• Gsus4@mander.xyz
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    47 minutes ago

    Wait, so they don’t want people changing their own wheels if a tire blows out? What kind of crap patent is that?

  • 🍉 Albert 🍉@lemmy.world
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    44 minutes ago

    I’ll admit having your logo on the screws is, in itself a neat idea, not a good one, but I see why it’s cool. making it propertary and control the production of who can remove it, is a terrible idea. and looking at it’s design, it seems trivially easy to make a screwdriver for it.

  • Brutticus@midwest.social
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    2 hours ago

    The Nazi mobile is anti consumer? Say it aint so!

    Didn’t they run slave labor camps at multiple points in their history?

  • chisel@piefed.social
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    3 hours ago

    It’s anti-consumer as hell, but is it really enough to keep servicing only to dealerships? Seems like someone can machine a tool head for this in like two seconds, it’s just two prongs. What’s stopping a manufacturer from selling tools for it and individuals/mechanics from buying the tool? Can they patent the tool and not sell it to anyone?

    • BeardedGingerWonder@feddit.uk
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      1 hour ago

      Coming from the position of “I’m not sure it’s possible to protect the source of a space frame chassis”

      Things like the Locost 7 have plans in the wild, and quite a few have been built.

      You kind of have to pick your poison in terms of “off the shelf”. Does buying a BMW steering column or a Chevy crate engine count? The feasibility of casting and machining a block or head is way beyond most. (To the point where developing an open source engine would struggle to go beyond design phase without a company backing it IMO) a donor car is a good place to start, of course.

      EVs may improve this, which would be good, though fucking with high voltage battery packs would be a negative.

      Chassis is relatively straightforward so long as you stick to box section or tubing.

      Body panels are tricky too, something like the Locost isnt too bad. Even more complicated is within the grasp of a dedicated home gamer - but we’re talking big 3D printers/serious clay or polystyrene modelling skills/CF or GF moulding etc. high expense high skill.

      If you’re talking at the level of open source chassis produced by a few companies, few different companies do EV motors, few do trims, few do body work etc and then integrators put them together - I could see it working, it’s not that dissimilar to how say VW/Audi/Skoda/Seat operate.

      I do like the idea of PC style integrators and you spec the car you want, probably pricey though.

  • jqubed@lemmy.world
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    2 hours ago

    I feel like BMW charging a monthly subscription for the heated seats in the car should’ve been enough to stop anyone from buying their new cars, but they continue to sell!

    • Geth@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      2 hours ago

      Not only that but the recent disgusting design language and the lowering of interior quality and the reliability issues, none of it seems to affect them? People really only see the badge and nothing else.

    • Bad_Engineering@fedia.io
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      2 hours ago

      As someone who used to turn wrenchs for a living, I can objectively say that those are the worst tool ever made.

      • 🍉 Albert 🍉@lemmy.world
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        41 minutes ago

        thanks for your comment.

        I always wonder if those are great (for the advertised reasons), like not as good as the exact bit you need, but good enough to be useful.

        or complete shite.

        now I know

  • bluGill@fedia.io
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    3 hours ago

    I the part is not user serviceable, that means you have a lifetime warranty on service, and need to prove the price you charge for parts is reasonable.