Yeah because for a computer company making a phone is the same as making a car.Phone industry incumbents all over again - circa 2007. We'll see.
fhuck logic.
Yeah because for a computer company making a phone is the same as making a car.Phone industry incumbents all over again - circa 2007. We'll see.
The problem with the auto industry, or more specifically, GM, was that at the time, its financing division was making all the money. When the housing market crashed, so did GMAC.
Following your line of reasoning, we should let all institutions that are poorly run fail; housing, finance, the automotive industry, retail, manufacturing, agriculture and practically every other industry in the food chain, including Health Care.
Sure there would have been replacements, given enough time, but the depth of a depression that would have devastating to your population would have been a revolution in the making, and probably not in a good way.
Current events: See Europe, specifically Greece.
because we all know it's much much harder to turn a large piece of steel into a large moving vehicle than it is to take a piece of aluminum and a pile of rare minerals and turn them into 6mm slabs of glass and metal with instant access to the breadth of mankind's knowledge. Is this guy the idiot who tanked GM or the guy who wanted to take credit for getting the govt to bail it out? "Giving Tesla a run for its money" has absolutely zero to do with giving Detroit dinosaurs a run for theirs.
[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]
Amid rumors that Apple is developing an electric vehicle, former General Motors CEO Dan Akerson has shared his opinion on Apple's plans, suggesting the Cupertino company avoid getting into a business with such low margins.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Akerson said that Apple may be underestimating the difficulty of operating in the car business, as it's hard to navigate regulatory and safety requirements. "A lot of people who don't ever operate in it don't understand and have a tendency to underestimate," he saidAccording to Akerson, Apple should stick with the iPhone, which has much higher margins than a car and none of the issues with safety. As highlighted by Bloomberg, while Apple made $18 billion in December with a gross margin of 39.9 percent, GM made just $2 billion with a gross margin of 14 percent.
Akerson doesn't believe Apple should get into the car business, but he does admire Apple's entrance into the car infotainment arena with CarPlay. Speaking on his time as CEO of General Motors, Akerson said that he absolutely would have partnered with Apple. "I'd have turned over the infotainment and interconnectivity of every car."
News of Apple's electric car plans surfaced last week after The Wall Street Journal shared details on a secret project at the company. Apple is said to have hundreds of employees working on the car in a secret research lab near its Cupertino headquarters. The car, which is electric, could potentially resemble a minivan.
Article Link: Former GM CEO on Apple Car: 'They Have No Idea What They're Getting Into'
[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]
Amid rumors that Apple is developing an electric vehicle, former General Motors CEO Dan Akerson has shared his opinion on Apple's plans, suggesting the Cupertino company avoid getting into a business with such low margins.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Akerson said that Apple may be underestimating the difficulty of operating in the car business, as it's hard to navigate regulatory and safety requirements. "A lot of people who don't ever operate in it don't understand and have a tendency to underestimate," he saidAccording to Akerson, Apple should stick with the iPhone, which has much higher margins than a car and none of the issues with safety. As highlighted by Bloomberg, while Apple made $18 billion in December with a gross margin of 39.9 percent, GM made just $2 billion with a gross margin of 14 percent.
Akerson doesn't believe Apple should get into the car business, but he does admire Apple's entrance into the car infotainment arena with CarPlay. Speaking on his time as CEO of General Motors, Akerson said that he absolutely would have partnered with Apple. "I'd have turned over the infotainment and interconnectivity of every car."
News of Apple's electric car plans surfaced last week after The Wall Street Journal shared details on a secret project at the company. Apple is said to have hundreds of employees working on the car in a secret research lab near its Cupertino headquarters. The car, which is electric, could potentially resemble a minivan.
Article Link: Former GM CEO on Apple Car: 'They Have No Idea What They're Getting Into'
Yeah, just like they didn't know how to build phones either.
And lose money hand over fist. It is a bad idea because: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.
Oh FFS, Apple isn't building a car.
Apple is building software and sensors to be implemented in to cars.
Apple will show you how to make cars. GM motors have no idea what will hit them.
And lose money hand over fist. It is a bad idea because: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.
Apple will figure this out. Or it will figure out a way to make it irrelevant.I'm very confident in Apple's ability to make great products. However, there are quite a few people comparing Apple's jump into the mobile phone market with a jump into the automotive industry. Surely you can understand the difference between making a small computer like the iPhone and making an automobile...