More Apple Car Thoughts: Money, Design UI, Distribution
This car stuff still doesn&#x27;t make sense to me.<p>One big thing I don&#x27;t understand about these Apple car rumors is what is Apple supposed to be doing that current automotive groups are not?  If you&#x27;re new to a product area, building a car using CMs (makes sense) with subsystems sourced from the CM or outside suppliers (also makes sense), where&#x27;s the je ne sais quoi that makes the Apple car compelling over other options?  How can you have an advantage over the established manufacturers, if you&#x27;re sourcing parts&#x2F;knowledge (e.g., BMW&#x27;s nifty CFRP material) from your competition?  What&#x27;s the sustainable competitive advantage?<p>An obvious answer would seem to be design, but I don&#x27;t buy that Apple producing a better UI than the current car manufacturers is fait accompli.  On infotainment, CarPlay is pretty frustrating to use, to the point that I question if anyone from Apple has actually used it while driving: legibility is awful (especially for Maps), Siri doesn&#x27;t work well in the noisy car environment as a primary navigation tool, and touch operation takes too much eye attention.  Some of the usability failures are due to current Apple styling choices (e.g., fonts that are too thin), but many are (as I see it) due to the unsuitability of the Apple multitouch UI paradigm for the car.  For comparison, I&#x27;d rate both Chrysler&#x27;s UConnect and BMW&#x27;s iDrive as superior in usability.  I have no doubt that CarPlay can be improved (e.g., physical jog wheels), but I see those improvements as teaching away from the Apple&#x27;s UI paradigm and towards the existing competitors in the auto world.  As to interior or exterior design, I also remain skeptical: Apple tends to pick materials that don&#x27;t wear well in use, and we&#x27;re talking about a product that will have far longer lifecycle than anything in the current Apple lineup.  I&#x27;m sure Apple could produce something that looks nice, but plenty of marques make nice looking cars.  Nice appearance for cars is commoditized.<p>Apple&#x27;s current supply chain and manufacturing processes are a hell of an advantage in consumer electronics, but there would seem to be very little overlap with automotive.  I guess that applies broadly too, there seems to be so little overlap with Apple&#x27;s current corporate experience and advantages in consumer electronics and the automotive arena.<p>edit: Also, JLG&#x27;s point on maintenance is poppycock.  Electric cars may have <i>reduced</i> maintenance, but to suggest that tires and wiper blades are all one has to worry about is plain wrong.  Part of the product lifecycle considerations includes recalls, e.g., Takata airbags.