> Farley has said Ford’s future depends not on selling cars one at a time, but on selling features to owners to constantly update their cars like they do their phones.<p>I really disagree with this on so many levels, and I believe the market will ultimately reject it too. When you’re spending tens of thousands on a car, the last thing you want is some optional monthly fee for seat warmers and navigation features. This seems to be driven simply by the desire to have a monthly income versus what consumers actually want.
I keep thinking that the ‘car’ project is just one of apple’s many experiments to find/figure out a product but this one is hard to keep invisible because they need more physical space for it. So nobody really knows what it is but you get these glimpses. It must be extremely frustrating that they can’t contain it as they did with the smaller hardware.
Just wondering if the exec move is signalling Apple isn't planning on bringing the car to production ?<p>I'm in the automotive field and I came across some of their job postings, and based on the JD it looked to me like they were pretty serious about bringing something to market.<p>Me and a bunch of my friends and colleagues were contacted by recruiters and it seemed like they wanted people with experience bringing a car to production.
I'm on the side of things where I think Apple realized that electric cars are sorta giant iPhones on wheels and thought they could move into the market if there wasn't already a strong leader. This all made sense when it was clear the technology was there and Tesla wasn't a sure thing, so there was ample competitive room to elbow into.<p>When Tesla survived and thrived I believe this caused Apple to take a step back and watch how the market plays out for a bit before committing...trying to find out of there really was a play there.<p>In addition, Tim Cook is a supply-chain guy, and the supply chain for electric vehicles is still very immature and extremely dependent on technology that Apple doesn't really have expertise in (yet), batteries. There's just not a good selection of suppliers for batteries that can produce at Apple's volume needs, and at car scale.
I don't understand why Apple would want to enter the automotive manufacturing business. It's so far-afield from computers, mobile screens, and accessories. TVs, home automation, VR glasses, smart home gym, and audio equipment seem much closer to the product mix than something random like a lawnmower, car, or business jet.
A lot of people who follow what's been happening with EVs think that certain legacy auto brands will evolve to survive as design and marketing organizations. (EDIT: Of EVs, specifically.) These companies will put their design on top of a skateboard/chassis designed and manufactured by another EV company, like Tesla. If brands don't survive as a separate (EDIT: EV) company, then they could also do this as a division of a parent auto company. This will probably happen to brands like Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini.<p>Apple stands a good chance of breaking into that evolved form of the business. They are, after all, very good at marketing and design.