In cars, there’s one that just made the jump recently: Rear-view cameras, which are not just standard but mandatory as of last year.
And this trend has continued more recently with more advanced safety features, like rear-vision cameras (which are now required on all vehicles), Vehicle Stability Control (VSC)/Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC), etc. I’ve seen this trend over the years as my wife has bought Subaru Outbacks in 2003, 2013, and 2019.
In 2003, Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) was an option only on the highest trim level of the Subaru Outback. By 2013, it was standard on all Subarus.
In 2013, Subaru’s EyeSight Driver Assist Technology (including lane keep assist, sway warning, adaptive cruise control, pre-collision braking, and pre-collision throttle management) was only a high-end option. In 2019, it is now standard on all models of the Subaru Outback, Forester, Legacy, and Ascent.
In 2019, blind-spot detection and rear cross-traffic alert are standard on Subaru Outback Limited and Touring models, available on Premium models, and not available on basic models. I expect this will eventually become standard on all Subarus in future model years.
In 2019, reverse automatic braking is standard on Subaru Outback Touring models, available on Limited Models, and not available on basic models. I expect this will also become standard on all Subarus in future model years.
I think there were ISPs that charged for “extra” email addresses.
Unlimited cellular data plans aren’t quite universal yet, but they are pretty common.
I remember just a few years ago when our family plan had a monthly limit, and we were charged by the GB for any overage.
In the early days, 10 cents a text after 100. My daughter blew through that by a wide margin. We could ge unlimited for $10/month.
My car’s radio gets a handful of satellite stations. I’ve never signed up for their service.
Remember the early days of the internet, when ISPs charged per minute? I remember my dad getting mad at me for spending too much time online and running up the bill. And there used to be software that would just log on, download your email, and immediately log off to avoid racking up too many minutes.
Around here stations will typically post two prices, a cash price and a credit price. Except for Arco – they post one price and then charge a flat $0.35 fee for debit cards and don’t accept credit cards at all. Debit cards are the one variable that makes it hard to comparison shop – some stations will give you the cash price if you use a debit card, others treat a debit card as a credit card (at least if you pay at the pump) and charge you the credit price.
That does remind me that very occasionally I will see cash price and credit flash alternatively on a sign, but the number of places I’ve seen that is fewer than 10 and it’s still hard to see which one you’re seeing.
Nothing new about this, at least in California; I remember gas stations charging more for credit card purchases 25 years ago.
In California, I have seen two ways around this. First, it’s not a “credit card surcharge,” but a “cash discount”; presumably, as long as the predominantly displayed price is the credit card price, this is not a problem - and I don’t think the people who wanted to ban the credit card surcharges had much of a problem with it either; I am under the impression the ban was to prevent “bait and switch” pricing where you see a low price, fill your tank, and are then told, “Oh, that’s the cash price.”
Second, instead of a debit card fee, one restaurant I went to used to have a sign saying, “All transactions are subject to a 69c service fee - also, all transactions involving cash or credit cards will receive a 69c convenience discount” (i.e. “we’re charging you 69c if you use your debit card”).
They still do. At least, mine does.
I guess you can still buy a car without air conditioning, but I’m not too sure why you’d want to.
Sure, but there are costs associated with cash, and especially with checks. The cost with CC are somewhat higher than the costs with cash, but the extra business CC brings in more than makes up for it. So CC surcharges are stupid.
OTOH, a sign that* ask *you to not use CC on sales under $10 is perfectly reasonable and I will honor it.
That really is a bank-by-bank thing though. My bank charges a $12 account fee and $2.50 for using an ATM other than theirs. It’s possible to have these fees waived, by maintaining a minimum balance or by having enough direct deposits/ automatic bill payments - but getting the fees waived by maintaining a minimum balance was possible 35 years ago. ( and I still have to buy the checks)
The default Comcast package, at least in this area, includes Starz and all their subchannels at no extra charge.
Texts/data are especially weird. Way back, before smart phones and before texting was popular, texts cost me $.02 to receive and .05 to send , and I could get “internet” on my flip phone for 5 month . Then texts became popular and went up to .50 to send or receive, and I could buy various packages so that it would be cheaper per text… Then smart phones came in and I could buy a certain amount of data per month, but I now had unlimited texts and minutes and I can use my phone in Canada and Mexico for no extra fee.
My 1985 Dodge Omni had mirrors on both doors, but the right-hand door, unchanged since 1978, didn’t have a nice little recess for the base of the mirror to fit into.
Neither did my first two cars, a 1980 Volkswagen Rabbit and a 1985 Mazda GLC.
I guess they figured your biggest blind spot was over your left shoulder. You had to manually adjust the driver’s side mirror, too. For that matter, the windows and locks were all manual, too.
My first new car was a 1992 BMW 325is. It had mirrors on both sides that were electrically controlled, power windows, and power locks. But only a driver’s side airbag, no car remotes (key only), and no CD player (radio and tape deck only).
What if it’s a restaurant where everything cost less than $10? There’s a pretty decent place by me that does that and I rarely get food there since by the time I go get cash, I could just go home and grab something from the fridge. They also keep weird hours. I assume it’s more for tax evasion that they want to keep most of their sales in cash.
I remember when movie theaters used to charge you extra for extra butter on your popcorn.
Or at least maybe that was all my cheap movie theaters near for most of the 80’s and 90’s. All my local movie theaters now have the butter station in the open free to use.
Costs associated with cash included a small charge for change, a charge for cash deposits over $10000, extra insurance, armored car service, and the cost of two people counting and recounting it after shift. Small sales like what you mention likely only have the last one.
Since their sales tend to be under $10, it could be tax evasion, but since there are extra CC charges for average sales that small, they likely are mostly trying to evade those fees.