Every Auto Company Wants To Become LIKE Apple, Which One Do YOU Think Will Become Like Them?

I prefer the Porsche mantra, which has some similarities but is even better. Of course it hasn't been as pure since the Cayenne was released.

"I wanted to build cars that were not something to everyone but meant everything to some." - Ferry Porsche

Thing is: Apple can sale their products to almost everyone. If you really want an ipad, then you will be able to buy one. BMW has probably the same attaction to customers, but people just can't afford it. So they buy an iphone instead!

Apple is the premier example of a company that develops and markets low cost paradigm-shifting technology. To be like Apple, a company would need to revolutionize transportation for the masses. In other words, no car company will be like Apple.

The one that partners with Apple !

Apple = Creationism
Honda = Evolutionism

Your kidding right? None of the items you mentioned is in the car divison. Honda Car now is on of the most boring car companies going only. The only big knews from Honda in the last five years is the Super-Handling all wheel drive (which has been surpassed by other automaker) The quality of material in their latest cars has been slammed by the press. Honda cars just got Bluetoth. This isn't the car company of ten years ago, this is a car company that live on it's past and offer no real value. Honda is on it's way to becoming the new Mitsubishi.

You are so full of it. There is a reason that Hon-duhh is back and rightfully so, to third place in their home market, Japan. Even Nissan sells more vehicles in Japan than Honda. Honda does use the C-H-E-A-P-E-S-T, and I mean cheapest, parts they can, and far inferior to Toyota. The reason for this is to maximize their profits. The Japanese people are very intelligent. That is why Toyota and Nissan are selling more vehicles than Hon-Duhh. For some reason in the USA, Honda is selling so well, but still behind Toyota, and again, it's because Toyota makes more reliable and higher quality vehicles than Honda. I believe the American people will wake up and see how they have been fooled by Honda, and fall behind Nissan here in the USA as well as in Japan.

None right now.

Until the economy gets back into gear the majority of people will not have the impulse to go out and buy a car because they just "have" to have it.

FORD!

How about Apple making a car or buying an existing auto brand. Fisker, Tesla, Aston Martin...etc. Or a project something like Gordon Murray's new Electric city car. Apple iCar.

To be like Apple a car company would have to:

a) be run by a person who not only understands the industry but be passionate about it
b) be lean and ready to embrace new technologies
c) have their finger on the pulse of the market
d) be able to predict future requirements and create the trend needed to fill it (not just react to the trend).
e) be brave enough to produce the EXACT cars they unveil as concepts

I believe that at present no single car company exists that can fill all of these requirements. Some have one or two. I can tell you that if Hyundai hired Bob Lutz to run their product development the rest of the auto industry would be in serious trouble.

ooR says "Every Auto Company Wants To Become LIKE Apple..."

So say you. I don't see the world the way you imagine it to be. No offence intended. Just sayin' that others don't perceive as you do.

There can be no comparison between Apple and any car manufacturer. Another pointless thread.
Can we talk about cars please.

Apple has been on a tear since Steve Jobs re-joined around 1995-96. I remember that year their stock went from 11.3 to over 33 because Jobs put forth the first iMac and had that colorful kaleidoscopic campaign around it. Resulting sales were bonkers. Since then, they've solidly built capital to be where they are now.

The problem is car companies wanting to be like Apple. When you examine Apple, they didn't set out to be like another company. In fact, they don't look to anyone really but Steve Jobs and more distantly, Timothy Cook and Jonathan Ive.

BMW

THe only thing I could think of is when the gmc CEO said that they are possibly the future apple, is that they were talking about financial stability instead of product line, but ford seems to be a better fit, just considering how they negated bailout money and trived thru hard marketing and inovative products like the edge the new explorer SHo, and dont forget the microsoft sync which had tons of people going to their dealership just to see what it was all about. GMC bailled out, and still have boring products accept for the volt zr1 and new camaro. When they anounced they had payed the federal loans all they did was refinance so they could get back their prefered stocks and make more stupid decisions as always. But in the early 2000 they did have it right, hen they started exploring drive by wire technologies coupled with fuel cells, The cars were fully customizable and the body could be modified temporarely according to needs. That is as close to apple as they have ever gotten, but it never left concept study for, and for that reason their stock is doing horrible again no matter how many times they try to kill as by powerpoint sudden death syndrom

No automotive manufacturer makes a sensible comparison to Apple.

If you take into account a manufacturer's ENTIRE line of products:
VAG is the closest direct comparison to Apple
Product line ranges from the affordable to the masses to aspirational

If you take into account brand image, whether justified or marketing hype:
BMW & MB would be the closest matches
Both offer product lines that aspirational and cost a premium over other comparable makes for products

Examples:

VW Polo = ipod nano
Veyron = eight core power mac with quad 30" monitors and still no blu-ray

See What made apple so advanced was the niche they filled. And even that was after steve jobs was originally voted of the chair. They created an image with invative but very expenssive products that every1 desired, and later built cheapper products like the itouch and ipad and sold them at affordable prices, but still at a premium when compared to equivalent competition

Perhaps they want to be like Apple in terms of customer loyalty, but certainly not in terms of innovation..
What has Apple really invented ?
Apple is truely a great software & marketing company, nothing else..
everything else in their products are the innovation of otehr companies..

No car maker stands a chance to be anything like Apple. But if I had to choose one, probably Tesla.