View Single Post
kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2016-04-03, 11:59

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kickaha View Post
What the hell, man, are you hobbits??
Hey, man, leave my 5-9-ish alone!

I'll admit there isn't much space in the back of a Fiesta. However, we have taken it on several 1500-mile+ trips and it gets the job done.

If you're tall, I might suggest spending an extra $2500 and getting a Focus, instead. Bit more leg room in those.

Or you might try out a Corvette. Those things get 30mpg out on the freeway (if you can keep your foot light). Or something in the Ford Taurus-class. Those will go 500 miles on a tank out on the freeway, too. Granted, they aren't the fuel-sippers the Fiesta is, but they still do well.

Truth is, most cars will go quite far on the freeway. It's in town where the mileage falls apart, what with all that traffic-creeping and idling. Hell, we had a Tahoe that would go 500 miles on a tank. It would do right close to 25mpg at 70mph, and with a 20-gallon tank, well, you do the math. In fact, I can't really come up with a standard family car that won't get close to 500 miles on a single tank at freeway speeds. Most small cars have 10-gallon tanks and will get 50-60mpg at 65, while most larger cars will have 15-gallon tanks and get around 40-45mpg. Tahoes and other SUV's typically have 20-gallon tanks and will average 25-30mpg at freeway speeds. Since most miles are driven in the city, modern auto mileage is misunderstood. In the last 20 years, I have owned 4 different cars that have gone on long road trips: A Dodge Neon (45mpg), Chrysler Pacifica (35mpg), Chevy Tahoe(25mpg), and Ford Fiesta (55mpg). All of them, and I mean every one, would make it from Boise to Portland on less than one tank. Or I could get to Eugene over highway 20. The fancy, little trip computer on the Fiesta shows me that on a flat, straight road driving 70mph, my range is 600 miles. Keep in mind that's a 10-gallon tank. Naturally, roads are not all flat and straight. Even still, the trip computer only pops below 500 miles when I'm driving uphill, which means I get worse mileage coming back than going over (although only by a small amount). In town, the Fiesta averages 38mpg, which is as good—if not better—than some hybrids that cost twice as much.



On to the Apple Car.

I don't care. I don't think Apple has the design sense to release something most people will care about. I also don't think it will be priced where most people can afford it. If I had to guess, I would say they enter the market between $50,000 and $100,000. Apple does not shoot for mass-market appeal with any product. The choose to skim the cream from the top, and only drop their prices once the upper market has been cleansed of all competition. I can think of this happening only once, and that is with iPods where Apple actually offers a product to the masses (the $49 Shuffle). In all other markets in which Apple is a player, they sell at the high-end, occasionally reaching down to scoop up some upper-midrange fruit (iPhone SE, Mac Mini). Apple won't even give away their cheap, dysfunctional iCloud crap that isn't worth free, let alone monthly-money.

If Apple is working on a car, Tesla will be their primary competitor, and I don't think Apple can compete with them. Tesla started out experimenting with someone else's work (the tesla Roadster was built on the Lotus Elise platform), using Lotus' engineering expertise for the frame and body. This gave Tesla valuable engineering and proof-of-comcept data, as well as manufacturing, electric motor and Li-ion battery experience. Tesla also worked out in the open and revealed the Model S long before production began, which fueled excitement and allowed them to gauge popularity—critical to determine if your design will generate excitement amongst auto buyers. Cars aren't like computers—even the low-end buyer wants to look sort of stylish.

If Apple wants to have any success in the market, they are going to have to dump many billions into battery fabrication, auto plants, and whatever their design is will need to be visible to the public at least a year prior to delivery. Car designers try not to get too caught up in their egos. They very much need to gauge public perception of their designs to determine if said design will spark interest. I would say people won't drive an ugly car just to be at the forefront of new tech, but Prius. Battery technology is advancing rapidly, but Apple only has experience delivering small battery packs in portable electronic devices. They have zero experience delivering larger packs and, judging by their battery pricing, cannot (or will not) be able to deliver packs of such size and quantity as to be affordable for everyday drivers.

And I haven't even gotten started on infrastructure. It has taken Tesla years to build trust in a brand that doesn't have certified mechanics on every corner. Apple will not be able to tell customers "just take it to an Apple Authorized Service Provider". Hell, we aren't gonna work on them. Apple does have a model (Tesla) to copy, but I think copying is the best they can do. Even then, Apple is not very good at such things (iCloud, anyone?).

Apple was able to walk into other markets because those markets (iPhones, iPads, Watch, etc.) are just computers. While a car might have a computer, it's far more than that. Maintenance and sales work differently. Lawsuits and litigation are a different animal. People don't just get a sour face when their device fails—people die!

Tesla was a car company from the very beginning. Apple has no "car" in their DNA at all!

I have no confidence in their ability to deliver a compelling product. I think it will be ugly, under powered, over-hyped, low-quality, and over-priced. It's not what they do.

- AppleNova is the best Mac-users forum on the internet. We are smart, educated, capable, and helpful. We are also loaded with smart-alecks! :)
- Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Mat 5:9)
  quote