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I knew this would be the first post. And I am so disheartened to be proven right.

Just because Apple has billions in cash from successful products, does not have any correlation whatsoever to their ability to enter a new market (both new to them and to industry as a whole) without making mistakes. I'd like to point out that in no way do I think Apple should avoid the sector, as the GM former CEO states, because as a company devoted to quality, and who has tons of resources ($$$), they'll be hopefully able to do it justice. But just because they have the means to toy around with the idea of a car, do extensive research, etc... doesn't mean they know exactly what they're doing. Generating billions of dollars in profit on consumer electronics doesn't indicate they know how to make a car.

I think the point is that it's silly to underestimate Apple and assume they will fail, given their impeccable track record.
 
:rolleyes:

GM cars suck, with the exception of a few, they sell a **** product, and the decent brands/cars they have, err, had, they got rid of.

Maybe he should stick his nose into something he knows, which as far as I can tell, is nothing.
 
former General Motors CEO Dan Akerson has shared his opinion on Apple's plans

gee, and here i missed the official press release from apple stating these are indeed their plans...
 
Wow, are people really that bad at reading?:confused: The guy is obviously talking about the enormous pitfalls in the automotive industry. He is not disparaging Apple's rumored efforts in getting into cars. He's simply saying, "Be sure you want to do this and go in with your eyes open. If you can accept buttloads of government regulation, skinny ass margins, unions, recalls, and a crap ton of financial investment, then by all means..."

How his comments can be construed as similar to those of Ballmer and other tech execs is beyond me. I guess any perceived slight against Apple is a call to arms right?:rolleyes:

Apple has almost $200 billion in cash....GM had to be bailed out by the tax payers.

Apple knows precisely what it's doing.

Is it just me, or does this guy bear an amazing resemblance to Steve Ballmer?

If I could only achieve a 14% margin, I wouldn't be lecturing others how to do things better.

Phone industry incumbents all over again - circa 2007. We'll see.

Palm said the same thing...

Can someone find a quote from Nokia in 2005 or 2006 saying Apple shouldn't get into the phone business, they have no idea what they're doing?

My same thought. Exactly the same things that were said about the iPhone. These people have been so entrenched in their own way of thinking for so long that it's almost incomprehensible that someone from outside of the industry could do the same thing and do it better.

LOL laughably reminiscent of what phone company execs said ahead of the iPhone. And that too was a low margin business -- back then.

And wow, like, they make cars out of STEEL?! Holy crap! If only Apple, say, I dunno -- had some experience pioneering manufacturing techniques around the use of metal, say, I dunno, aluminum...

:rolleyes:

"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."

Palm CEO Ed Colligan, November 16 2006
 
Apple has almost $200 billion in cash....GM had to be bailed out by the tax payers.

Apple knows precisely what it's doing.

:apple: has us over paying for phones. I don't relish them getting us to overpay for cars. Next to a house and maybe a college education a car is the most frequently purchased big ticket item. I don't really see what :apple: could bring to the market accept may be a great UI for the Dashboard and other switches and controls.

  1. Will it be a self driving Car guided by :apple: maps?
  2. With WIFI so you can work online on the way to work?
  3. Will they bring back Delorean styling only with Aluminum?
 
Deja Vu

This is more or less what I've been saying all along. Actually building a car would be a bad idea. Building something to go into a car on the other hand could work out very well. But actually trying to become the next Tesla, no. The idea is fun but I think Apple is a lot smarter than that.
 
Sez this guy...

who doesn't believe in global warming.

Whose industry crashed in 2008, and took the city of Detroit with him.
 
*IF" Apple is working on a car I'm guessing it would be aimed at the Premium end of the market like the laptops/phones and tablets are. Don't GM make non premium cars?
 
The amount of ignorance in this thread is incredible. You guys think Apple is God himself and can cure cancer when they can't even release iOS 8 without annoying bugs.

Apple did not make phones but they made iPods and Computers, so it wasn't a big jump in terms of manufacturing. Cars are VASTLY different, and suggest to FAR MORE restrictions and regulations, crash test regulations, dealership and servicing networks, extreme weather testing, etc. that are different across the globe that is more than just deciding to include which plug adapter in the box.

They're making an in car system. GPS is a $2K addon for most cars. Apple modifies an iPad and sells it with 100% profit margin to the car manufacturer, and it'll still be less than 1K, where the car company will mark it up to 2K. It's extremely easy compared to building a car, let alone a self driving one.
 
