Apple Board Member Mickey Drexler on Steve Jobs' iCar Dreams, Apple's Living Room Push

apple carSpeaking at Fast Company's Innovation Uncensored conference earlier this week, J. Crew CEO and Apple board member Mickey Drexler shared his thoughts (via Business Insider) on several topics related to Apple, including Steve Jobs' dream to build an "iCar" that would have revolutionized the automobile industry. While the idea obviously never developed very far, it is an intriguing glimpse into Jobs' interests and ambitions.

Drexler also mentioned in passing that Apple will be making a push into the living room "in the near future", fueling further interest in and speculation on an Apple television set and perhaps ultimately content deals that could remake how television content is consumed.

Look at the car business – it's a tragedy in America. Who's designing the cars? They talk about expense, they talk about this, and then you say 'Who's designing the cars?'

Steve's dream before he died was to design an iCar. It would have been probably 50% of the market. He never did design it. In the fashion business, you know, Apple has ten products and then they leave alone...the living room they're dealing with at some point in the near future.

Drexler closed with a quip about how difficult it is to take over a company that is doing well, comparing his move to take over struggling J. Crew nearly a decade ago with Tim Cook's move to the CEO position at Apple.

(Photo via Flickr/juanpol)

Popular Stories

hikawa phone grip stand apple%402x

Apple Launches Second Limited-Edition iPhone Accessory in a Month

Friday November 21, 2025 3:53 am PST by
Apple has begun selling the Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand, a new limited-edition iPhone accessory designed with accessibility in mind. Designed by LA-based Bailey Hikawa to celebrate the 40th anniversary of accessibility at Apple, the grip uses magnets to securely snap onto any iPhone with MagSafe. Apple says it can be removed with ease, and doubles as a stand with two different viewing...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These New Features to Your iPhone

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date. Keep reading...
Apple Shopping Event 2025

Apple Announces 2025 Black Friday Event, Here's What You Can Get

Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others. During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 27 Will Reportedly Have Two Key Upgrades

Sunday November 23, 2025 8:48 am PST by
iOS 27 will reportedly have two major elements: quality improvements and new AI features. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is focused on improving "quality and underlying performance" over adding new features. Gurman said there is one exception to this rule, though, as he expects...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: iPhone 18 Pro Looks Like a Huge Upgrade

Friday November 21, 2025 9:10 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the new features and improvements expected to come to next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Apple's next-generation iPhones are less than ten months away and we already have a good idea about what to expect based on corroborated leaks, rumors,...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Two Breakthrough Features

Wednesday November 19, 2025 7:26 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include two standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
ipad black friday 2025

The Best Early Black Friday iPad Deals

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:20 am PST by
Black Friday is just over a week away, and iPad deals have finally started to flood in at retailers like Amazon and Best Buy. Below we're tracking discounts on every current generation iPad, including lowest-ever prices on M3 iPad Air and M5 iPad Pro, plus steep markdowns on iPad and iPad mini. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a ...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now on AirPods, iPads, Accessories, and More

Friday November 21, 2025 8:48 am PST by
We're officially less than one week away from Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these...
Low Cost MacBook Feature A18 Pro

Report: Low-Cost iPhone, iPad, MacBook Coming Early 2026

Friday November 21, 2025 2:26 am PST by
Apple is planning to release new entry-level models across its iPhone, iPad, and Mac categories early next year, with an all-new affordable MacBook the most notable addition to the lineup. According to a new research report by Jeff Pu of GF Securities seen by MacRumors, Apple will launch the iPhone 17e – its second iteration of the "e" line – in the spring, likely along with a...

Top Rated Comments

troop231 Avatar
177 months ago
What kind of fuel would an Apple designed iCar run on?

Unicorn dust of course.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adildacoolset Avatar
177 months ago
I want an iCar. The first unibody car! Oh, then we'll see a plastic samsung car after that, with a name like "andromeda P3" running the latest google android hot milkshake 6.0.1.3.2 with a driveWiz aid that is available to consumers 4 months after the release date, only to be affected by a malware that kills the driver.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rei101 Avatar
177 months ago
I do not know about the car. But for sure the iBike would have look like this:

Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
inket Avatar
177 months ago
iCar? Doesn't have quite the same twang to it as iPhone/Pod.

But then the idea of Microsoft designing a Windows Car for the average man?...

Yeahhh. aka, Rover.

Dude. No one here wants to see Bill Gates' nose hair.

Also, I can't help but wonder if, on a 1440x900 15" MBP that photo is real-life sized.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
summitRun Avatar
177 months ago
It would have been probably 50% of the market

Um, what?

Pass the crack pipe dude...
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DakotaGuy Avatar
177 months ago
I want an iCar. The first unibody car!

Passenger cars have been unibody for a long time. The 1941 Nash 600 was the first mass-produced unibody construction automobile made in the United States. Other then pickup trucks and traditional SUVs everything is unibody these days.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)