Apple made its reputation on industry-changing computer products and has expressed little interest in producing cars, but people love to speculate. Here are Jalopnik reader's picks for ten things to look for in an 'Apple Car' if Apple is ever crazy enough to jump into the market.
Welcome back to Answers of the Day — our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
Photo Credit: Saab
10.) There would be few color options
Suggested By: Is that a rain coat?
Why it's so Cupertino: Except for the smaller iPods, the average Mercedes showroom is a florist shop compared to the Apple product lineup. Expect a hypothetical rollout palette to include black, white, and maybe brushed aluminum.
Photo Credit: AP
9.) You wouldn't be able to fix it yourself
Suggested By: Joel Scheib
Why it's so Cupertino: Cars are becoming ever more complex and integrated, and packaging is becoming ever more difficult, so the opportunity for the end user to radically customize (or even just change the oil filter) might be a thing of the past.
Photo Credit: Dave Pinter
8.) It would effectively use existing ideas
Suggested By: Hadaken
Why it's so Cupertino: Audi didn't invent all-wheel-drive for the road or exhaust-gas turbocharging, but they made them work incredibly well. Similarly, Apple didn't invent GUI or the MP3 player, they just made them available to the broad consumer market and made everyone else play catch-up.
Photo Credit: Tom Ellis
7.) It would be a study in industrial design
Suggested By: bearslayer
Why it's so Cupertino: An Apple product has no rough edges or unresolved details. It's clean, it's artful, and it's all focused towards making the product work. Sometimes there's curious details, but it's a forgone conclusion that someone thought long and hard about them, and they usually (not always, but usually) work.
Photo Credit: Aston Martin
6.) It would be easy to use
Suggested By: Pinzgauer in Hawaii
Why it's so Cupertino: Pick up an iPod and within thirty seconds you've probably got the basic controls figured out; within five minutes you've mastered it. You could sit in an Apple car, know where everything is intuitively, and in no time be capably getting everything out of it.
Photo Credit: Honda
5.) It would emphasize the experience over the numbers
Suggested By: Chairman Kaga
Why it's so Cupertino: Apple products aren't the fastest or the cheapest or the "most"; they just work exceptionally well for real-world tasks for real-world people, and allow those people to feel like they know what they're doing — because they do know what they're doing.
Photo Credit: Audi of America
4.) It would be a paragon of functionality
Suggested By: Ash78, the guy with the Saab Draken tattoo
Why it's so Cupertino: Your laptop is a recording studio. Your phone is a video camera. Your car carries four people and cargo in comfort and dignity over battered two-lane roads and Autobahnen and suburban traffic. It may not excel in any one thing, but it does a lot of things very, very well.
Photo Credit: Volkswagen of America
3.) It would be a cult icon
Suggested By: primalzer
Why it's so Cupertino: Apple fanboys are second to none in their devotion to the brand, and consequently have very high expectations. ("No iPhone 5? The horror!") They will be present in droves to judge and consider and accept or reject as they interpret the Gospel of Steve.
Photo Credit: The Car Spy
2.) It would attract the haters
Suggested By: MC Brian1321
Why it's so Cupertino: Along with the fanboys are the naysayers. Too expensive! Not fast enough! You're a hipster! My cousin's friend bought one and the chips weren't soldered in right! Scurrilous rumors and ill-grounded grudges are a part of life, and maybe something of an ironic badge of honor.
Photo Credit: Tomasz Wagner
1.) It would be intensely desirable from the beginning
Suggested By: TimTim
Why it's so Cupertino: Even with the cult and beyond the iconoclasts, there is usually something hugely desirable about Apple stuff. It's just wantable. See it, like it, start saving for it, enjoy it.
Photo Credit: Subaru