CarPlay is Apple's driver-friendly interface for Maps, Messages, Music, and more. Through partnership deals with major manufacturers, CarPlay get embedded in automobile infortainment centers and then syncs over Lightning or Wi-Fi with our iPhones. There's a small licensing fee involved for the technology, but CarPlay is essentially free.

So, of course, BMW wants to charge customers $80 a year for it.

Tim Stevens, writing for CNET, calls it next-level gouging:

Instead of a one-time, $300 fee, starting on 2019 models BMW will charge $80 annually for the privilege of accessing Apple's otherwise totally free CarPlay service. You do get the first year free, much like your friendly neighborhood dealer of another sort, but after that it's pay up or have your Lightning cable metaphorically snipped. On the surface this is pretty offensive, and it seemed like something must be driving this. The official word from BMW is that this is a change that will save many (perhaps most) BMW owners money. Indeed, the vehicle segments where BMW plays are notorious for short-term leases, and those owning the car for only a few years will save money over that one-time $300. But still, the notion of paying annually for something that's free rubbed me the wrong way. And, based on the feedback we saw from the article, it rubbed a lot of you the wrong way, too.

John Gruber, responding on Daring Fireball:

It's patently offensive. If BMW goes through with this, you can never truly own one of their cars. $80/year isn't much compared to the price of the car, but on general principle this is way out there in Fuck You territory.

There have been calls for Apple to yank BMW's license or otherwise intervene to stop the jackassary being perpetrated under one of its brands.

I'd like to see something simpler and more flexible: I'd like to see Apple make CarPlay available directly in iOS.

You should be able to take an iPhone — or iPad, if you want something bigger — and mount it on your dashboard, and have it go into CarPlay-style interface mode.