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German Report Says 'Apple Car' Could Arrive in Form of Electric Van
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A lot of people think drones will come before self driving cars. But yeah being able to use "caravan" mode on trucks so one guy drives the front and it travels like a train that can detach is what I think the future will be. I think Uber drivers have a few years but truck drivers could go first. Just put the robots in the slow lane. 12 hours or 18 hours to a destination doesn't matter for a computer. Basically let them put along on the shoulders of the road well out of the way.
I hate swerving in and out of big trucks as it is now. They do 20 MPH up the big hill and Just as you pass they are doing 90 MPH down the hill. Robots don't need money and meth to keep going and no need to hurry. Pretty sure Electric engines climb hills better?
Anyway that was a rant. Our guess is as good as any but people here thinking it is cars for them are a little too narcissistic.
NOBODY EVER SAID THAT!!!
Throughout the mid 2000s everybody in any media or forum was SCREAMING for Apple to turn the iPod into a phone. There was no maturity in the market as smartphones had only just come to the fore & Apple timed their entry sorta right as it took a few models, the app store & more carriers to really take off.
Perfect for having sex with your girlfriend. Ahh good times ...
Where did you hear this? I've never seen anything like this before. I've always read that Tesla cars are the safest in the industry with perfect 5 star crash ratings. I've also read that cars with autopilot engaged go some 3.5M miles between accidents compared to 1.5 for traditional cars. https://www.tesla.com/blog/q3-2018-vehicle-safety-report
I’ve been a big fan of BMW and German automakers since I was a kid, and I’ve been driving a BMW EV for nearly 3 years.
However, it drives me nuts how BMW (and others - Audi, MB, VW, etc) talk about all these upcoming EVs but they never seem to really materialize.
The build process and design put into the i3 I have is quite incredible. And they launched it nearly 5 years ago. Since then almost nothing has happened in terms of a pure EV. Why not expand the i brand after all these years?
I hate to say it, but Tesla has put hundreds of thousands of EVs on the road. And honestly if more manufacturers build and sell electric cars I think they’ll be quite happy.
They haven’t materialized because not many people want them yet.
You don’t think BMW is going to build incredible electric cars when they need to?
On the BMW topic, there's a company here in Seattle called Reach Now that does the Car2Go style rental model with BMWs and there's only gasoline vehicles (at least that I've seen). I've always wondered why they haven't employed more of the i series in their fleet especially being Seattle?
Now, while not practical, where's the EV version of the 800 series?
Seriously, Apple under Cook is like Vegas being run by Ned Flanders
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If they'd make a camper and decorate it with Animoji's, that would fit their recent marketing efforts
I’m sure they’re going to build amazing cars. But why the wait?
“Not many people want them yet”
I dunno, I think the hundreds of thousands of Tesla’s being sold begs to differ.
https://electrek.co/2019/02/21/tesla-top-priority-automakers-bmw-dealer-model-3-affecting-sales/
The lease on my i3 is coming up soon. And I want a larger EV. I have no options from bmw which really bums me out.
You make some very good points, the current production rate by Tesla (200,000 cars in 2018 - https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-tesla-tracker/), Elon (overpromise and underdeliver) Musk is saying 500K for 2019 -- may not be very impressive, but:
There is a reason GMs Chevy Bolt is going nowhere, and a company like to Toyota is yet to even seriously try. The problem is car dealerships. This is how all existing gas car manufacturers sell cars in the US. Car dealers make their profit not form selling the cars, but from support, which gas cars require and electric vehicles do not (hybrids have gas engines). As a result car dealerships do everything they can to not sell EVs (thus the Bolt failure). Tesla sells directly, thus circumventing the process, though there are plenty of states where car dealerships are so powerful they are banning local Tesla sales (see Connecticut, etc).
Until BMW or *fill in the car compony* decides to get rid of its dealerships, which would involve a massive war, only Tesla or other new EV manufacturers who are not in the gas car businesses (obviously someone like Apple would qualify) can go anywhere in the US. I'll grant you that our car dealership issue doesn't exist the same way in other countries, but it still matters a great deal. Plus, were you do buy a Bolt or Leaf, you aren't getting Tesla's supercharger network, their Powerwalls, and so on. Again none of this is impossible to overcome, but Tesla may fix its EV manufacturing problem before the competition fixes their sales and charging problems.
the other day i saw a new honda ACTY van for a down town hotel
I had a 4x4 pickup version of this years ago
the ultimate urban delivery vehicle
there is hope apple could come out with one of these
Exactly what the masses want!
Tesla isn’t that far. They switched from a third party autopilot vendor to in-house a couple years ago, so they were basically starting from scratch
And until you can fill up a car with electricity like you can with gas, the EV will have severe limitations.
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Stop getting caught up in gross numbers. That is nothing in this market. It's like saying the Pixel is successful because they sold 2M of them. Who cares? The car market is huge. I mean, people still buy Mitsubishis...it doesn't mean they are building a good car or have a winning strategy.
Tesla is going to have to compete with BMW, Audi, Benz, Ford, GM, VW, and even companies like Porsche and Cadillac.
EV is a concept everyone in the industry will eventually offer, but the MASS market doesn't want them yet.
Tesla isn't even the Apple of the car industry...killing it with overall relatively low market share. Apple is insanely profitable...Tesla has low market share AND loses money almost every quarter. They need to be making huge leaps to build their fortress, but they are strapped for cash and still not producing anywhere near the volume necessary.
You mean like at a run down Quik Stop with three over head lamps not working, terribly punned scratch tickets, too many options of Four Loko, over-heatlamped burritos, and a 'bathroom' in the loosest terms?
EDIT: Changed to 'Quik' since that spelling is more appropriate for the response
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Yeah, I never see a bunch of people kitting out their "adventure" vans or Sprinters for massive roadtripping down to Zion so that they can mountain bike, climb, or just check out some gorgeous parts of the United States...
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
You can go on and on, but at the end of the day, Tesla is putting a lot of EVs on the road. If I want to buy an EV with a large battery pack and significant charging infrastructure they’re the only and best option at the moment.
