Apple Appoints Bob Mansfield to Oversee Electric Vehicle Team

[Chupa Chupa]

I'm starting to wonder if this really isn't about Apple making a car per se, but making the electronics for cars. It has never made sense to me why Apple would want to but heads with Tesla, BMW, GM, Toyota, Honda, Audi, etc. But most of these companies do outsource their electronics to some degree. None of them make their own hardware for sure. It would make sense if Apple was just figuring out how to make cars a better, safer user experience and then sell that to car maker.

It would also make sense that CarPlay is just the trojan horse to get Apple into main carmaker's products. Bigger things later.

 

[Rogifan]

Base on what we know for sure about Apple's car project, this appointment is more suggestive than indicative of anything. And what it suggests is highly colored by whatever personal opinion you already hold about whether Apple should be making a car.

This. For all we know this could mean Apple is beyond the exploratory stage and is bringing Mansfield in to push to bring this to market.

I'm starting to wonder if this really isn't about Apple making a car per se, but making the electronics for cars. It has never made sense to me why Apple would want to but heads with Tesla, BMW, GM, Toyota, Honda, Audi, etc. But most of these companies do outsource their electronics to some degree. None of them make their own hardware for sure. It would make sense if Apple was just figuring out how to make cars a better, safer user experience and then sell that to car maker.

It would also make sense that CarPlay is just the trojan horse to get Apple into main carmaker's products. Bigger things later.

How much of this is known to the general consumer (outside of maybe branded car stereos) and do the auto companies share parts suppliers? Would Apple just want to be a parts supplier for automakers? Would the automakers allow Apple to co-brand. And if this was Apple's strategy why wouldn't they just buy a company like Harman and get their foot in the door that way? It's not like Apple's every really been successful as a piece of technology in someone else's product. That Motorola ROKR was nothing to write home about...

 

[recoil80]

Good news! The introduction video wouldn't be the same without Bob talking about the hardware part of the product.

 

[Iconoclysm]

Indicative that this was turning into a black hole money pit. Apple making a car is a flawed idea. Apple has billions to burn so it won't necessarily kill the company but not sure how going to be in car business and actually don't make cars. There is a significant difference in constructing prototype , cruise around Sunnyvale/Mtn View cars under mostly ideal conditions and doing real car that can deal with real roads.

HR development wise also not particularly good have to dip into the retirement pool to get a top flight engineering manager to run something. Starved out Mac product (and non iOS) R&D probably isn't helping on that front.

If Tesla pulled this off, I think Apple has at least a decent shot at it. Microsoft was under the impression they could create virtually any household appliance for their future home, they never made a single one of the products in there...and now all of them actually exist from others in the industry.

 

[RichTeer]

They should buy Tesla and Elon Musk.

I respectfully disagree. Apart from competition being a good thing, I'm not sure that Tesla's and Apple's business goals would align that well. Can you really imagine Apple giving away a bunch of their patents to foster the marketplace and drive (no pun intended!) electric vehicle development at a faster pace? Because Tesla did.

I like my Apple stuff, but I do think they've become a little too driven by profit in recent years (which I suppose is a good thing if one owns APPL stock), as evidenced by some of their product decisions (e.g., 16 GB base storage in iPhones, 5400 RPM disks in iMacs, etc.). Tesla, while obviously trying to make a profit, seems to have a mission bigger than just make buckets of cash for their investors--and I like that.

 

[pat500000]

okay......why?

 

[DakotaGuy]

Eh... For how much money they will want for that tiny little Apple car I could buy this and enough gas to run it for 5 years. Give me the big bad F-150!

 

[RichTeer]

Of course there is a difference in prototypes versus delivered cars. That's why Tesla will never bring a car to market. It's totally impossible. Can't be done. Case Closed.

Ah, so the retail versions of the Model S and Model X I drove last week, and my cousin's Model S, don't actually exist. Good to know! /s

 

[IJ Reilly]

I'm starting to wonder if this really isn't about Apple making a car per se, but making the electronics for cars. It has never made sense to me why Apple would want to but heads with Tesla, BMW, GM, Toyota, Honda, Audi, etc. But most of these companies do outsource their electronics to some degree. None of them make their own hardware for sure. It would make sense if Apple was just figuring out how to make cars a better, safer user experience and then sell that to car maker.

It would also make sense that CarPlay is just the trojan horse to get Apple into main carmaker's products. Bigger things later.

I've been saying this for a year. Welcome to the party.

 

[ZZ Bottom]

I'm excited to see what Apple can bring to the table. MB, BMW, Tesla... they all fall short in the ergonomics/UI dept as far as I'm concerned and that's where Apple usually shines.

Im not sure the Magic Mouse qualifies as ergonomic; in fact it's quiet the opposite.

 

[Attirex]

steve jobs would've never put mansfield on the Titan project....? Is that the right post to use here?

