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Car Chronicles Blog: Apple Doesn't Want To Build A Car -- It Wants You!

DETROIT (WWJ) - Apple's been known as a "disruptive" company, and it's certainly disrupted the auto industry this past week, with news that it's looking at getting into the car business.

But, what's the end game? There has been a lot written, some of it well thought out, some of it self-serving, some of it very obviously un-informed.

But I've come to the conclusion that if you're thinking about an Apple car, you're thinking way too small.

Apple wants to use the car to get to you, and become more a part of your life than ever before. We've seen it in people who've purchased iPhones, followed by iPads, and then moved on to Mac's.

But this strategy can be taken a lot further, and that's why Apple is so interested in cars.

Imagine Apple running the technology--the "human machine interface" on millions of cars from several brands. It connects to your phone, your computer, and some sort of future home system.

Siri is fairly limited today. But the technology will improve, and somebody will be truly conversational. That allows Siri to become a true virtual assistant, involved in every part of your life--home, device and car.

The payoff from that is far beyond simply launching your own car brand. Apple has the clout to allow itself to not be limited to any individual brand.

So, if Apple could get on 20 percent of all vehicles produced in a given year, it would have it's technology on twice as many vehicles as any individual car company sells. And your technology would be at a premium...and any car company that doesn't make it available, would do so at its own risk.

And you don't have to worry about any of that messy mechanical stuff. You just need to understand it, so that your technology can interact smoothly.

It's pure genius...and I don't mean that person who works at the Apple store.

Connect with Jeff Gilbert
Email: jdgilbert@cbs.com
Facebook: facebook.com/carchronicles
Twitter: @jefferygilbert

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