Leaf Jolting Volt In EV Popularity Contest Part Deux: The IPhone Boogaloo

by Edward Niedermeyer

Published: June 7th, 2010

leaf jolting volt in ev popularity contest part deux the iphone boogaloo

Wait, Steve Jobs is signing up for an EV at the rollout of the new iPhone? Is the zen master of Silicon Valley a Volt guy or a Leaf lover?

Surprised? Clearly Jobs doesn’t give a shit about GM’s forthcoming IPO, even though millions of his tax dollars are (presumably) hanging in the balance. The sad truth is that GM probably could have been embraced by the healing power of the Apple brand… if only it hadn’t gone to Google for phone integration on its next-gen OnStar system. D’oh!

On the other hand, the sooner car people get over their self-defeating obsession with the iPhone, the better.

#Branding #EV #Gizmology #Leaf #Marketing #Nissan #WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot

Edward Niedermeyer

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RetardedSparks on Jun 08, 2010

I don't get the Apple hating. They make well-designed stuff and market it well. Isn't that what we've been whining about Detroit failing to do for the last 40 years?

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- Edward Niedermeyer on Jun 08, 2010
  
  You've clearly never owned one of Apple's plastic-fantastic previous-generation MacBooks...
  
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- Quentin on Jun 08, 2010
  
  My wife's previous gen Macbook has been a great little computer. Nothing has fallen off in the near 3 years we've had it, which I couldn't say for the first year of owning my last Dell laptop. The wristpad is weak and has a slight crack, but they seem to have remedied that in the most recent macbook. We still have a month or so of applecare left. I have a feeling they'd kick us out the door w/ a new macbook if we ever took it back to have the piece replaced, haha. My 06 iMac has been fantastic as well. I think you definitely pay more up front for macs, but my household hasn't even considered purchasing a new computer in the past 3 years and I don't see myself needing/wanting an upgrade for several years yet. There is certainly something to be said for the philosophy of controlling both the hardware and software. Obviously, this doesn't 100% mean that macs are perfect, but you really increase the odds of having a well integrated system when you have a very clear set of hardware variables.
  
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RetardedSparks on Jun 08, 2010

I've owned and worked on several Apple computers going back to the Apple IIc. They haven't been any worse than the Dell, HP, Sony and IBM machines I've owned and worked on over the same period. My iPod is way better then the first gen Sony Walkman I owned (the one with the separate D-cell battery pack!) and the iPhone I currently have beats the Samsung, RIM and Palm devices I've had hands down. Maybe you just got a lemon, Ed...

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Recent Comments

Redapple2 Love the wheels
Redapple2 Good luck to them. They used to make great cars. 510. 240Z, Sentra SE-R. Maxima. Frontier.
Joe65688619 Under Ghosn they went through the same short-term bottom-line thinking that GM did in the 80s/90s, and they have not recovered say, to their heyday in the 50s and 60s in terms of market share and innovation. Poor design decisions (a CVT in their front-wheel drive "4-Door Sports Car", model overlap in a poorly performing segment (they never needed the Altima AND the Maxima...what they needed was one vehicle with different drivetrain, including hybrid, to compete with the Accord/Camry, and decontenting their vehicles: My 2012 QX56 (I know, not a Nissan, but the same holds for the Armada) had power rear windows in the cargo area that could vent, a glass hatch on the back door that could be opened separate from the whole liftgate (in such a tall vehicle, kinda essential if you have it in a garage and want to load the trunk without having to open the garage door to make room for the lift gate), a nice driver's side folding armrest, and a few other quality-of-life details absent from my 2018 QX80. In a competitive market this attention to detai is can be the differentiator that sell cars. Now they are caught in the middle of the market, competing more with Hyundai and Kia and selling discounted vehicles near the same price points, but losing money on them. They invested also invested a lot in niche platforms. The Leaf was one of the first full EVs, but never really evolved. They misjudged the market - luxury EVs are selling, small budget models not so much. Variable compression engines offering little in terms of real-world power or tech, let a lot of complexity that is leading to higher failure rates. Aside from the Z and GT-R (low volume models), not much forced induction (whether your a fan or not, look at what Honda did with the CR-V and Acura RDX - same chassis, slap a turbo on it, make it nicer inside, and now you can sell it as a semi-premium brand with higher markup). That said, I do believe they retain the technical and engineering capability to do far better. About time management realized they need to make smarter investments and understand their markets better.
Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Off-road fluff on vehicles that should not be off road needs to die.
Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Saw this posted on social media; “Just bought a 2023 Tundra with the 14" screen. Let my son borrow it for the afternoon, he connected his phone to listen to his iTunes.The next day my insurance company raised my rates and added my son to my policy. The email said that a private company showed that my son drove the vehicle. He already had his own vehicle that he was insuring.My insurance company demanded he give all his insurance info and some private info for proof. He declined for privacy reasons and my insurance cancelled my policy.These new vehicles with their tech are on condition that we give up our privacy to enter their world. It's not worth it people.”