The car has been an extension of the driver since the inception of choice in the industry. Ford’s Model-A, by definition, provided no options for those looking to buy a Ford. The Model-T was simply a rehash and drivers ate it up; at the same time the car’s popularity sprung from the limited options available to buyer at the time. While choice certainly existed, it wasn’t until the end of World War II that drivers began purchasing cars that suited their unique attributes. Cars rapidly became a statement of the owner’s personality and style. Think Steve McQueen in Bullitt, Sean Connery as James Bond, or James Dean in just about anything.
There is no denying the “car culture” that has slowly died in the United States, I blame it on the wholesale failings of the American automotive manufacturers. They took us to a place that made anywhere accessible and romanticized the open road, only to crash and burn with everything they did for 20 odd years beginning in the mid-seventies. They turned the car into a people mover and conveyance, little more.
It was at that point that the accessory business began, along with the birth of the drive-through window. The car began to be little more than an office, dining room, and day care center on wheels.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iOS For The Cars
Stop. My apologies, I’m waxing far too poetically on the simple fact that we spend too much time in our cars. The car is like the smartphone, a necessary evil—and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced its plans at the WWDC today to fully integrate the two.
Just as the SUV propagated itself based on the fact that you needed to drive one out of self-defense, the smartphone has gone the same route. Imagine a Smart Car and a Cadillac Escolade coming together at 40 MPH, or the social stigma of pulling out a Motorola Razr in front of your friends.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Maps In Cars
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s Vice President Eddy Cue said that Honda, Mercedes, Nissan, Ferrari, and Infiniti were working towards integrating Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Maps and messaging into their cars at the WWDC today. This announcement and demonstration went a small way towards confirming persistent rumors regarding this promised integration.
The integration will take time given safety concerns, longer if they are serious about the inclusion of Maps. While presently in Guatemala, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s Map remains certain that I’m writing this from a fjord on the Sweden/Norway border.
