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Former GM CEO on Apple Car: 'They Have No Idea What They're Getting Into'

louiek said:
It's simpler in some ways, as you don't have half a dozen different companies owning the roads you want to drive your car on that you have to negotiate with in every single country. The biggest hurdle Apple had with the iPhone was dealing with the telcos. If Apple can build a car to government standards, that car is immediately available.

That said, I don't see this happening.
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I'm not sure you understand automobile regulations in this country, and in other ones.
 
Don't understand the car rumor at all. I think Apple is working on improving their Map technology and thats being mistaken as a car project.

If they are fooling with cars, thats fine. Take the Microsoft route, cultivate new technologies that will eventual make others better.
 
doelcm82 said:
Certainly Apple is not going to build an ICE car. Your knowledge of how engines work and how to change oil will not make you a good fit for Apple's car team.

Electric cars use electric motors, not gas engines, and so there is no engine oil for you to change.

I do agree that it will take years. So?
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Sounds like you have an inside source. I doubt they're building a car at all, but they could hypothetically start with a hybrid to get the ball rolling. That eliminates issues with range and lack of plentiful charging stations. So ICE technology would not be out of the question near term. Everyone seems to assume an EV but it could just as easily be a hybrid that leads to an EV.
 
Renzatic said:
What is a smartphone? It's basically a small computer. The leap between Macs to iPhones is relatively small compared to the leap between computers to cars.
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Yeah, and don't forget that the iPhones have not been issue-free. A flaw like the iPhone 4 antenna but on a car-scale can end a company pretty quickly.
 
patrickcwelsh said:
Yeah, and don't forget that the iPhones have not been issue-free. A flaw like the iPhone 4 antenna but on a car-scale can end a company pretty quickly.
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you're just holding your steering wheel wrong. Completely your fault that you went straight into that tree!:D
 
AppleScruff1 said:
Of course it was Apple's fault. They gave a ton of money to a company that had no chance of doing what it claimed it could. If Apple can put GM an Toyota out of business and take over the auto industry, sapphire is kid stuff.
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Building a car the good old way is not kid stuff, but it is in no way harder than producing 75M high quality saphire screens laminated with glass within a few months (what was the rumored end product, a product nobody is producing right now).

If Apple goes into car they certainly don't want to produce something like all the others. Not, that they couldn't make money doing just that; just not great money.

As for beating the biggest car markers, that's totally unlikely within a decade if ever. If Apple ever went into cars, it would be playing the long game and producing something different.
 
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69Mustang said:
Apple poured money into a company that couldn't deliver tech. I mean who invests hundreds of million in a company, as you say, already going bankrupt? So what does that say about Apple's decision making in that instance?

If this rumor turned out to be true (which I highly doubt), what's to say they wouldn't make the same mistake again?
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There is no guarantee that Apple will succeed with any new venture. We're about to see a new product line released (the Apple Watch), and we'll see how that goes. We've seen them go into negotiations to develop an Apple-branded television, which they have apparently shelved before putting any actual products on the shelf.

Most of these stories have been careful to say that Apple could work on this for a while and never produce a single car for sale (though they might develop or acquire some lucrative intellectual property that they can license).
 
I presume that GM supplied the hokey photo used in the article, cropped through the tie knot and through the top of his head, circa 1980's passport photo. Then cropped as a landscape.
 
patrickcwelsh said:
Yeah, and don't forget that the iPhones have not been issue-free. A flaw like the iPhone 4 antenna but on a car-scale can end a company pretty quickly.
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Considering GM isn'T dead after potentially killing dozens of people knowingly (the key issue) and the tens of millions of cars recalled in the last few years from all car makers, I'm sure something as minor as this wouldn't register (or just get a recall).
 
If you read the Bloomberg article rather than just the MacRumors headline, Akerson is hardly suggesting that Apple is doomed to failure should they enter the car industry. He's just saying it's outside of the company's comfort zone, and that even if Apple succeeds the margins will be much slimmer. In short, he sounds as if he'd be surprised if it were confirmed that Apple was actually considering such a move. I also get the feeling he was 'door stepped' by Bloomberg via a telephone call, rather than volunteering his considered opinion.

Looking at his history he's obviously a smart cookie, contrary to the comments here which suggest he's a lifelong automotive industry 'Detroit dinosaur' who contributed to the sector's failure and subsequent bailout.
 
Keirasplace said:
Saphirre done the way it was done there was not kid stuff; or someone else would do it right now. Bringing this tech to volume with a high standard of seemingly was quite difficult.

