If you're new to AirPods, considering buying a pair, or just want to pick up some new tips.
Former GM CEO on Apple Car: 'They Have No Idea What They're Getting Into'
Amid rumors that Apple is developing an electric vehicle, former General Motors CEO Dan Akerson has shared his opinion on Apple's plans, suggesting the Cupertino company avoid getting into a business with such low margins.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Akerson said that Apple may be underestimating the difficulty of operating in the car business, as it's hard to navigate regulatory and safety requirements. "A lot of people who don't ever operate in it don't understand and have a tendency to underestimate," he said
"They'd better think carefully if they want to get into the hard-core manufacturing," he said of Apple. "We take steel, raw steel, and turn it into car. They have no idea what they're getting into if they get into that."According to Akerson, Apple should stick with the iPhone, which has much higher margins than a car and none of the issues with safety. As highlighted by Bloomberg, while Apple made $18 billion in December with a gross margin of 39.9 percent, GM made just $2 billion with a gross margin of 14 percent.
Akerson doesn't believe Apple should get into the car business, but he does admire Apple's entrance into the car infotainment arena with CarPlay. Speaking on his time as CEO of General Motors, Akerson said that he absolutely would have partnered with Apple. "I'd have turned over the infotainment and interconnectivity of every car."
News of Apple's electric car plans surfaced last week after The Wall Street Journal shared details on a secret project at the company. Apple is said to have hundreds of employees working on the car in a secret research lab near its Cupertino headquarters. The car, which is electric, could potentially resemble a minivan.
[ 544 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
52 months ago
Apple has almost $200 billion in cash....GM had to be bailed out by the tax payers.
Apple knows precisely what it's doing.
Apple knows precisely what it's doing.
52 months ago
"Weve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone. PC guys are not going to just figure this out. Theyre not going to just walk in."
Palm CEO Ed Colligan, November 16 2006
Palm CEO Ed Colligan, November 16 2006
52 months ago
[url=https://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif]Image (https://www.macrumors.com/2015/02/18/former-gm-ceo-on-apple-car/)[/url]
Image (https://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2015/02/danakerson-250x188.jpg)Amid rumors that Apple is developing an electric vehicle, former General Motors CEO Dan Akerson has shared his opinion on Apple's plans, suggesting the Cupertino company avoid getting into a business with such low margins.
In an interview with Bloomberg (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-18/former-gm-ceo-akerson-cautions-apple-on-trials-of-making-cars), Akerson said that Apple may be underestimating the difficulty of operating in the car business, as it's hard to navigate regulatory and safety requirements. "A lot of people who don't ever operate in it don't understand and have a tendency to underestimate," he saidAccording to Akerson, Apple should stick with the iPhone, which has much higher margins than a car and none of the issues with safety. As highlighted by Bloomberg, while Apple made $18 billion in December with a gross margin of 39.9 percent, GM made just $2 billion with a gross margin of 14 percent.
Akerson doesn't believe Apple should get into the car business, but he does admire Apple's entrance into the car infotainment arena with CarPlay. Speaking on his time as CEO of General Motors, Akerson said that he absolutely would have partnered with Apple. "I'd have turned over the infotainment and interconnectivity of every car."
News of Apple's electric car plans surfaced last week (https://www.macrumors.com/2015/02/13/apple-working-on-electric-car/) after The Wall Street Journal shared details on a secret project at the company. Apple is said to have hundreds of employees working on the car in a secret research lab near its Cupertino headquarters. The car, which is electric, could potentially resemble a minivan.
Article Link: Former GM CEO on Apple Car: 'They Have No Idea What They're Getting Into' (https://www.macrumors.com/2015/02/18/former-gm-ceo-on-apple-car/)
Phone industry incumbents all over again - circa 2007. We'll see.
52 months ago
Can someone find a quote from Nokia in 2005 or 2006 saying Apple shouldn't get into the phone business, they have no idea what they're doing?
52 months ago
"We take steel, raw steel, and turn it into car, but, we also file for bankruptcy because we suck!"
52 months ago
This coming from company that had to get help from the government? Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...
a lot more quotes from top executives in the automotive industry in the coming weeks.......personally, I think they're scared out of their mind
a lot more quotes from top executives in the automotive industry in the coming weeks.......personally, I think they're scared out of their mind
52 months ago
Is it just me, or does this guy bear an amazing resemblance to Steve Ballmer?
If I could only achieve a 14% margin, I wouldn't be lecturing others how to do things better.
If I could only achieve a 14% margin, I wouldn't be lecturing others how to do things better.
52 months ago
Apple has almost $200 billion in cash....GM had to be bailed out by the tax payers.
Apple knows precisely what it's doing.
I knew this would be the first post. And I am so disheartened to be proven right.
Just because Apple has billions in cash from successful products, does not have any correlation whatsoever to their ability to enter a new market (both new to them and to industry as a whole) without making mistakes. I'd like to point out that in no way do I think Apple should avoid the sector, as the GM former CEO states, because as a company devoted to quality, and who has tons of resources ($$$), they'll be hopefully able to do it justice. But just because they have the means to toy around with the idea of a car, do extensive research, etc... doesn't mean they know exactly what they're doing. Generating billions of dollars in profit on consumer electronics doesn't indicate they know how to make a car.
52 months ago
Really?
How about working on getting your phones and computers/OS's squared away first.
How about working on getting your phones and computers/OS's squared away first.
[ Read All Comments ]
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Tap to give MacRumors readers a chance to win one of the company's wearable keyboard setups, which Tap believes will be the keyboard of the...
Eve (formerly known as Elgato) was one of the first companies to come out with HomeKit accessories when HomeKit was announced in 2014, and since then, Eve has been expanding its portfolio of...
There are a few notable flash sales going on today, including a discount on a refurbished model of Apple's HomePod smart speaker. The speaker is on sale for $234.99, $115 off from its...
Apple is teaming up with Chinese payments company Ant Financial Services Group, along with several local banks, to offer local customers interest-free financing on iPhones in China (via Reuters)....
OWC this week announced a neat and tidy solution for quickly disconnecting multiple drives from any OWC dock, with the release of a free Dock Ejector utility.
The Mac app lives silently in...
Well-known cable and accessory maker Monoprice today introduced a new sale on Thunderbolt cables, with discounts reaching as much as 35 percent off of original prices during the limited-time event....
Parallels this week debuted a new promo bundle for both new and current users, offering a chance to buy or upgrade to Parallels Desktop 14, and then get ten other Mac apps for free. New owners can...
Over the past few weeks, a handful of users have reported receiving the message "an error occurred" when attempting to load the "For You" tab in iTunes, which provides personalized...
