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New Report Says Apple Was in Talks to Use BMW i3 as Basis for Electric Car Project

theluggage said:
A battery-powered car can be charged overnight using off-peak electricity - they're not suitable for everybody, but if (a) you have a garage or drive (so you can home charge)
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brings up a logistical problem.. nyc is ripe for electric cars but nobody has a garage or dedicated parking*.. electric cars via plugging into wall outlets can't be the m.o.. something is going to have to change in order for big city drivers to recharge.

*obviously, some people here do have those things.. most don't.
 
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AppleScruff1 said:
Ferrari and Lamborghini among others already design cars that look something from the future. If Apple is going to sell millions of cars a year they are gong to have to be a bit cheaper than $80K.
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My guess is that they are targeting $40-50k and aren't looking to sell millions right away.
 
satcomer said:
The problem is the tradional car companies (including BMW) still stryle Electric cars that could also be hybrid, engine installed. Plus with only and 86mile range why would someone want this? At least the Leaf has a 100 mile range.
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The i3 is also hybrid. It's 86+90 miles on fuel
 
flat five said:
brings up a logistical problem.. nyc is ripe for electric cars but nobody has a garage or dedicated parking*.. electric cars via plugging into wall outlets can't be the m.o.. something is going to have to change in order for big city drivers to recharge.

*obviously, some people here do have those things.. most don't.
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This is where other technologies, such as CNG and fuel cells would have promise with the right support from a company and the city. Most New Yorkers with cars don't have garages, but there are gas stations, even in Manhattan. It's not practical to turn them all into charging stations, but even if 5-10 could be retrofitted to supply CNG or hydrogen they could get traction.

BMW actually did lots of research into CNG in the 1990s before abandoning it. Perhaps if they knew just how cheap natural gas would become they would have kept up their efforts.
 
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dannyyankou said:
I guess I'm the only one who likes the design of the BMW i3
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Nope I love it in certain colours. And people need to remember this is a city car. It's fantastic at what it does, and looks good in the colours below... but not most of the heavy duo tones they promote.

But it's very innovative and is pretty swift for a small car. I almost bought a Range Extender - but then a Baby is coming so bought a Range rover - Pretty much the opposite! The main problem with the i3 is the TINY TINY Boot/Trunk. They need a Proper 1 series Size car... i4?

Steven1.jpg


BMW-i3-2014-australia-(25).jpg
 
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I personally think that the "Apple Car" is not an original design, but a current model adapted to use Apple's autonomous driving technologies. Given that Mercedes-Benz has a research lab not far from Apple's corporate campus, it's possible that Apple is working with M-B and quietly chose this model:

B-Class Electric Drive

640px-Mercedes-Benz_B-Class_Electric_Drive_%28front_quarter%29.JPG


As the basis for a test vehicle demonstrating what Apple has developed. It should be noted that the B-Class Electric Drive is street-legal in the USA, so it's a cinch for Apple to modify this model.
 
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KPOM said:
This is where other technologies, such as CNG and fuel cells would have promise with the right support from a company and the city. Most New Yorkers with cars don't have garages, but there are gas stations, even in Manhattan. It's not practical to turn them all into charging stations, but even if 5-10 could be retrofitted to supply CNG or hydrogen they could get traction.

BMW actually did lots of research into CNG in the 1990s before abandoning it. Perhaps if they knew just how cheap natural gas would become they would have kept up their efforts.
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If you live in a city a Car is stupid thing to own most of the time. Instant rental cars are the future in cities. I've got 10+ cars within 5 minute walk I could just jump into and use for a 15mins-A week.

Electric is the Future without a doubt for cars. CNG / Hydrogen are just another form of Control and taxation. Also think of the massive amount of infrastructure needed to delivery and store. Electric already exists.

I think Oil and petroleum should be kept for Aeroplanes until something else works.
Electric for Most Cars Though Obviously this isn't quite there yet. But in 5 years when you can charge your can in 10 minutes and do a 600 miles - No one will want Petrol
GNG and Hydrogen can and already are used for Buses / Trucks / utility vehicles that have specialised filing stations already.
 
SactoGuy18 said:
I personally think that the "Apple Car" is not an original design, but a current model adapted to use Apple's autonomous driving technologies. Given that Mercedes-Benz has a research lab not far from Apple's corporate campus, it's possible that Apple is working with M-B and quietly chose this model:

B-Class Electric Drive

As the basis for a test vehicle demonstrating what Apple has developed. It should be noted that the B-Class Electric Drive is street-legal in the USA, so it's a cinch for Apple to modify this model.
Click to expand...

