I have mixed feelings about subscriptions - in some cases, they can actually be good for customers (mainly power users, whose usage is subsidized by other subscribers).

I have 4000 songs on my Spotify. That would be $4k on iTunes. With Spotify being $11/month, it would take me 30 years of Spotify usage to break even with the iTunes model if I never bought another song. For every additional song I listen to, that subscription becomes worth even more.

With cars, I hope 1) customers have the option to pay up front 2) it allows for cheaper production with assembly efficiencies 3) it lets people granularly pick which options are on their car, as opposed to being stuck with whatever options come with a given trim package 4) there are always non-subscription cars around to keep manufacturers from rent-seeking behavior.

I haven’t bought a car in a long time, so I don’t know if any of those are true.