Home » Automaker Gloriously Trolls Rivals’ Heated Seat Subscription Services By Giving Out Free Hot-Water-Bottles

Automaker Gloriously Trolls Rivals’ Heated Seat Subscription Services By Giving Out Free Hot-Water-Bottles

Dacia Hot Water Bottle Topshot
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Good news! The UK division of Renault’s Romanian brand, Dacia, is trolling automakers (like BMW) looking to make heated seats a subscription service by giving out an ingenious hack. On the first and second of February in three British locations, Dacia will be giving out branded hot water bottles dubbed “Heated Seat Saviours.”

Small 4185 Daciaoffersfreeheatedseatsavioursforthoselookingtoavoidanothersubscription

Vidframe Min Top
Vidframe Min Bottom

The sudden, unexpected appearance of a hot water bottle was a source of confusion in our Slack channel, so here’s how this wonderful bit of kit works. Basically, it’s a flexible rubber insulated vessel. Unscrew the bung, fill the vessel with boiling water from the kettle, screw the bung back in, and the rubber construction will let you enjoy heat for a fair period of time. It’s great for winter wrenching, cramps, shoveling snow, staying warm during a nasty storm, and pre-heating unheated seats.

According to Dacia, “The ‘Heated Seat Saviours’ will be available for drivers, who may not feel comfortable forking out additional costs for a feature already fitted in the initial purchase of their car.” Oh, the shade is real, and really fitting for the Dacia brand.

Dacia Sandero

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If you’re not terribly familiar with Dacia, it’s a Romanian carmarker that started out making Renault models under license before producing its own budget-oriented and seriously weird cars like the Lăstun city car. In 1999, the circle of life completed a full revolution as Renault acquired Dacia, and the Romanian brand was soon realigned as Renault’s budget arm. Since the Renault acquisition, Dacia’s made great headway in Europe because it turns out that a lot of people simply want a car.

Dacia Sandero Interior

Dacia customers don’t need something terribly fancy or fashion-forward, they just want something cheap, reliable, and offering good value, and are there ever a lot of these customers. British publication Autocar reports that in November, the Sandero hatchback was the second-best-selling car in all of Europe, just 388 units behind the Tesla Model Y. Given Dacia’s following and ethos, it’s not surprising that the brand is poking fun at subscription services from brands like BMW. In fact, here’s what Luke Broad, Dacia Brand Director for the UK has to say about this initiative.

Our ‘Heated Seat Saviours’ are a bit of fun, but they do highlight the direction the wider industry is going regarding subscription-based access to features. Asking someone to pay extra to activate factory-fitted equipment certainly isn’t Dacia! We believe in simplicity, offering our customers technology that makes driving more convenient and comfortable with features included in a car’s initial price. Whether consumers view heated seats as essential or not, our commitment to value and a fuss-free ownership experience means that we will only ever ask them to push a button to enjoy them.

Of course, this could all backfire spectacularly if Dacia eventually pulls a U-turn on subscriptions, but for now I’m all for this fine example of trolling. So, if you’re in England and want a Dacia hot water bottle, you can pick one up on Feb. 1 or 2 from Dacia Staples Corner in London, Dacia Manchester in, er, Manchester, or Dacia Swansea in – you guessed it – Swansea.

(Photo credits: Dacia)

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Mr Sarcastic
Mr Sarcastic
1 year ago

I am an old school car guy. Screw paying monthly fees for stuff you buy.
“The only subscription I am willing to pay for is my subscription to Autopian”!

Salaryman
Salaryman
1 year ago

I spent a year in Morocco on a project and they gave me a Dacia Sandero for my vehicle.

5 speed and a 1.5L diesel.

No turbo.

Power windows for just the front, via a common switch in the center console.

It did have A/C.

I was not impressed.

Bio Bucht
Bio Bucht
1 year ago

I assume these are not very common in the US from your detailed explanation of something I used quite often as a kid. We call them “Bettflasche”, which is simply bed bottle. SUPER great if you catch a cold or are in an old house with limited heating!

Dead Elvis, Inc.
Dead Elvis, Inc.
1 year ago
Reply to  Bio Bucht

They’re extremely common, and can be found at Walmart and nearly every pharmacy or drug store.

Cheap Bastard
Cheap Bastard
1 year ago

Nice troll.

Next up: Trunk Monkey gets an upgrade to remote starter!

Ron888
Ron888
1 year ago

Thomas i very much like how you have knowledge of things before your time.Or maybe you’re learning as you go? Either way well done.
It makes the predominately middle aged members here feel at home

Data
Data
1 year ago

I am the Great Cornholio, I need TP for my Bunghole.

MATTinMKE
MATTinMKE
1 year ago
Reply to  Data

Came here looking for this, leaving satisfied.

Toecutter
Toecutter
1 year ago
Reply to  Data

BOW BEFORE THE ALMIGHTY BUNGHOLE! Bungholio…

Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
1 year ago
Reply to  Toecutter

BUUUUNNNGGGGHOOOOOLIOOOOOIOIOIOIOOIOOOOOOOOOO!

Mr. Asa
Mr. Asa
1 year ago

Good news! This means that heated “seats” are now available on the Dacia Sandero!

Man With A Reliable Jeep
Man With A Reliable Jeep
1 year ago
Reply to  Mr. Asa

Beat me to it.:)

Dogisbadob
Dogisbadob
1 year ago

Dacias should be sold here as Mitsubishi

The new Mirage 😀

Vetatur Fumare
Vetatur Fumare
1 year ago
Reply to  Dogisbadob

They are linked, too, albeit tenuously.

