Are Apple And Google Now The Enemies Of The Automotive Industry?

Automakers have had it coming for years! They've been creating infotainment systems and factory navigation systems that are expensive rubbish. I have yet to find a factory nav system, which is usually a several thousand dollar option, that isn't bested by a $399 Garmin unit -- that US$399 with free lifetime map updates and traffic data!

And when a car manufacturer boasts iPod or iPhone compatibility, they don't tell you what a crappy job they do. For example, a quarter million dollar Bentley will only recognize the first 5 playlists, and Audi's famous MMI does not differentiate between music and audiobooks (so you'll see audiobook chapters in you songs, and everywhere else) and it displays all playlists in a single linear list (iTunes, iPod, and iPhone support hierarchical organization so you can have a ".Maintenance" folder containing dozens of rarely used playlist, a folder for audiobook playlists, and one for music, to keep them organized and easily accessible). And who ever heard of having to record a voiceprint for your favorite 50 contacts, and then having a multi-sentence dialog with your car just to call someone in your contacts list, rather than saying "Phone Dave Smith at home" and the call being made, as you would using a 2-year-old iPhone (or Android phone?)

Yeah, automakers have had it coming to them. Someone else is able to do a whole lot better than they can. The early adopter car companies that get onboard with Apple or Google for an in-car infotainment system MIGHT earn the favorable attention of some consumers. If that happens, and there are enough consumers making their purchase decision based on that, then manufacturers who see Apple and Android as the enemy will have 3 choices at hand:
(1) Sleep with the enemy
(2) Do better than the enemy
(3) Die a slow, painful death as your sales decline due to consumers liking your enemy

Personally, I've become disenchanted with Apple. They used to be known for their impeccably designed, stunningly beautiful, intuitive and elegant user interfaces (UI). They stood head and shoulders above the rest. Today, their UIs looks like everybody else's, and arguably similar to the widely-maligned, flat, monochromatic, retro-styled Windows 8. Today, Apple devices are known for their bugs and quirks, yet they're more popular than ever, based on stellar iPhone sales.

Think Apple and Google are the enemy? Take a look at today's factory infotainment systems and see the enemy from within.

I will say that I can push the voice button, wait for the prompt, say "call home" or "call Norene at home". The car reads the name back for confirmation, I say "yes" and it dials. That's in a VW with the RNS-510 nav. So there are some phone dialers that work well. It also gives the option of recording a voice tag for misunderstood names, but it's not required.

I tried a Audi with the MMI and it took double the steps.

The system in the 2015 Grand Cherokee is excellent. Simple touch screen and steering wheel operation runs everything (except lights and wipers). Knobs to back up the touch screen in many instances. Voice system works easily with simple commands. Its weakest point is it uses Garmin navigation software. Like a standalone Garmin unit it does stupid things like direct you off a paved road onto a gravel strip to save a minute, or worse take you off a crowded freeway onto side streets for a 1/2 mile and put you back on, which nine times out of ten takes longer. No way to tell it not to do that.

The integration to the vehicle's operation will be a tough nut for Apple and Google.

Cars are quickly becoming vessels for electronic systems and services which will increasingly be the determinant factor for a purchase. Coupled with coming autonomous driving, traditional manufacturers will loose their prominence and market dominance to companies like Google, Apple and new players. At some point even driving will be outlawed thus eliminating or greatly changing current purchasing criteria.