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Apple Aiming to Begin Electric Car Production in 2020

lol. This is the most amazing display of runaway reporting I've ever seen.

All these sensational headlines are still being based on a few rumors/spyshots:

1. That minivan with the cameras/mapping tech on the roof
2. The hires from TSLA, GM, etc.

Not one further piece of evidence has been presented to suggest that Apple is making an actual car vs. improving its mapping technology, or improving car integration tech like Carplay.

The headlines however, have gotten more and more sensationalist, with the late-comers trying to make up for lost ground to the early reporters.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
The Apple car will probably be built with low cost Foxconn labor. There are plenty of state of the art auto making facilities from many different companies.
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Doesn`t have to be. There are many ways to increase your margins and still produce a car in US. Example Tesla of course.
 
iBug2 said:
Obviously, but if someone wants to buy an automobile, they are used to waiting for it if the model is not available in the shop that day. Nobody expects to buy these the moment they want them.

The hard part would be manufacturing them. No factory in China will be producing 50000 of these every day. Apple would probably need new factories all around the world.
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Why? Toyota, Honda, etc, has tens of thousands if cars sitting in lots waiting to be sold. You can get your car in a few days in most cases. And building factories, repair facilities etc, is a huge infrastructure investment. There are government regulations to desk with, etc, etc.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
Why not? I don't know how accurate it would be, but this is probably a controlled leak for whatever reason. This will be the biggest investment and undertaking in Apple's history. If it fails, it would be a huge hit on the company, it's not going to be the experiment like the 5C was, once and done.
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I don't see how you get to consumer interest that way. Sure a lot of people will chatter about it but that's just a measure of the prosperousness of the concept.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
Why? Toyota, Honda, etc, has tens of thousands if cars sitting in lots waiting to be sold. You can get your car in a few days in most cases. And building factories, repair facilities etc, is a huge infrastructure investment. There are government regulations to desk with, etc, etc.
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Yeah but isn't that a problem? Too many cars being produced, not all of them are sold. If I remember correctly almost 25% of cars manufactured are never sold. That drives down margins.
 
IJ Reilly said:
I don't see how you get to consumer interest that way. Sure a lot of people will chatter about it but that's just a measure of the prosperousness of the concept.
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In complete seriousness, this is Apple, a brand that has a cult like following, almost fanatical in some cases. Brand recognition. Apple's going to make a car? Wow, I can't wait to see what they come up with! That's the power of Apple hype. The people do it to themselves.
 
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iBug2 said:
They do, but car repair is a different business than iPhone repair. And the Apple we know wouldn't release a car only a few thousand people would buy. If they do this, they'll want to sell it to the entire world, like iPhones. Then they would need new facilities to repair these things, basically everywhere.
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the electric car will be hugely software based...very few parts...some repairs are software upgrades...its nothing like a gasoline car...this is all new tech.

Also they much safer then a gasoline car and if in time there driven by a computer well there be less crashes for sure.
 
Meandmunch said:
Where is all of this BS coming from?! Yes going from a watch to a car makes perfect sense.
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The Wall Street Journal reported it, Reuters reported it, Financial Times reported and now Bloomberg. I mean, at this point, who else you need to report it? Tim Cook himself? It's happening.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
State of the art facilities with low cost labor, just like they use now. No union workers making $35 per hour.
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Yes but low cost labor isn't bad labor or less skilled labor. China manufactures even the most "delicate" hand-made products like 50000$ costing collector's edition fountain pens from Italian brands.

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AppleScruff1 said:
In complete seriousness, this is Apple, a brand that has a cult like following, almost fanatical in some cases. Brand recognition. Apoke's going to make a car? Wow, I can't wait to see what they come up with! That's the power of Apple hype. The people do it to themselves.
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People talk about this like this is something you can achieve without the products. It's so funny.

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Tcasey said:
the electric car will be hugely software based...very few parts...some repairs are software upgrades...its nothing like a gasoline car...this is all new tech.

Also they much safer then a gasoline car and if in time there driven by a computer well there be less crashes for sure.
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I doubt these cars will crash at all, they shouldn't if they are smart enough. But others will crash into them. :)
 
AppleScruff1 said:
Making millions of phones is a bit easier than making millions of cars. Cars are bigger. You can't put 250,000 of them on a cargo plane and fly them around the world.
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True, but Apple would not be selling the same number of cars as they do phones. There would be no need to ship 250,000 of them at a time.
 
iBug2 said:
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[/COLOR]

People talk about this like this is something you can achieve without the products. It's so funny.
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Because it isn't just about the actual products. It's about the rich history, and the impressions Steve Jobs left on people. Apple is the perfect comeback story. Yes - in due to products - but that's just part of it.
 
iBug2 said:
Yeah but isn't that a problem? Too many cars being produced, not all of them are sold. If I remember correctly almost 25% of cars manufactured are never sold. That drives down margins.
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Of course they are all eventually sold, and that does drive down margins. But short supply is more the Apple way of doing business.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
In complete seriousness, this is Apple, a brand that has a cult like following, almost fanatical in some cases. Brand recognition. Apoke's going to make a car? Wow, I can't wait to see what they come up with! That's the power of Apple hype. The people do it to themselves.
Click to expand...

Unless something has changed radically at Apple, and really recently, buzz is something they care about not at all. They could buzz any product they wanted to, especially ones we have a real good idea are coming, but they steadfastly refrain from doing so. This makes no sense on every possible level. I just can't buy it.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
Quantity. Autos are shipped from Japan, Korea, etc to the US by ship. It's not overnight delivery.
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It is if they have only a few models, the biggest delivery problem with cars is the colors and other options that need to be assembled in the factory. Apple would probably make one model, 3 colors and opt for other customizations to personalize the car. Take the watch, only 3 models but with a collection of bands to personalize it.

Customizations could be limited to seat covers, smart glass or a nice spoiler. :cool:
 
IJ Reilly said:
That would be my guess. The freaking Apple Watch took nearly that long from concept to shipping, now they're going from zero to cars? It pins the BS meter.
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Or perhaps this is a massive trolling effort by Apple and they're all laughing their arses off back at 1 infinite loop?
 
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