Mike Harrell
Mike Harrell
1 year ago

It was necessary to explain what a hot water bottle is and how it works? Now I feel even older than when I have to explain to our more inquisitive grad students that those weird built-in hinged receptacles next to the elevator on each floor have been there for decades and are called ashtrays.

Mercedes Streeter
Mercedes Streeter
1 year ago
Reply to  Mike Harrell

David and I imagined a “hot water bottle” to be like a thermos, or maybe just a regular water bottle with hot stuff in it. This….wasn’t what we were thinking!

A. Barth
A. Barth
1 year ago

Yeah, that’s a misnomer as it’s clearly not a “bottle” per se.

But calling it what it is – a bladder – might hinder sales a bit.

Mike Harrell
Mike Harrell
1 year ago
Reply to  A. Barth

Earlier examples were indeed bottles made of rigid materials such as metal, ceramic, or glass, so my guess is the already familiar name carried over with the introduction of the flexible rubber versions.

Mr. Asa
Mr. Asa
1 year ago
Reply to  Mike Harrell

:nods:
My folks have this massive one that holds maybe 3 gallons, made of aluminum.

Dwegmull
Dwegmull
1 year ago

I’m fairly sure that my grandmother who lived in a house without central heating in the UK used hot water bottles to warm up the beds in the evenings. I also distinctly remember thick ice on the inside of the windows in the mornings! This was in the mid/late 1970’s in Wolverhampton (near Birmingham).

Marteau
Marteau
1 year ago
Reply to  Dwegmull

That’s my house situation today, isn’t it normal ?

Phil Layshio
Phil Layshio
1 year ago

Thanks. I feel old now.

MaximillianMeen
MaximillianMeen
1 year ago
Reply to  Mike Harrell

“…those weird built-in hinged receptacles next to the elevator on each floor have been there for decades and are called ashtrays.”

Are you talking about the ones with a button to dump the ashes to a larger receptacle below the initial “ash-catcher”? It has been forever and a day since I’ve seen one of those! Gotta love college campuses that don’t ever remodel.

Mike Harrell
Mike Harrell
1 year ago

Precisely that. In order to fulfill my obligation as an educator I’ve just now walked down the hallway and taken a photo of one for the benefit of today’s youth:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52648986666_1fcd3bcf76_c.jpg

Preston Shelton
Preston Shelton
1 year ago
Reply to  Mike Harrell

Senior in college here. I did not even know these existed. After the descriptions on here I am going to spend a few hours researching them, and will try finding one of these in the wild.

SlowCarFast
SlowCarFast
1 year ago
Reply to  Mike Harrell

It’s been all electric heating pads since the 80’s!
Although my family uses a sock of microwaveable ‘beans’ to relieve menstrual cramps. Same idea, but no water.

Doug Kingham
Doug Kingham
1 year ago

Slight error, Thomas: Dacia is part of Renault, not VW.

David Tracy
David Tracy
1 year ago
Reply to  Doug Kingham

That was me. Not sure why I thought it was VAG!

Doug Kingham
Doug Kingham
1 year ago
Reply to  David Tracy

It’s probably because you’re surrounded by VAG in Deutschland at the moment.

David Tracy
David Tracy
1 year ago
Reply to  Doug Kingham

I’ve been to Romania, and seen the clearly Renault-based Logans everywhere. Come on, DT!

Doug Kingham
Doug Kingham
1 year ago
Reply to  David Tracy

I find Dacia’s model names such a random mix of seemingly unrelated words. Duster (which I like, both the name and car), Logan, Sandero, Lodgy, and Jogger. What the hell is a Lodgy?

David Tracy
David Tracy
1 year ago
Reply to  Doug Kingham

I kinda love Lodgy?

David Tracy
David Tracy
1 year ago
Reply to  David Tracy

Know what else I love? Renault Kangoo!

Doug Kingham
Doug Kingham
1 year ago
Reply to  David Tracy

I hear you on the Kangoo (which is as good as the Citroën Jumpy), but I can’t stand the Lodgy name. It just looks and sounds wrong. And while I appreciate cheap 7-passenger non-SUV cars, the Lodgy’s looks also bothered me.

Citrus
Citrus
1 year ago
Reply to  David Tracy

Kangoo is my favorite new wave band.

Thomas Metcalf
Thomas Metcalf
1 year ago
Reply to  Doug Kingham

I tried to translate Lodgy from Romanian to English. Got nothing. Maybe its just Lodge with a ‘y’?

Nlpnt
Nlpnt
1 year ago
Reply to  Doug Kingham

I see what you did there…

Markus Schmitt
Markus Schmitt
1 year ago
Reply to  David Tracy

Confusion with Skoda, which is Czech, was taken over by VW and is their budget arm?

Tim R
Tim R
1 year ago

Wait, the Model Y is the best selling car in Europe?

Marteau
Marteau
1 year ago
Reply to  Tim R

Only cause they deliver them by batch once every 3months…

Matt Dodge
Matt Dodge
1 year ago
Reply to  Tim R

I was going to say, that sounds like they’re burying the lede a little bit. That’s not what I would’ve expected to be the best-selling car in Europe or any other continent.

Bork Bork
Bork Bork
1 year ago
Reply to  Tim R

In November. It was 32nd overall.

A. Barth
A. Barth
1 year ago

“Good news!”

What???

Dave
Dave
1 year ago
Reply to  A. Barth

Anyway…

Hondaimpbmw 12
Hondaimpbmw 12
1 year ago
Reply to  Dave

Moving along to something completely different.

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