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Volkswagen, Apple working on 'iCar'

Meat 'n potatoes
me 'n chevy's

N10248 said:
It won't have a steering wheel, just a really big click wheel so you can steer with one finger.

The gear changes will be controlled by a scroll ball identical to the mighty mouse's and the handbrake will be a Hold switch.
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"I'm sorry officer, I would put my car into park for you but I have gunk in my gear shifter and cannot change gears :("
 
wonderful idea.

VW has slipped on quality control as of late, but they will recover after the Porsche buyout. VW is also working on great technologies for different engines (low emission diesel, ect).

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/07/18/vw-polo-bluemotion-is-now-down-to-99g-km-co2/

Also, look at the history of VW - not their history of late. The Ferdinand Porsche designed beetle is one of the greatest cars ever made - period. Killer gas milage for it's time, it was inexpensive, reliable, well featured, looked great and was an overall high quality car.

I would love to see Apple whore Jonathan Ive to VW and see an OS X powered car. Jonathan Ive could be the first designer to leave a great impression on the auto industry since Ferdinand Porsche did with the original beetle.

http://www.motortrend.com/future/future_vehicles/112_0707_2010_volkswagen_new_beetle/ (back end looks nice but the front looks terrible.

Perhaps steve is tired of all this after-market integration crap and wants something that "works seamlessly"

Perhaps it will be a biodiesel/hybrid that needs to have the battery changed by an Apple Certified Technician and will cost you $80 :p
 
The Store already has accessories...
 

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Eduardo1971 said:
Volkswagen?:( Crap company making crappy cars.

Hopefully they will continue to work closely with BMW.
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Yeah, perhaps they can incorporate it into a BMW the bottom 85% of the world's population can afford.

The 7-Series?!? C'mon!!!!!
 
Not to throw a downer to this discussion, but I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the fact that VW might pull its operations out of North America entirely because of poor business.

That's right. VW might pull out of N. America entirely after 2008.

http://news.windingroad.com/earningsfinancials/are-things-so-bad-at-vw-usa-that-a-pullout-is-being-considered/

Key point from the article:
a source close to the automaker says: “For the first time in some time, the phrase ‘If we are to stay in the U.S.’ precedes a lot of conversations at VW.”
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This was an enormous factor in my decision not to purchase a GTI this year, which I think is a fantastic car. Several of my friends have also reevaluated their purchasing plans because of this, and we're all waiting to see what happens.

I really hope they stay in N. America.
 
I feel that VW is a mistake to cooperate with because of VWs weak US marketshare. There has been talks of VW pulling out of the US market by 2010 if things don't turn around. VWs offerings as far as fuel efficiency are really lacking compared to Toyota-honda, and dare I say GM. The 150HP I-5 VW puts in all their cheap cars is an abomination as far as fuel economy, power, and refinement go. 5 cylinders and 2.5 liters of displacement and all they get is 150HP? Laughable :rolleyes:
 
Clive, my apologies for killing your joke. Looks like my lunch was a little earlier.

Funny how this went from Apple to who makes a better car.

Porsche failed in their attempt to buy Volkswagen, that was about a month ago.

A truly crappy car would be a Ford, and trust me I know from my own experience. Worst decision ever.

If you would ever wanted an Lamborghini, Bentley, or Bugatti, then you would be buying VW, since they are all owned by VW. Just a thought.
 
bigbossbmb said:
Yup, VW's 1,000+hp W16 engine in the Bugatti Veyron is terrible...



Edit: It's the fastest production car in the world. FYI
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UMMMM VW BOUGHT Bugatti, and fired NO ONE. VW does not make the car, it is still made by the same Bugatti people as before. Your statement was ridiculously ignorant.
 
macintel4me said:
My speculation is that this has to do with integrating the rest of the iPhone/iPod function into the car's electronic system as seamlessly as phone contact's via Bluetooth.

For example here are some other services I could see in iCar:
* Sync contact phone numbers and make calls with steering wheel buttons
* Sync contact addresses for the Navigation system
* iPod controls of the iPod via the steering wheel buttons
* View SMS messages, emails, web-browsing when the car is stopped
* Use google's maps and traffic for the naviagation system
* Integrate the car's GPS system with the iPod's/iPhone's google maps
* Sync with iTunes wirelessly while the car is parked in the garage :)
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Well the first 3 features that you want are included in the 2007 Range Rover Sport.

When I get into the car, my iPhone and my car talk to each other and then my whole entire phonebook comes up on my screen. It is quite nice and impressive since I didn't have to set anything up.

You can also control your iPod with the forward/back buttons on the steering wheel.
 
Im just trying to convey that Apple has already started working more closely with carmakers. But why would they work with VW, Ive drives an A8 and Jobs drives an SL. And VW's are dull, boring and unimaginative (VW's are boring not Audi and Bugatti etc....) VW and Apple is a stupid idea. Surely BMW and Apple. Why VW?

To the person who says that VW did NOT engineer the Veyron... You are completly wrong... That car is apart from the gearbox and tires, is ALL VW and VW Engineered... So it shows that they are capable of brilliance.