 

[MaciMac100]

I like my Apple stuff, but I do think they've become a little too driven by profit in recent years (which I suppose is a good thing if one owns APPL stock), as evidenced by some of their product decisions (e.g., 16 GB base storage in iPhones, 5400 RPM disks in iMacs, etc.). Tesla, while obviously trying to make a profit, seems to have a mission bigger than just make buckets of cash for their investors--and I like that.

Well said, I agree. When buying Tesla, you know they will invest that money in innovation.

We need these game changing people like Elon Musk and Steve Jobs.

 

[Tycho24]

Oh thank god, now bring Scott back!!

Lol, do you just love drama, tension, disputes, and problems??

 

[KALLT]

Im not sure the Magic Mouse qualifies as ergonomic; in fact it's quiet the opposite.

Nor the iPhones for that matter. The iPhone 3G was ergonomic, the rest was more about technological and industrial prowess.

 

[now i see it]

to oversee development of its widely rumored electric vehicle

Doesn't sound like a rumor anymore to me

 

[wesk702]

IIRC Mansfield was going to leave the company or retire a few years back. There was an article that said he was given a significant amount to stay. May e the reason we haven't seen him is his role or roles with secret projects including the car.

 

[IJ Reilly]

How much of this is known to the general consumer (outside of maybe branded car stereos) and do the auto companies share parts suppliers? Would Apple just want to be a parts supplier for automakers? Would the automakers allow Apple to co-brand. And if this was Apple's strategy why wouldn't they just buy a company like Harman and get their foot in the door that way? It's not like Apple's every really been successful as a piece of technology in someone else's product. That Motorola ROKR was nothing to write home about...

Granted it isn't the most Apple-like strategy, but they are already pursuing it with CarPlay, so perhaps it is best to never say never. Building a low-margin product that requires huge investments in manufacturing infrastructure and is difficult to scale up to profitability is also not a strategy we've come to expect from Apple. So pick the un-Apple like thing you think they are most likely to be doing. I am more convinced that they are perusing some sort of expanded CarPlay approach because it has the potential to leverage their existing technological expertise and product base, without the costs and risks inherent in building a branded car.

 

[nutmac]

While they still have a lot to learn and a long way to go, this could be VERY good news! I've always liked Bob.

Right. As much as I love what Tesla has done for the auto industry, and I have a strong suspicion that Tesla will leave a bigger footprint in the automotive history than Apple, the potential of what Apple can bring to the table is tremendous.

Apple's attention to detail, total break from the tradition, ecosystem and integration, user experience, and fit and finish could all propel rest of the auto industry to finally evolve. And if anything, accelerate direct sales model, electric vehicle marketshare, and pressure Tesla and others to try even harder.

 

[falainber]

With all respect to Bob, would not it be better to use someone who has experience in designing/building cars?

 

[MacHiavelli]

But, but, but, but, but, but, but who is in charge of Project New MBPs?

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

Apple's new take on innovation: throw money at it.

 

[cardfan]

Just say no to bad ideas. Poor Apple. They'll wish at some point they could go back in time and do just that.

 

[69Mustang]

How much of this is known to the general consumer (outside of maybe branded car stereos) and do the auto companies share parts suppliers?

The general public is pretty ignorant of what's what in the auto industry. Most people would think there was an appreciable difference between an Aston Martin Cygnet and a pedestrian Scion iQ, a Geo Tracker and a Suzuki Sidekick, a Toyota Matrix and a Pontiac Vibe, etc. Badge engineering has always been a thing in the auto industry. Jalopnik has a funny article on it here. To be honest, the tech industry is no better.

Would Apple just want to be a parts supplier for automakers? Would the automakers allow Apple to co-brand.

My opinion? Nope and sure (if they can make money on the backend, and sell cars on the front end as well. I seriously doubt any car maker would allow Apple to take over their infotainment system because of one simple reason: ecosystem. Automakers want ubiquity. There's no advantage to having your potential car sales tied to the buyer owning an iDevice. That's business suicide. Probably why they went with BB's QNX based systems. They work with everything regardless of what phone you use.

And if this was Apple's strategy why wouldn't they just buy a company like Harman and get their foot in the door that way?

This would do no good for Apple getting embedded in the automotive dashboard. HK just provides audio equipment. Not only that, HK systems are part of a trim level. Get a better or worse trim level and it could be a different system altogether. HK gets you no closer to "owning the dashboard" than CarPlay or Android Auto.

It's not like Apple's every really been successful as a piece of technology in someone else's product. That Motorola ROKR was nothing to write home about...

The ROKR... I think Cuban Missles had one of those. It's funny all the people who think Apple is not making a car but a play for the dashboard. Unless that play includes a system that can accept inter-operability with all mobile OSes, that idea is dead in the water.

 

[hydr0gen]

*Yawns* Is it 2021 yet?

 

[Dilster3k]

Lol, do you just love drama, tension, disputes, and problems??

Steve loved it too, he loved watching executives having go's at each other. He often said that this brings forth innovation.