallet
It’s an “opportunity to see special offers.”
They’re aggressive parasites.
Back at the office:
So it seems people don’t like ads on their vibrator which means they are viewing them. Let’s wait a couple of years for the anger to die down then do it again.
“Accident”
Scammy ads for scammy people driving scammy cars.
They’re the first victims of what will inevitably be rolled out to every new vehicle.
I own a 2016 RAM…and love it. Oh and Fuck you.
So you are part of the problem.
2022 model and about every three months I’ll get one for Sirius XM or something related to that. It’s only when the vehicle starts up and initializes. Its annoying but Ive been on the Internet since the late 90’s, my ability to practice the 5 D’s: dip, dodge, duck, dive and dodge for popups is muscle memory.
You dodge twice?
For reference, for anyone who isn’t familiar with the 2004 movie Dodgeball.
If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.
Are you kidding? Always dodge twice!
I… will. Thanks!
I’ve been on the internet since the same time and the ability that I developp is to install blockers for all that shit. No car will make watch ads, I’de rather walk.
I agree but it’s not always black and white. It’s a pop up every once in a while that I click an x on and move in with my life.
I’m not defending it, but I’m also not loading a new OS on my truck or spending time working on changing it. I obviously hate the popup and don’t want it but it’s been 3 years, its just something I have to do and move on with life in 2 seconds every few months.
This is why my old shitty 2001 accord will always be best.
This is why I’m not going to buy RAM / Dodge / Chrysler/ Jeep / anything Stellantis owns, and this is why I’m not buying any new car with “smart” / “built-in” junk.
I don’t know of any car that has an actually good head unit. Its either garbage because its a giant touch screen, making it super difficult to navigate without looking (that’s why all the controls in an airplane are different shapes and sizes), or its just a hub for you to run Android Auto / apples equivalent.
Now ads? Ffs…
I’ve just been thoroughly unimpressed by all of the American car brands. Crap vehicles with lousy interiors the lot of them.
My Honda civic 2012’s head unit firmware isn’t that bad.
It tells your input source, volume, if your trunk is open, if your tires are fucked, and includes a hookup for a backup camera that only made it into other models, making it ezpz to retrofit.
Could be a lot worse. Wouldn’t touch a modern one with a ten foot pole lmao.
“Front left tyre is fucked.” “Your fucking trunk is open.”
Now that I would not mind having shown when starting the car.
Actually the bastard won’t tell you what specific tire. Just that one of them has low air pressure.
Kind of a dick move since there’s no way the computer can’t tell which tire it is when they’re four separate sensors.
Mine will tell me the measured pressures of all tires. But only if at least one is low. I haven’t found a way to get it to just tell me the pressure in any tire if it’s not throwing an error at me.
Dear Mazda, you have a full user interface in your vehicle. Why can’t you let me see the tire pressure from just a menu option?