Apple didn't need to <strike>borrow</strike> steal my money to make a competitive product.

American auto manufacturers must be crapping themselves, and that makes me very happy. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

The best thign that could have happened was letting these ginormous, and poorly run companies fail.

the factories, plants and everything would have sold off for ridiculously cheap and you would have seen dozens of new small car companies take over. instead the big 3 just got to 'reset" and continue to operate their failing ways.
 
Ross Perot

When GM bought EDS for $2 billion in preferred stock, GM Pr E, Ross Perot got a seat on the GM board. He made so much noise chastising the GM board for lack of vision and creativity that he was asked to keep silent and give up his seat on the board. His preferred stock was changed to cash as a reward for his departure.

There are many avenues into the automobile industry. I like that Apple is looking at them. Or probably creating a new one.
 
Yes, but in defense of the original commentor, those billions were made in part from devices and services that were an example of Apple entering markets they weren't currently in and making profitable advancements far beyond those that were in that industry at the time.

If Apple does enter the car market I hope they shake the whole industry up. Maybe they can find efficiency that the present car industry does not have. Maybe they can do it cheaper and better.

Yor mean make a better car then Rolls Royce for less then a Kia. I don't think so, suppliers are so vast and varied they can't change it up, robots to human hands build cars. They still cost thousands.
 
Dude has a point.

Malfunctioning iPhone? People get pissed off.

Malfunctioning part on iCar? Software glitch? People die.

I can't say I'd be first in line for one considering it'll likely be highly dependant on software for many functions and Apple's software quality has been on a pretty steep quality decline lately.
 
This is more or less what I've been saying all along. Actually building a car would be a bad idea. Building something to go into a car on the other hand could work out very well. But actually trying to become the next Tesla, no. The idea is fun but I think Apple is a lot smarter than that.

Why is it a bad idea? Just because it's complex? Apple has the biggest war chest in the world and incredible manufacturing expertise. Why wouldn't they think big and enter markets ripe for so-called disruption? Car interfaces are just incredibly bad. They lag behind current technology by 5-10 years. It's a perfect scenario for Apple to jump in and capitalize on all of their strengths to build something that could be very interesting.
 
CEO speak

GM is 1/12 the market cap of Apple, has some of the best brand loyalty on the planet, and will only tackle products they believe they can dominate.

I'd say he is petrified that they enter this market - and he should be.
 
GM is 1/12 the market cap of Apple, has some of the best brand loyalty on the planet, and will only tackle products they believe they can dominate.

I'd say he is petrified that they enter this market - and he should be.

And GM was once the largest company on earth. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
 
this guy sounds like the CEO of the cell phone makers before the iphone was released.. id buy and Apple car and pay a premium for it why?? because it won't be like every other car and i do hate car manufactures making clones of there models in different shapes calling them dirffrent things i like different and i think difffrent
 
i love apple, i love all their products i think they're great and reliable but am I the only one who agrees with this guy? Apple had issues and still has issues with their maps app and they want to get into the auto industry... I think they're in over their heads. At the same time id love to be proven wrong

The Maps app situation was entirely different.

1) It was widely recognized that mapping technology was an essential smartphone feature.

2) They had for years relied on Google to supply the data for their Maps app.

3) Google, in addition to Xeroxing iOS with Android, began offering advanced features for the Android version of Maps that they withheld from the iOS version.

4) Google used this as leverage to pressure Apple to allow collection of customer data and display of Google ads on iOS, which Apple rightly refused.

Apple found themselves with no choice but to sever their ties to Google maps data. The transition was rough, but today Apple Maps are good enough that iOS users use them more than Google's. Had they not done this, they would have risked giving Google a dangerous advantage in the iOS/Android market wars.
 
Got to at least try...

Meaning, "If we can't do it well, then no one else can. Especially Apple." I always get a kick out of hearing people say those sort of things just so they can be proven wrong. ;)

I don't know why these people bother to say anything if it's not constructive. I don't know if Apple building a car is a good thing or not but that's not for me to decide. If Apple believes they can do a decent job then why should I say they can't. There's no point in trying if you're going to admit defeat before you start. I don't know if Apple fully knows what it is getting into, but from what I've heard, I doubt the Wright Brothers fully did either. However, they set out to do something and they changed the world. I'm fairly certain Apple has far more startup resources than the Wright Brothers did.
 
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