Reuters:
U.S. technology giant Apple should collaborate with carmakers to make a vehicle and use the expertise already available rather than attempt to do it on its own, Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said.
And:
“If they have any urges to make a car, I’d advise them to lie down and wait until the feeling passes,” Marchionne told journalists. “Illnesses like this come and go, you will recover from them, they’re not lethal.”
My favorite comment on this came from John Gruber:
I can see it now: the Fiat Rokr.
For those who don’t remember, the Motorola Rokr was Apple’s first try at the cell phone game. Below is the video of Steve Jobs introducing the ROKR back in 2005. Classically, he starts off with his trademarked “There’s one more thing”. The intro starts at about 17:24 into the video.
The ROKR never quite took off and we all know what came next.
2005, not 1995
Which company needed government bailouts: Apple or Chrysler?
Maybe the corporate welfare recipient might not be the best source of business advice.
And really, if you see the urge to build cars as a disease, what the hell are you doing in the business?
Yup, fixed. Thank you!
Sergio Marchionne is a cool dude. But, this is coming from a company that owns Chrysler.
Because they are sick. They don’t suffer from insanity, yet they don’t want others to enjoy it either!
Still think Apple should stick to making CarPlay awesome for all cars, forget about trying to make a car.
What I would like to see Apple do is get into making its own Apple CarPlay head unit. There is a fair bit of apathy from other manufacturers, and what is available is often crap.
To be fair, making a car is a completely different endeavor than anything Apple has ever attempted. So much would be at stake. Not only would an Apple car have to be technologically advanced, it would have to be reliable and hold value well. Then there’s the matter of where the cars would be made. Car buyers in the US might want an American company to make American car in America. Even Toyota and Honda have a pretty good chunk of their manufacturing here in the US, I live not too far from Toyota’s main assembly in Georgetown, Kentucky. That said, Marchionne is not one who should be talking since Fiat and Chrysler rank near the bottom of most rankings.
“making a car is a completely different endeavor than anything Apple has ever attempted.” So was developing a smartphone. Look how that turned out.
In retrospect, a smartphone is more or less a pocket computer. A car is a huge object that people themselves get in from going from place to the place. I am not saying Apple is going to do badly. I just think the core competencies for a good smartphone are quite different.