Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Self-driving cars are pie in the sky. They're not going to happen for the foreseeable future.

Electric cars are fundamentally flawed. They do share one thing in common with the Apple Watch Edition, though: they're both both pointless gimmicks.

Wake me up when Apple next does something exciting. The car won't be it. I mean, I loved 2010, but it's five years and counting.

And how exactly are electric cars fundamentally flawed?
 
  • Like
Reactions: xerexes1
Apple has the money and resources to breathe new life in the automotive world.

The only one doing it right is tesla. When Tesla has the resources to build affordable cars, nobody else can compete.

It's the perfect opportunity for Apple.
 
[random negativity removed]

Dropong 400 bucks on a handset is a world apart from 50k on a car... Live in the real world my friend..

Yeah, and after Apple gets people thinking about spending $50-100k on a car everything else they make will seem so cheap by comparison sales will explode!
 
I think autonomous driving will be a gradual transition, not one big leap. And I think the final "full self-driving" end point is going to be MANY years away. (Hope I'm wrong, but look at voice recognition and voice command: how many decades it has spent moving from "first product for sale" to "quite good but still not completely reliable".)

In the meantime, the limited or assisted-driving phases along the way will be great. They can still save a ton of lives. And hassle!
Yes the car will be dependent on Siri working perfectly.
 
What a picture. You really have such bad roads in the USA?
The automated testing area is a military base that has been disused for 20 years and is going to be redeveloped starting 2 years from now. The road you see in the foreground of the photo has long been abandoned. The Bridge you see in the photo is still in use. Here is where the photo was taken:
https://goo.gl/maps/VR1dP
EDIT:
Here is the view from on top of the bridge:
https://goo.gl/maps/QFH5f
EDIT 2: This is also within a few miles of where the first Apple Mapping vans were observed.
 
Last edited:
I buy cheap used vehicles since I think buying new is a rip off so this isn't for me. I expect Apple to come after Tesla's market of expensive electric vehicles.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Benjamin Frost
People need to give up on this idea of Apple building a car. They will never do it. They are working on in-car electronics. And they should work with Tesla (or buy Tesla, too).

Profit margins on cars are slim. The market is saturated with established companies. And there's enough liability to bring down the company.

Agreed.
Soon we all will be choosing IOS or Android to run our cars.
 
A self driving apple car based on Apple maps would be a high risk automobile... And I'm talking from experience.
 
  • Like
Reactions: navaira
And they should work with Tesla (or buy Tesla, too).
Apple or its executives (or both) deeply enamored with Tesla, I'd be happy to see Apple buy them. Currently, despite the Tesla Apologists defense, they're still operating on our money via the government. Several articles have surfaced recently citing the huge losses per car sold and how they're burning through cash at an alarming rate. But being the "cool car" Silicon Valley technologists love to be seen in, the reality gets hidden and its image is still intact.

Apple could buy Tesla now before it self destructs, like we buy a beverage and Elon Musk can still walk away with his carefully crafted image in one piece. However that said, word on the street is the vast amount of invaluable credits gifted to Tesla by a starry eyed hero worshipping high ranking Washington official are worth a fortune and sought after by Washington's favorite (read Sacred Cow) domestic car manufacturer that's operating in the red, but camouflaged by some wonky accounting.

Where a pure Apple Car is concerned I don't doubt for one millisecond that Apple could pull it off, I just don't see a true benefit other than nourishing their insatiable ego. Which is actually a great reason to challenge J. Ive and let him showcase his talents. It would certainly satisfy Apples appetite for constant headlines.
 
Yeah, and after Apple gets people thinking about spending $50-100k on a car everything else they make will seem so cheap by comparison sales will explode!
I've never heard so much tosh in all my life.. The same way that the 17k digital watches have meant that there's lines 3 miles long for the 350 buck cheapo version.. Do you actually believe this stuff.. The 100k car club is such a closed shop.. Very few sales compared with mainstream card, so what you are saying is that if Apple made a 100k car that no one bought, millions of kids would rush out and buy ipads through some weird delusion of shared grandeur.. Oh my.... For the 2nd nite in a row I'm gonna go next door and hit myself in the face with a hammer, it will be less painful than reading this..
 
