"We don't want to lock the cars and say you can't modify them," Dodge CEO Kuniskis told Carscoops. "We just want to lock them and say modify them through us so that we know it's done right."
And by "done right", you mean "after the owner sends US the money for the mod, not the after-market company". This all seems monopolistic to me.
If they're so-o-o worried about the personally identifiable information stored on the car, the answer is as simple as... don't do that. Wireless updates are really unnecessary. Nag the driver to bring the car in for maintenance and update in the shop. Or is the long-term plan to get rid of most of your mechanics who could be applying the updates?
It may, ultimately, be a losing battle but I will be basing my next auto purchase on whether the company does this sort of thing and avoiding those that do. A subscription for enabling the heated seats? Well, BMW you're off the list. (Well, they were never on it to begin with, actually.)