Who would have thought that heated seats could become such a controversial thing? Heated seats have gone from being a rare luxury in a high-end car, to an item that has become so common that it now seems stingy when car makers don’t include it as standard. Jealous of the streaming services and smartphone providers, car makers were searching for ways to squeeze some cash out of Gen Z. The car industry says that the idea of “function on demand” (FoD) is being driven by customers. Then, the vehicle will, petulantly, start disabling important features such as your phone connection, or maybe the air conditioning, or – of course – the heated seats.

Source: The Irish Times February 11, 2026 14:45 UTC