  • Like
Reactions: Benjamin Frost
I don't believe that Apple has a car that's in the early testing stage, as the article states. I don't believe that Apple has a car at all yet. I believe that this is jumping the gun,
 
Wow! These are soo exciting, self driving boring cars IMO.

Still, don't know if they are building a car or what, but if they do personally I find it absolutely nuts! It would cost them so much money, is a field they have zero experience in, apart from designing some stuff for Jaguar. Are they going to setup a global network of dealers and servicing centres because you won't be able to drive into the mall to that Genius Bar.

Wait and see I guess, but then again we got endless rumours about a real TV set for years and years that has amounted to nothing.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Benjamin Frost
Sounds a lot like the cellphone market before Apple introduced the iPhone.

Toyota hopes to make $23 billion in profits this year. If Apple can do as well as Toyota, it would boost their profits by about 50% provided their profits remain relatively flat.

Auto and healthcare are 2 huge industries that can move the needle for Apple and it's no surprise they seem to be focused in those areas lately.

Of course you picked one of the top grossers that has established itself over decades, makes dozens of different car models, sells on scale and does it worldwide, and sells more than just cars. That's like telling kids that pro basketball is a good career because some of those guys make tens of millions of dollars every year.

And you're seriously comparing the cell phone market with the auto industry? The auto industry is several orders more complex than the cell phone market. Making the leap from one electronic product to another electronic product is nowhere near going from electronics to heavy, safety-critical machines which also require more electronics.

How many people will be lining up to sue Apple when anything goes wrong with the car? Plenty. Just look at how much Apple is attacked whenever a new product is launched (antennas, bending, etc.). Now tack on people complaining that an Apple car injured them. Apple will be tied up in litigation forever.
 
Not in the majority of the USA, no... in South Carolina, I have never seen a road that bad. But in Massachusetts, I saw them all the time because the government is corrupt.

And 10 feet of snow and zero degree temps don't help.
 
So "they will never do it" meaning they have no interest in doing cars, but then a few words later you suggest they buy Tesla? Profit margins are incredibly thin on computers and phones.. well actually they are for everyone "except" apple. So Apple can charge whatever they want to make as much profit as they need. The market is established is horrible companies. Tesla is the first that is trying to shake it up. Just like the market was saturated with phones like Razrs, until Apple came and everyone had to up their game.

Once Tesla launches their entry level car and possible an Apple Car, with upgradeable hardware and technology like Tesla, all other manufactures will have to do the same to stay competitive. No more 300 to 500 to simply upgrade your mapping software software locations once a year, or other absurd upcharges.

You need to re-read what I wrote. I wrote: "People need to give up on this idea of Apple building a car. They will never do it. They are working on in-car electronics. And they should work with Tesla (or buy Tesla, too)."

I clearly stated that Apple will never build a car and that they are working on the electronics. The notion of working with or buying Tesla is to have a hardware platform for the electronics (and minimal hardware). I never stated that they are doing absolutely nothing with the auto industry.

Apple had experience making electronics and they introduced another electronic product with the iPhone. You think that's on the same magnitude as an electronics company building an entire car??? That's like saying, "Well, I did a great job mowing the lawn so now I'm ready to go to the moon."
 
Trust me, Tesla is not going anywhere. Tesla will be like this forever, living on taxpayer subsidies.

Ha. The federal tax credit gets phased out after 200K vehicles produced. And if you are talking about ZEV credit sales, those are borderline immaterial when compared to their total automotive revenue. I bet you believe the ridiculous news reports of Tesla losing $4k a car as well while having gross margins over 20%.

Next?
 
Last edited:
One thing people forget is that before the iPhone was the ROKR. CarPlay is a lot like the ROKR - sort of wonky, dependent on other companies for its implementation, and done on someone else's schedule in someone else's hardware.

Apple hates that, but is willing to do that to learn.

Maybe Apple's doing something smart, like making existing cars into self-driving ones. Maybe Apple's going to do the HUD thing, which would be pretty neat in and of itself. Apple is actually capable of going all the way and making its own car, just like it did with the iPhone. But without FoxConn Apple could never have built the iPhone. Neither Apple's nor its current partners are making the massive infrastructure investment needed to manufacture a new car.

They're obviously doing something. I hope it's making today's cars self-driving...but only the team knows for sure.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.