They are just very dull and boring at times. oh yeh and they killed Bentley.
 
slackintosh said:
I've always thought that VW and Mac owners were cut from the same cloth so to speak. An attention to detail, ergonomics and aesthetic seem to run along parallell lines between the companies....
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Agreed...I bought my '98 New Beetle within a week of buying the newly released Bondi blue iMac and felt like they were somehow connected...

Naturally I just traded the '98 for a new '07 Beetle last week and now a rumor of an iCar??? Hopefully it won't come to pass for at least 4 more years, I'm certain to be sucked into the RDF created by an Apple/VW project...

beetlesticker.jpg


Posted from my iPhone
 
iphone

who cares really?? i don't have a cell phone, if i wanted to talk to someone that is not with me at the current time im out doing something they can call me at home when i get there ill call them back...600$ for someone to spend on this trash just to be texting or chattin and swirve in front of me when driving..iphone should think about others on the road before causing more accidents...if i see someone on the cell phone on the road, they get it bad...i get in front of them slow down box them in whatever...they usually hang that phone up..so why try and hook up a car with internet pictures and things like that or whatever when its illegal for a screen (other than navigational purposes) to be in the drivers view?? what are yall fat and lazy and can't get out to play sports or something...the hell with an iphone all ya need are your friends and a ball or something...move around and do stuff besides worrying about what apple has to come out with...besides for yall wonder why verizon isn't part of apple is cuz they turned apple down when apple asked them to be the service. besides cingular has alot more international service than verizon...actually when my bro and sis left the country they had to switch to cingular cuz verizon is only good in US. and maybe one or two other countries. cingular is world wide...apple needed more ppl to try and entice. don't complain when your 600$ phone is lost broken or stolen...it just sucks to be you...get lives ppl.
 
bitting more than one can chew? or this just takes the cake? ..

help me out ...
 
Dedicated Computers in Cars a bad idea...

I think the idea of a dedicated personal PC in a car is a bad idea. It is gimicky and usually costs more than similar tech in a palm-top or laptop would cost. Apple should merely focus on making insanely great iPhones, iPods, and laptops, and then allow them to interface with any car via standard technology.

Don't build the laptop into a car that can't be upgraded and in the end costs me 3-times what the tech separated from the car would cost.
 
MadDog31 said:
Yeah, perhaps they can incorporate it into a BMW the bottom 85% of the world's population can afford.

The 7-Series?!? C'mon!!!!!
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Agreed. I have a 3 series and I frankly don't care for the 7 series. BMW will be releasing the 1 series in the United States next year. I'm sure they are integrating the iPod control into that line; not too sure on the iPhone (doubt it).
 
slackintosh said:
I've always thought that VW and Mac owners were cut from the same cloth so to speak. An attention to detail, ergonomics and aesthetic seem to run along parallell lines between the companies....

I wonder if it's got anything to do with this;

from a VW press release regarding this years Frankfurt Auto Show...

"And if all that's not enough: Volkswagen will respond to the official motto of this year's IAA - "see what's driving tomorrow" - with a prototype. The heart of this sensationally flexible City Expert will beat where the flat-four "Boxer" engine once did in the Beetle."
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Anyways, on two huge VW enthusiast forums (one larger than MR), most VW owners also are Mac users. Here though, most MR users love the Asian Hondas/Toyotas, ect. I myself love VW just because of what you said, attention to detal, fun marketing, incredible engineering, super safety, ergonomics and aesthetics and interiors that are better than your run of the mill prius/accord/camry. Of course this is with certain models, not all. VW and apple both are lifestyle type companies, appealing not to raw specs or efficiency but a lifestyle and community. Whenever I drive my friend's accord, no other accord users do the simple hand wave, or look, or whatever, but when I drive my GTI, VW users always look, wave, there's a customary VW wave with your hand on the steering wheel that people do when another dubber comes along. Never ever ever heard of this from any Honda or Toyota. The community makes me love my car even more.

VW CQ is improving, the dark days are giving way to great new technology with diesels that rival hybrids, electrical problems, whatever you name it, all are getting better but to be safe I must say that this is with certain models not all.

But back to topic, Apple integration into cars is great, an iCar, maybe too far for people today. Its quick comical though, Apple is big in the States, but VW isn't. Abroad Apple isn't as big but VW is. Guess they both can benefit.

What I don't understand is this "Holier than thou" attitude these days among most consumers that Toyota and Honda are untouchable, perfect machines. I remember the same things being said about GM back in the day. I'm not implying that T or H are heading in that direction, heavens I hope not, but still consumer confidence in those companies is getting out of control. When my friend's new civic broke down it was like Heaven was punishing him (even though he ignored the recall).
 
pocketrockets said:
Oh hell no! You are so wrong. VW is like the Gateway of cars. Toyota is more like the Apple, but even that's really stretching it. Toyota's hybrid technology is so advanced ma and pa repair shop will touch it.
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Clearly readers of Macrumors know very little about cars.

Toyota as an Apple equivalent? Are you joking? And why all the VW hate? The Golf GTi as an iCar would kick ass.
 
veneficuss said:
UMMMM VW BOUGHT Bugatti, and fired NO ONE. VW does not make the car, it is still made by the same Bugatti people as before. Your statement was ridiculously ignorant.
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And Audi bought Lamborghini and you think that didn't affect the Murcielago at all?
 
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