Yep, unless people stop buying cars that offer these features, it's just going to get worse and worse. But here's the thing: they won't.
BTW I think they charge for this feature because it requires the car to be connected to the Internet for it work, as it receives the remote start command from the Internet (so it works if you are far from the car). The Internet connection is certainly not free for Mazda.
Insert yourself in the middle of a transaction and charge a toll. The transaction in this case is remotely starting your car.
Maybe not stuff that uses more data at that price.
[1] on someones meaningless OKR.
(also, shouldn't remote start fall back to keyfob or bluetooth if cellular isn't available?)
If only the car were NOT connected to the internet.
The only way to counter it would be some kind of legally enforceable "right to ownership", which could be argued is the next step after "right to repair". Relying on consumer choice is a libertarian fantasy, right up there with corporate self-regulation. Yes, both exist and have substantial impacts, but they lack the teeth to create sustainable economic systems that support a prosperous middle class. Only well-written government regulation can do the latter.
If BMW came out with a car that gave you an electric shock every 5 minutes of driving, people would just not buy BMW and the problem would eventually work itself out. But if every car manufacturer slowly introduced it and normalized it, to the point where soon no other alternatives exist, then we'd all just accept it and buy cars that shock us.