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Ford says Apple and Google are 'welcome' to join automotive arena

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Ford is glad to see Apple and Google join the automotive world with their exploration of self-driving vehicles, an executive said in a newly-published video interview.

"We welcome others joining. We welcome the activity that's in the space. We think it's exciting. It's actually change that we are embracing," said Don Butler, Ford's executive director for Connected Vehicles and Serivces, in an exchange with TrustedReviews. "So I think Apple can do it. I think Google can do it."

Butler suggested that the most likely scenario for the industry is a range of partnerships with companies offering specific skill sets that others lack.

That comment is presumably a reference to the fact that while Apple and Google may be better at software than Ford, they lack experience in designing vehicles, and don't have the mass manufacturing infrastructure for anything they'd like to build.

Rumors have claimed that Ford is partnering with Google on a self-driving car, possibly with the goal of setting up a completely automated ridesharing service. Such a service might be app-based like Uber or Lyft, but would eliminate the greatest business expense, which is paying human drivers a reasonable wage.

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Apple's exact interests are nebulous, but the company is thought to be aiming at shipping an electric car for sale sometime in 2019 or 2020. The first model may or may not be self-driving, in fact, though Apple is at least believed to be working on the technology.



29 Comments

SpamSandwich 20 Years · 32917 comments

Looks like Don Butler wants a new job with Apple or Google.

bobschlob 12 Years · 1074 comments

On automobile related; just saw a TV commercial last night for the new Chevy Malibu that featured Carplay in the ad.

thewhitefalcon 11 Years · 4444 comments

Looks like Don Butler wants a new job with Apple or Google.

Ford's actually pretty far ahead in the tech game, and they have some of the best engineers in the world. They just managed to pull off a complete swap to building F-150's out of aluminium in a year, which is no mean feat. 

1 Like · 0 Dislikes
techprod1gy 12 Years · 838 comments

Change is what the industry needs. The big 3 pissed away 2 decades trying to be greedy meanwhile no innovation. Newcomers will bring innovation and also bring in manufacturing that makes sense for the US. Ford is still too heavy and not geared properly to be effective in the long run. It is time to shake things up.

2 Likes · 0 Dislikes
SpamSandwich 20 Years · 32917 comments

Looks like Don Butler wants a new job with Apple or Google.
Ford's actually pretty far ahead in the tech game, and they have some of the best engineers in the world. They just managed to pull off a complete swap to building F-150's out of aluminium in a year, which is no mean feat. 

I respect Ford for refusing the illegal government bailouts during the crash of '08.

incidentally, AAPL stock is getting killed again today. I have a large buy waiting at $82, which the stock absolutely may hit soon at this rate. It's as if the company was going out of business with the stock performance... Has Sog committed suicide yet?