Building a car the good old way is not kid stuff, but it is in no way harder than producing 75M high quality saphire screens laminated with glass within a few months (what was the rumored end product, a product nobody is producing right now).

If Apple goes into car they certainly don't want to produce something like all the others. Not, that they couldn't make money doing just that; just not great money.

As for beating the biggest car markers, that's totally unlikely within a decade if ever. If Apple ever went into cars, it would be playing the long game and producing something different.
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Apple bought a couple thousand furnaces and was in the sapphire business. Try that with auto manufacturing. You are correct, the auto business is a long game that takes a lot of money with a small return.
 
patrickcwelsh said:
Yeah, and don't forget that the iPhones have not been issue-free. A flaw like the iPhone 4 antenna but on a car-scale can end a company pretty quickly.
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Another thing is that Apple makes a ton of money because people buy phones yearly. $600-$800 annually isn't that big of a deal for your average middle class family, or even less if people subsidize a phone with a contract. Apple's seen exponential growth because of this.

This won't happen in the car market. Not only are they going to be selling what will obviously be a considerably more expensive product, but they're playing in a very mature field with a ton of well entrenched players. Apple can do what they do in the tech sector because they're one of the few in that field that focus on design and ergonomics. But when they're going up against the likes of BMW, Porsche, Lotus, Mercedes Benz, Lexus, or hell, even Honda and Toyota, are they gonna stand out as much?
 
awfully premature since you dont even know what they're making.

also do i sense a small tinge of jealousy since maybe because Apple is using Mopar instead of GM on their test vehicles?
 
Sounds Familiar

Speculation is running rampant that Apple, Inc. will introduce a a combination phone and iPod in the near future.

Despite all the buzz, Palm, Inc.’s CEO Ed Colligan isn’t worried about the iPhone because he doesn’t believe any company without extensive experience in developing mobile phones will be able to make a successful one on its first try.

When he was asked about this device last week, Colligan said, "We’ve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone. PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in."

He was asked this because his company makes the Treo line of smartphones, which will be one of the top competitors to the iPhone, if and when it is released.

http://www.brighthand.com/news/palm-ceo-not-worried-about-iphone-rumors/
 
mojolicious said:
If you read the Bloomberg article rather than just the MacRumors headline, Akerson is hardly suggesting that Apple is doomed to failure should they enter the car industry. He's just saying it's outside of the company's comfort zone, and that even if Apple succeeds the margins will be much slimmer. In short, he sounds as if he'd be surprised if it were confirmed that Apple was actually considering such a move. I also get the feeling he was 'door stepped' by Bloomberg via a telephone call, rather than volunteering his considered opinion.

Looking at his history he's obviously a smart cookie, contrary to the comments here which suggest he's a lifelong automotive industry 'Detroit dinosaur' who contributed to the failure and bailout.
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Hey get out of here with that NOT nonsense. I can't stick my :apple: pitchfork in that comment. Nor can I burn it with my :apple: torch. :p:D
 
The GM guy is exactly right, Apple do know jack all about making cars, FACT! Hence why they have been rumoured to be hiring all these car manufacturing experts.

And for those claiming well Tesla has done it, actually they didn't without the help of Lotus.

Read this excerpt for an insight:

Much as I love cars, I am the first to admit that neither I, my co-founder, Marc Tarpenning, nor our original investor (and chairman of our board), Elon Musk, is an automotive engineer. We have quite a few excellent automotive engineers at Tesla now, but three years ago, we did not. (Several have worked for Lotus in the past, but that’s another story.) We wanted the first Tesla car to handle like a proper sportscar, so we approached Lotus Cars, known to make the finest-handling sportscar on the road. (Marc and I cornered Roger Becker at the 2004 LA Auto Show and convinced him that Tesla was worthy of consideration.)

http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/lotus-position

Apple would say the exact same thing.
 
This! I am an IT guy in the car industry, and the software interface and sensor design on most makes is pretty miserable. Mind you, I have no inside information.


Bearxor said:
Oh FFS, Apple isn't building a car.

Apple is building software and sensors to be implemented in to cars.
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bmelson0412 said:
Honestly, Apple doesn't have to know anything about constructing vehicles. They will hire the best to do it for them and grow into that market.

Also, the car frames are only made of steel. The rest is cheap fiberglass and plastic, basically. I'm pretty sure apple could beat every company down for giving us a unibody steel vehicle. One that looks great and is great for your safety.

I'm ready for Apple to be on top completely. Technology will be integrated into everything we have/do because it makes life better. Period. This is bound to happen.
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the apple force is strong in this one. not sure if i should laugh or should i cry?
 
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