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We assume Apple is building a car.


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  • RMweb Gold

Ford believe that Apple are developing a car.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36126591

 

An interesting coming together of technologies but it started me thinking about what the implications might be.  I wondered if:

 

It would only run on petrol bought through an Apple petrol station.

If the powers that be at Apple decided that you didn't really need to turn right the car wouldn't be designed to do that no matter how useful a feature you might think it is.

 

It will be interesting to see what the features are.

 

 

 

 

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You'd probably have to connect to iTunes on your Mac before you can start it, the petrol filler will be a custom shape that no regular petrol pump will connect to and you'll need a "genius" to open the boot/bonnet for you :jester:  :O Please make an appointment at the Apple store!

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Not off topic but related to the OP as it involves an IT company interacting with the motor industry...

This was General Motors reply to Microsoft in the 1990s when Bill Gates made reference to the development of cars by the major companies in the industry;

GM replies to Bill Gates...

 

Spot on in its day. The new range of M$ cars is much more reliable, but they've taken away the steering wheel and you have to direct it by running your hands over the windscreen.
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If you assume that next generation cars will be autonomous, I'd say that Apple probably have a whopping great advantage over Ford, and, as is noted above, they do have the flair for making fairly utilitarian objects "cool", which would help marketing.

 

You could see a car with a brain and "facial features" by Apple, with the dull old mechanical bits subcontracted to traditional automotive companies, or, more sensibly perhaps, a Joint Venture. Drive train and safety-related software by Siemens; mechanics by Mercedes; non-safety-vital software and styling by Apple. A Very Smart Car, perhaps?

 

K

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It would only run on petrol bought through an Apple petrol station.

... the petrol filler will be a custom shape that no regular petrol pump will connect to ...

Petrol???

 

It will be interesting to see when there will be stronger compatibility in charging stations connections. There is some level of standardization, but Teslas are different.

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You could see a car with a brain and "facial features" by Apple, with the dull old mechanical bits subcontracted to traditional automotive companies, or, more sensibly perhaps, a Joint Venture. Drive train and safety-related software by Siemens; mechanics by Mercedes; non-safety-vital software and styling by Apple. A Very Smart Car, perhaps?

Tesla are perhaps more interesting. IIRC Elon Musk gloated that the people working on Apple cars are the people not smart enough to work at Tesla.

Tesla already sell powertrain bits to the likes of Mercedes.

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....You could see a car with a brain and "facial features" by Apple, with the dull old mechanical bits subcontracted to traditional automotive companies, or, more sensibly perhaps, a Joint Venture. Drive train and safety-related software by Siemens; mechanics by Mercedes; non-safety-vital software and styling by Apple. A Very Smart Car, perhaps?

 

Emissions control by Volkswagen, perhaps?

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The Apple car will be uniquely featured to be immune to all the problems infesting the road net that are experienced by users of all other cars. Automated registration plate recognition will not detect the i-car, and speed will not be recorded by any roadside device; lane and parking restrictions, traffic lights and all other clutter will simply not apply, and the vehicle and occupants will be invisible to both enforcement agencies and criminals.

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30801

 

I think it is correct to say that Mercedes no longer use Tesla powertrain elements.

 

Also, I just googled and found that the electric version of the Smart is currently not being built.

 

Maybe it will be relaunched as the Very Smart, in line with my prediction. And, maybe the partnership will be with Google, not Apple, thinking about it, because they must have a whoppingly-useful database of information that autonomous vehicles might feed on.

 

Kevin

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One of my close neighbours has already put a deposit down on a Tesla. He is a gadget nut and being even older than me we joke about the delivery being via the NHS an electric wheelchair. Apparently the first delivery dates will be in the US with UK apparently highly dependent on a trade deal/agreement to be made sometime in 10 years from now. Another neighbour has an electric car and has already nearly run over his own kids in it - it is so silent that it is a danger to anyone on foot let alone the kids who play in the road hereabouts (private). As for Google and cars I think a law should be passed that the owner needs to walk in front of them at all times waving a big red warning flag ... your privacy and life is in danger of being surreptitiously stolen if you so much as touch it. Not in my lifetime, thank you.

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  • RMweb Gold

The only thing that doesn't make sense about this is that google and apple make products for people who sit in front of their pooters and never go out. They'd be better focussed on delivery vans to bring all the stuff to us that we order online.

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Yep, although autonomous cars are on trial, with an "electric wheelchair" sized one busily learning the cycle paths around where I live, in preparation for being let loose, my guess is that the first applications will be delivery-bots.

 

And then, when it all works properly, you will just sit in your armchair, playing on your 'pooter, and "be somewhere else".

 

K

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LUTZ_Pathfinder

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One of my close neighbours has already put a deposit down on a Tesla. .....

.....Apparently the first delivery dates will be in the US with UK apparently highly dependent on a trade deal/agreement to be made sometime in 10 years from now......

 

I assume that it's one of the the new Tesla models that are not out yet (the Model 3 or Model X ?).

The Tesla S has been around for a few years and there are quite a few in the UK already.

There are several around here (south coast) and I've seen a few up in the NW (Cheshire and Manchester area).

 

 

.

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