Agreed that this would be the biggest risk ever undertaken by a private corporation. GM probably looks a little bit more seriously at Apple compared to the way Nokia looked at them ten years ago when the rumblings of a phone started. About pushing the envelope of customer preconceptions, this is the contents of the book locked in Tim’s safe. No more Flash, no DVD drives, phones that last more than a day on battery, user upgradeable computers. These are some examples of the impossible shifts that Apple is able to manifest.
There are some radical shifts needed to catch motoring up to the possibilities of today and the next five to ten years. All of them are guaranteed to make Jeremy Clarkson’s head explode. After all, Apple is about personal significance through group , not personal ego. In cars that is a great forward step.
Imagine an eventual ecosystem where there exists the same homogeneity as the phone market. What would be possible?
Suppose the cars link physically, an extendable drawbar, an “auto train” column that is capable of uniform acceleration and braking. This reduces some of the service or variance in performance issues. A low battery car could be supported in the middle of the pack. (credit card charged through iTunes for the cost.)
Apple only car lanes in California.
Roaming battery laden recharge cars that allow in motion charging like air tankers.
Uberesque model of pimping out your car the eight hours you are working and having it taxi others around. Reduction in corporate parking spaces. Some companies then mandate/supply this and reduce the parking spaces to near zero, turning their fleet into a money generator. “This ride brought to you by General Industries”.
There are a lot of doors that open. Agreed that what it actually looks like is about last on the list.