Apple Reportedly Taps Hyundai for 2024 Electric Car Debut

[Zarathustra]

I can remember when Kia and Hyundai both came out in the US - the only two things they had going for them was being very cheap, and having a 10 year warranty. The drawbacks were that the car felt cheap and you really needed that warranty.

I have never owned one, but over the past several years (decades), my perception of people that own them has slowly gone from "Well the transmission went out again, but it's covered under warranty!" to "Not a bad car".

Not sure it's where I would seriously consider one myself (I tend to be one of the US Truck owners, but I have softened in that view lately), but I have to admit they've come a long way from where they started.

That said, yeah, there's still a perception there of Hyundai being a budget brand. They do own Genesis as their Luxury lineup, it's just pretty new and doesn't have a lot of exposure. I am not surprised that Apple would team up with a real manufacturer - I am somewhat surprised that it would be Hyundai though.

For me, my first experience that suggested that Korean cars were no longer just ****boxes came - funnily enough - from a minivan.

I have three siblings and at some point my parents decided it was time to give up on interesting cars and just be pragmatic. When we lived in Europe we were the only ones around in th e90's with a Chrysler Caravan (a combination of model and Make not offered here in the U.S. were they were the Dodge Caravan, or the Chrysler Town and Country.) Later when we moved to the U.S. my parents bought a Ford Windstar.

Once on vacation in Florida in the late 90's we booked a Minivan as a rental, and when we got there we picked up a 1998 (I think?) Kia Sedona.

At first I was horribly disappointed, but after spending some time with it, I came to the conclusion that while it was a little spartan in the features department, as a car, it drove better than what we had at home, and was really quite good.

That experience completely changed my view on Korean cars. I didn't drive one again until I got a large Genesis Sedan many years later as a rental. It might as well have been an E Class Mercedes. It was a really good car. Not sure I'd pay $40k+ for one though

So, whiile I don't think I'd buy a Kia or Hyundai, I recognize that they are much better than the ****ty image they had in the 90's. If I were forced to choose, I'd much rather have one than a Toyota.

 

[Riccochet]

why would Apple care about resale value? That doesn't effect their bottom line. New iGadget sales do. So, I can see them partnering with Hyundai, loading it with the latest iCrap gadgetry and turning and burning people in to new vehicles every year or two. Hyundai can probably get them at the price point they need to be to keep the droves of iMoron's on a recurring lease for the next of eternity.

 

[Brian_B]

Apple does care about resale value actually. They make most of their devices with some measure sustainability in mind - and resell is the best form of recycling there is.

I know the only reason I can ask for a MBP at work is because after what they budget as typical three year lifespan, the MBP will still resell used for more that one of the Dells they typically buy... (before you get into the fact that the MBPs tend to greatly outlast the typical three years in the first place) - so the higher cost offsets and the lifecycle cost isn’t nearly as bad.

They may use kid labor to get there, but it very much matters to them.