While carmakers keep trying to be “tech companies” or “micromobility providers,” the inverse is happening, with tech companies at least trying to add cars to their portfolio. Apple went on its own quixotic adventure and burned through billions of dollars trying to create a car before giving up. Sony, smartly, teamed up with Honda to create Afeela. Ineos, the chemical conglomerate, has built a vehicle.
In China, this is an even bigger deal, with tech companies like Xiaomi building successful cars. Even with how difficult it’s become to create new cars, a lot of people are trying it. It makes sense that tech companies might try given that the future is supposedly “software-defined vehicles.”
Still, if I want a company making a car that isn’t already a carmaker I’m looking for a few criteria:
- A company with great engineering.
- A company with timeless design.
- A company that won’t make something annoyingly complex.
I am, of course, thinking about BiC. Imagine a simple, elegant car called the BiC Crystal. It would be a straightforward, cheap design that would never let you down. And BiC already has a history with cars!
It just makes sense to me.
Now that I’ve taken BiC, who would you like to see try to build a car?
Casio or Seiko
Mcdonald’s already has decades of experience building four-wheelers in the form of the Happy Meal. They just need to Supersize them
I’d like to see Apple make a car… and I’d like them to do that by buying up what’s left of Fisker and the Fisker Ocean design and put it back on sale after upgrading the software.
Honorable mention: Canadian Tire… with the car made under the Motomaster brand.
Some Canadians joke that as their cars age and all the parts they replaced with parts they bought from Canadian Tire, their cars are now ‘Motomasters’.
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.
You can bet it’d be completely practical, ridiculously durable, yet have an irresistible style all of its own.
Braun. North America knows them for shavers, but they made a lot of other products. Or any similar large German corporation. I feel like we came close, but never really got a Bauhaus car.
Well, there’s already Lexus razor grilles
Shimano. They manufacture high end bicycle components with an emphasis on speed, efficiency, and reliability. I could see them making great cars.
Yamaha Sports Ride
Nintendo – they would do it their way, and the result would be a bit quirky, relatively inexpensive yet would work extremely well for what it is. Plus the screen interfaces would be awesome.
Boston Dynamics could probably make a neat car.
Fincantieri or Benetti
Both are Italian – Both build ships – One specializes in cruise ships, the other in motor yachts.
So they already know how to build things with propulsion systems – and, like the auto industry, modern passenger ships must comply with as many safety, comfort, style and regulatory compromises.
Given their experience, I could see them devising something wonderfully elegant, powerful and relatively economical to run – such as a modern Maserati Quattroporte III
Crayola….I want at least 64 real colors.
Rolex? It would last forever, run without fuel or batteries, but you would have to drive it regularly or else you’d need to shake it to get it to restart.
But when it needed repairs or servicing, oh boy.
Actually, factoring in the initial cost, the one service in nearly 40 years, and the longevity, you’d be way better off with a Rolex car. If it’s gold, though, it might be a bit too heavy, and any body shop work would be an expensive pain in the ass.
Man an Alessi car would sure be pretty
As long as there’s a little bird hood ornament.