According to Wikipedia, Saturn was able to go from blank slate to a factory, workforce, and car in 7 years. So maybe 5 years is possible, but definitely a stretch.
What other Apple products will suffer in this timeframe due to diverted resources?
Doesn`t have to be. There are many ways to increase your margins and still produce a car in US. Example Tesla of course.
I do not believe this one iota; there is simply not enough profit in cars for Apple $$
I just can't wait until they get into making refrigerators... the kind with an ice maker and coffee machine built into the front door.
Don't worry. By the time this car would be getting into the launch window, this crowd would have fully turned on Tesla, bashing them and their products like they are the new Samsung. And, a few years later, "we" will remember Apple as inventing the electric car and ripping into Tesla and others as copycats for every little innovation.
If Tesla sues Apple for some patent infringement, we'll rail against the antiquated, outdated, begging-for-reform patent system. But if Apple sues Tesla for some patent infringement, we'll tout the wonderful patent system protecting intellectual capital along with "Die Tesla Die" and similar.
This rumor has just been born. It will take a while for "us" to believe it's really going to happen. But as "we" do, we'll begin to pile up the faults with every other electric car while piling up the rationalization for why the Apple version will be the one and only car anyone could ever need.
All that said though: personally, this is something about which to be excited IMO. If it's true, I'd love to see what Apple could do in terms of building an iCar. And an iCar seems like it has much more "next big thing" punch this this Apple Watch (again IMO). I don't foresee the watch being an iPod, iPhone, iPad-level home run much beyond the Apple faithful and some fashionistas. But I could see an iCar being a monster... a great new channel on which to focus some of the big brains at Apple. Obviously, I hope this rumor is true.
What's television?
We have DVDs
We had VHS.
No need for TV.
Too much like VD.
We have the Internet.
Much better.
I do not believe this one iota; there is simply not enough profit in cars for Apple $$
Do you realize that car business is very profitable? If its wasn't true, there won't be likes of VW, Honda, Hyundai, even Indian, Malaysian, Indonesian and Chinese car makers? GM and Ford had big difficulties becaiuse they were not selling cars meeting demand in time of economic crisis, high fuel prices; but those who are selling smaller, economic cars like Japanese are doing very well.
I just want a faster MacPro.
They are not going to make any electric car and even if they do it will be to learn about/expand some technology. Don't expect to go to a dealership to purchase an Apple car. Think about it, it's like saying IBM is getting into the cattle business, they purchased xx acres to build a farm to raise cows. Yeah right.
-Mike
The profit margin of the 10 leading car manufacturers ranges from around 6% to 10%. Apple's is over 20%.
This just went from seeming completely insane and like it wasn't going to happen to fairly realistic and why bother talking about it so much, for me.
The main thing I've been saying is the team is too small and there's no way to finish this project any time soon.
1K people in 5 years? That's plenty of time for Apple to design an entire car from scratch.
But we're talking 5 years - why talk about it at all? Just mention it could happen and stop writing news stories, because there's nothing more to say.
Honestly though, in 5 years, I feel like Tesla will have already finished revolutionizing the car industry. If Apple wanted to beat Tesla to the punch, they should have started on this 3-4 years ago, not this year. Apple will be to Tesla in the EV industry what Samsung has been to Apple in the Smart Phone industry.
So - just to humor this moronic rumor...
Supposedly, Apple is planning on producing a car, which, to be consistent with Apple's own ethos, it should be a high quality, sleek design, luxury car, right?
Yet, they are poaching employees from GM and other US manufacturers... instead of going after the golden standard in automotive engineering - without debate German manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, BMW, Porsche, etc.
US based manufacturers are among the crappiest cars in the world, and have been for a long time. Personally I wouldn't trust Apple - or GM for that matter - with my life on a highway. Just look at all the embarrassing recalls and class action law suits GM has faced, most recently GM's criminal responsibility in their ignition key scandal.
One thing is to trust a company with a simple phone or computer, and another is trusting a company - with no automotive design or manufacturing experience - with your life, simply because you use a phone made by them... even if they hired GM's incompetent engineers.
So yeah, good luck Apple, with your new POS car project...!