Coughing Up a Hairball

Tim Higgins, writing for Bloomberg:

Dan Akerson, retired chief executive officer of General Motors Co., said Apple Inc. should steer clear of the business of making cars, though a push into automobile electronics would be a better move for the iPhone maker. […]

“I think somebody is kind of trying to cough up a hairball here,” Akerson said in a telephone interview. “If I were an Apple shareholder, I wouldn’t be very happy. I would be highly suspect of the long-term prospect of getting into a low-margin, heavy-manufacturing” business.

The car industry, with regulatory and safety requirements, is harder than people realize, Akerson said.

We’ve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent car. Phone guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in.

★ Wednesday, 18 February 2015