Mercedes-Benz electric vehicle owners in North America who want a little more power and speed can now buy 60 horsepower for just $60 a month or, on other models, 80 horsepower for $90 a month.
Source: You can make your Mercedes EV go faster for $60 a month | CNN Business
i wrote this on BB about that:
From the perspective of the industry I know best (CNC controllers, mostly Fanuc), this is normal. When ordering a controller I selected from hundreds of options, from basics (# of axes, types of acceleration profiles, # of meters of tape storage, etc) to the more advanced (5-axis interpolation, nano-interpolation, etc.); from these options a specific hardware configuration is determined (# of processors, memory, etc). Some of these options cost multiple thousands of $… on a complex machine the options could cost 5x or more than the basic controller.
The controller that I received would be per my configuration. But it had all software functions installed, just disabled. If I needed to add a software function, I’d just order it for that specific machine. As long as the hardware supported the new function, it was a simple matter of flipping the correct bit(s) in the controller.
Over the years this “flipping the correct bits” went from something I could do, to a very secretive method done only by a Fanuc tech visiting the machine to type in secret codes while covering the keypad so as not to reveal the codes. One tech even insisted I step behind the controller so I couldn’t see the keypad! I believe the current methods tie the option to the specific controller serial#.
HMSGoose:orrrr, is this actually a discount for people who want to be 1% less of an asshole…
Indeed. Not that a Benz is likely in my future, but I drive like a little old man so wouldn’t need this option.
Further… when the cars have motors at the wheels (i think this is the ultimate way to control a car… 4 individual motors at the wheels, ideallyu built into the wheels, controlledf by a CNC-like controller with very accurate sensros and contols. perhaps onle could “rent” the approp features as required. only need 4wd traction control when it’s slipery, just turn it on as the conditions prevail, and off again for the most time. of course man in the b b thread are all late stage capital and renting seekng, but as HMSGoose suggested, and Fanuc seems to have implemented, a way to deleiver exactly what customer required, from the smallest to the laqrgest most copmplicated, al in software. this seems a good thing to me. but ¯_(ツ)_/¯