Of course a platform is a possibility and sensible considering how much it costs. But the i3 is a ground up designed electric. The B Class ( must stand for Boring ) is just a normal car with electric bits wedged in. Zero innovation there. MiniE GolfE and others are the same.

BUT Apple are not likely to go the Standard Car converted route at all. It'll be a Tesla like platform with flat floor. Integrated motors - multiple bolt on body styles.
 
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flat five said:
brings up a logistical problem.. nyc is ripe for electric cars but nobody has a garage or dedicated parking*
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I don't disagree with that (it applies to many big cities), but getting hydrogen into city gas stations ahead of demand in order to break the chicken-and-egg problem is also a logistical problem. If you're a gas station, a hydrogen pump, storage etc. that rarely get used are using valuable space that you could be using to sell gasoline.

Putting chargers into parking lots, communal garages, parking meters might actually be easier to roll out.
 
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Interesting to see Apple following in Google's footsteps... Except when Google did it, it was a terrible idea according to the fine folks on MacRumors.
 
MH01 said:
You do not remember 8.0.1 release that caused the iPhone to loose reception.....Turning into a touch....
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Oh yeah. I still don't get what cellular connectivity has to do with the car's engine. That would (hopefully) be a separate component.
 
Having had BMWs, they have quality control issues. But it would be good to get great Apple service instead of horrible BMW service.
 
oldmacs said:
Like iOS 8.0.1 knocked out cellular connectivity (pretty much the most important part of an iPhone) managed to get past Apple QC, I wouldn't trust an Apple car, as I would't put it past apple to let a software update that disabled the engine past QC.
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I still don't get what cellular connectivity has to do with the car's engine. That would (hopefully) be a separate component. But yeah, QC needs to be serious business for a car.
 
My guess is that Apple would have preferred to "jump the shark" on all the regulatory stuff. Getting a vehicle approved for use on the road is no small task. They're hiring guys that know how to do this. This will burn some cash, no doubt. While I believe that Apple is capable of anything it sets it's mind to, this is monumental compared to making a "phone" or a "watch". It's equally and potentially "groundbreaking".
 
arn said:
Here's the argument against Fuel Cells (and for Batteries) from one of Tesla's founders


The Hydrogen Fuel Cell bit starts at 12 minutes 57 seconds.

arn
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That was a brilliant video, one of the best I have seen in years. Thanks for sharing it!
 
flat five said:
apple didn't just conquer the 'mobile smart phone' market.. apple moreorless created the smart phone market and in doing so, they changed the entire telephone industry. (or played a large role in doing so)..
i haven't had a land line for almost 10years.. nobody i know has a land line in their home anymore. (anecdotal.. but still, i'm talking hundreds of people.. not just a handful of my friends)

[edit]
scratch that.. my mom still has a land line.. but even then, she mainly calls/texts me via cel
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Just let me correct you here, Apple created the AMERICAN smartphone market ONLY. because in Europe and Japan, Taiwan etc they had smartphones for a while with several models for a few years before Apple launched the iPhone.
 
apolloa said:
Just let me correct you here, Apple created the AMERICAN smartphone market ONLY. because in Europe and Japan, Taiwan etc they had smartphones for a while with several models for a few years before Apple launched the iPhone.
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Except that's not really true. Smartphone traffic was minuscule in Europe before the iPhone. If anything, studies suggest Europe is a couple of years behind in phone adoption.

And as far as Nokia Symbian goes, while it was a major OS player for some time, the growth of the American mobile OS's was truly unprecedented.
 
Apple won't try to sell an electric based car even with a partnership until the technology is advanced enough to make it a practical, massed produced product. They can continue R&D for a decade or longer until the stars are aligned and the bean counters give the go ahead. Then they'll disrupt the market and go for a dominate position in the consumer auto market not the current fringe electric/hybrid market. Apple will attempt sell hundreds of thousands if not millions, not just a few thousand to early adopters.
 
mariusignorello said:
I still don't get what cellular connectivity has to do with the car's engine. That would (hopefully) be a separate component. But yeah, QC needs to be serious business for a car.
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It has nothing to do with it. What I'm saying is that Apple managed to knock out the most important part of the iPhone (Wireless connectivity) in an update for its phones, so I wouldn't put it past them to knock out the most important part of their rumoured car (the engine) with an update.
 
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