I seriously doubt actual car makers are worried about a computer company disrupting their market. What exactly is Apple working on? This is vapor ware right now.
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Apple Car Executive Doug Field Departs Company for Ford
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They should be worried. You forget how strong the Apple ecosystem can be.
And also, this project was rumored to take a long time to develop from the very beginning
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I think Gurman is frustrated more people aren’t taking him seriously when he tells every one for the upteenth time that the Apple car is still far in the distance ahead. He’s been shutting down 2022-2025 rumors left and right as of late. Maybe he’s hoping some dramatics will help it sink in. I agree that one person isn’t going to break the project. No one is irreplaceable, as they say.
I think his point is, if the car was about to arrive in the next year or 3, then there is no way an exec would jump ship this close to glory. Unless, that is, he knows it will be an embarrassing lemon.
People in important positions generally don’t jump ship at the drop of a hat (unless they are pushed). I’m guessing he gave notice with plenty of time to transition to new leadership.
Besides, didn’t the head of Foxconn says an EV is “an iPhone with four wheels”?
Besides, didn’t the head of Foxconn says an EV is “an iPhone with four wheels”?
Not a bad move by Toyota. Toyota I’m sure is planning for the future. Right now EVs are a niche market. Battery range. Charging access. Slow charging. Etc. No doubt it will improve in the future.
It’s funny to hear my friend with his Tesla tell me his “battery anxiety” stories he gets around town. And how on his trips to Vegas from LA he’s gotta wait over an hour at Primms Tesla station to get enough juice to make it to Vegas.
Until it’s ready for prime time my Prius does the job fine. Yea that’s right people. I have a Prius!
Nobody credible thinks it will be anytime soon. Kuo believes 2025 to 2027 at the earliest.
Every year, there seems to be a major change in project leadership. Leading the Apple Car project right now is a VP that specializes in machine learning and AI. Gurman and Kuo are right to be doubtful.
Some people switch companies because that is the only way to "fire your boss." You get tied of the direction your boss takes and want to do different. Of course you can't technically fire Tim Cook if you work for him but you CAN move and work at a company that actually does make and sell cars.
Think about if you wanted to design and build cars, were hired to do that and then the boss decides they would rather contract the actual making of the cars to Toyota (or Kia) and just put on Apple logos, Apple colors and Apple entertainment systems.
But you know 100% for sure that Ford will actually make cars.
Think about if you wanted to design and build cars, were hired to do that and then the boss decides they would rather contract the actual making of the cars to Toyota (or Kia) and just put on Apple logos, Apple colors and Apple entertainment systems.
But you know 100% for sure that Ford will actually make cars.
Apples car division is a huge mistake. The car business is not tech. I bet this guy saw the writing on the wall.
So I'm thinking a little more about this.
This guy is/was a "special projects" VP. I assume that means more than just the car, right?
This guy is/was a "special projects" VP. I assume that means more than just the car, right?
They are having trouble with the folding windshield.
Companies do at times “let people go” at his tier - amicably- that aren’t necessarily “producing”. Instead of, “now the Apple car is doomed”, his tenure may have been part of the problem, and a sign of a coming shift.
Safest bet, we won’t see an Apple Car until 2030 or 2035. It’s a difficult project not because it’s a car but the differentiation and value add. Apple wants this to be a vehicle that makes you not even think about the competition. What that might be? I don’t know, but their work is cut out for them.
you could say the same for jim keller, he bounced around like crazy too from apple, tesla, amd, intel.
Can't blame him if he really wants to work on cars. Ford's got what Apple doesn't and that's actual vehicles rolling off an assembly line including models that go head to head with Tesla. The Mach E is already on sale and has great reviews. The F-150 Lightning is following right behind and that will be a BEV game changer. They are real products. That beats Apple's AirPower car.
Yeah, that move to Michigan is probably going to cost them dearly.
This is true, and sometimes, it's good for a project for the "big guy" to leave. It lets others have a chance to step up.
Well if he shares secrets, then I hope it also pays enough to compensate him for all the time he'll spend in courtrooms and in jail for breaking NDAs and sensitive information agreements! Because if it's one thing that Apple will pay up for, it's legal representation.
I agree. Detroit always (and I do mean ALWAYS) starts slipping and making bad (and even dangerous!) vehicles whenever they think they have no competition.
This is not your grandpappy's economy. People change jobs a lot more often. Companies won't show loyalty to employees.
After all, most companies EXPECT most employees to change jobs every 3 to 5 years and managers to change jobs or companies every 3 to five years anyway, so why should employees show undying loyalty to the companies they work for?
This is probably right on target.
Yep, you said it.
Right. At some level, it's not about the money. It's about the challenge and the opportunity to make not just a difference, but a HUGE wave of change.
The established phone industry like Nokia, Motorola, or BlackBerry will never accept a leadership of Apple...
**** Ford. They threw a tantrum when nobody wanted a Chinese built Focus and decided to bet the farm on selling grossly oversized garbage suvs.
Then they pissed over the Mustang by making it an SUV and moving production from Dearborn to ****ing Guadalajara.
And on their commercials they have the gall to say “made for America” blatantly skirting the fact that they make every attempt to move production outside America.
Buy a ****in Tesla if you want an electric car, if you want a gas vehicle buy a Toyota.
Then they pissed over the Mustang by making it an SUV and moving production from Dearborn to ****ing Guadalajara.
And on their commercials they have the gall to say “made for America” blatantly skirting the fact that they make every attempt to move production outside America.
Buy a ****in Tesla if you want an electric car, if you want a gas vehicle buy a Toyota.
Could be, but maybe not likely at his level.
Maybe not as privacy-focused as it once was. Time will tell.
Not necessarily. But sometimes leaving is the right thing to do.
Probably not gonna happen with President Biden in office.
Go ahead, do a couple of Google searches. You'll see that the President wants to push out gas powered vehicles by 2030. That's only a little more than 8 years away from today.
It would be foolish at this point for any car manufacturer to even be MAKING a V8 of any kind, let alone a "Godzilla V8 in a Mustang with a supercharger".
Toyota is ALWAYS planning for the future. They began working on the first Prius in the early 1990s (they knew the batteries and computers would need the most work), announced it to the public in 1995, and put it on sale in Japan in 1997.
That right there is some far-sighted reading of the tea leaves.
Not so much of a niche market here and now in a time of Covid and working from home. But your point is well made.
I didn't know that "battery anxiety" was a thing, but I guess it would be.
I would totally despise having to sit at a charger on a long trip.
Prius is great. You should buy another one! I really think you need at least two of them in different colors.
Yep, totally on point.
That could have happened, but after just 3 years, maybe not so much. I like the alternative explanation above.