Who is the Apple Computer of the Automotive Industry?

[iggibar]

They may not be flashy, but their resilience and reliability make the likes of Audi, Jaguar, Porsche, et al. look like plastic toys.

Only true for North America. Funny though...Toyota's the real life plastic toy. I also never mentioned Jaguar. I can't stand Jaguar. In Europe, the longest lasting cars on the roads are VW and Mercedes vehicles. This is solely based on one's interpretation of what "longest lasting" means, but their cars can handle heavy driving use, which is different from cars like the Camry that gets driven on perfectly paved streets, and bend a tie rod on the smallest pothole. Need maintenance? Sure they do, but it will keep on going till you are the one who gives up. Average NA people don't know a thing about maintenance, with the exception of what an oil change is(to most at least). In Europe, it's the complete opposite. People there are usually conscious about what is wrong with their car, and what it needs to run well, which leads to them being less dependent on mechanics. Couple this with the NA's market lease rate of over 50% and it should come as no surprise as to why cars(from all makers) sold in the NA market are "the least reliable," even though the same exact car could be sold in Europe, Australia(which is also another place where drives are actually in-tune with their own cars), and etc. You have over 50% of people going into a car that they know they don't have to car about since they are turning it in. There's a reason why Toyota doesn't do well in Europe. Might be good for mine-paved, consistent streets in NA, but not for Europe. Their SUV segment is completely different though.

I'm a member on many forums, accumulated many account from each car I've owned/leased, and there are problems with everyone, even Toyota, from the standpoint of a North American viewer.

I remember a report done by 3 independent companies, that found that when comparing the same exact cars, reliability rating were higher from drivers that had financed their cars over those that had leased.

 

[Discerptor]

Only true for North America. Funny though...Toyota's the real life plastic toy. I also never mentioned Jaguar. I can't stand Jaguar. In Europe, the longest lasting cars on the roads are VW and Mercedes vehicles. This is solely based on one's interpretation of what "longest lasting" means, but their cars can handle heavy driving use, which is different from cars like the Camry that gets driven on perfectly paved streets, and bend a tie rod on the smallest pothole. Need maintenance? Sure they do, but it will keep on going till you are the one who gives up. Average NA people don't know a thing about maintenance, with the exception of what an oil change is(to most at least). In Europe, it's the complete opposite. People there are usually conscious about what is wrong with their car, and what it needs to run well, which leads to them being less dependent on mechanics. Couple this with the NA's market lease rate of over 50% and it should come as no surprise as to why cars(from all makers) sold in the NA market are "the least reliable," even though the same exact car could be sold in Europe, Australia(which is also another place where drives are actually in-tune with their own cars), and etc. You have over 50% of people going into a car that they know they don't have to car about since they are turning it in. There's a reason why Toyota doesn't do well in Europe. Might be good for mine-paved, consistent streets in NA, but not for Europe. Their SUV segment is completely different though.

I'm a member on many forums, accumulated many account from each car I've owned/leased, and there are problems with everyone, even Toyota, from the standpoint of a North American viewer.

I remember a report done by 3 independent companies, that found that when comparing the same exact cars, reliability rating were higher from drivers that had financed their cars over those that had leased.

I'm trying to figure out where this went from comparing cars based on facts easily backed up by reports to pulling generalizations about North Americans out of thin air to... I'm not sure what exactly, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

 

[iggibar]

I'm trying to figure out where this went from comparing cars based on facts easily backed up by reports to pulling generalizations about North Americans out of thin air to... I'm not sure what exactly, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

I guess one would assume it's pulled out of thin air if they don't know much about it themselves. You should/could do a bit more research...

 

[Ctrl-Opt-Del]

I would say there's no single big company that deserves that mantle; but maybe dozens of smaller, local ones around the world...

 

[Discerptor]

I guess one would assume it's pulled out of thin air if they don't know much about it themselves. You should/could do a bit more research...

My larger concern was the what you were trying to be achieved by comparing drivers rather than cars, but on that specific note, anecdotal evidence doesn't quite count as research.

 

[jm470]

GM wins poll?

I am surprised that GM captured over twenty per cent in the poll. When facing financial difficulties, they relied on taxpayer intervention. I do not remember Apple relying on anything other than superior, and innovative products. I would agree with others that VW/Audi should be listed. VW has been making cars that get 50 mpg, and last hundreds of thousands of miles for many years. Longer than any other manufacturer.

 

[iggibar]

My larger concern was the what you were trying to be achieved by comparing drivers rather than cars, but on that specific note, anecdotal evidence doesn't quite count as research.

Which part of that do you believe to be anecdotal? It is true that European and Australian car owners own their cars for a much longer period of time. It is true that the greater majority of people buy the cars instead of leasing them there. It is true that they are less dependent on mechanics for routine maintenance. It is true that over 50% of new cars are leased out(N.A.). The independent researchers did their own studies(NPR), which also reflected neglected care for lease turn-in vehicles, so that can't be anecdotal. I guess if I had my old account name, you could have deduced from it that I was not born in the N.A., but in Europe, which is why I know a tad more than someone's knowledge that is based solely off reading something online in one region of the world. I've got a fetish about cars, their specs, how they're manufactured, how much threading they leave behind after a bolt is used, how much "stuff" is hanging from it's underbelly(Toyota is notorious for this), symmetric underbelly designs, and so much other stuff that most people don't even care to think about...but it's all I use when I conjure up an image of what a manufacture is in term of true quality craftsmanship. Reliability and dependability statistics aren't universally represented throughout our world.

All those things that I mentioned, you could research on your own. If I mentioned that such and such a street had a frog crossing it at 5am over a pot hole...then that would be more anecdotal because you would have no research to study to know if the claim was true.

Isn't it funny how someone could bring up an argument from real-life experience, and get refuted for being too anecdotal or not having many opinions from others, but then have someone argued based off of readings and got refuted because he/she had no real experience?

No hard feeling to a fellow Mac-Forums buddy though

 

[iggibar]

Going back to the original question from the OP, you could cherry pick reasons to make many manufacturers fit the image of Apple, and vis a versa.

Audi:Apple= Simplistic design. K.I.S.S.

Mercedes:Apple= What futuristic features you find in a Benz, you will find in many other cars in 10 years. You know why that fits with Apple.

BMW:Apple= BMW's car is the Apple computer. BMW's driving experience is the equivalent of Apple's OS.

Lexus:Apple= Customer service.