»Hardly any real innovation of the object itself«

Thoughts on Apple Car, Part 73

Austrian-born Apple designer Julian Hönig talked to Austrian newspaper Der Standard in May.

The topic was cars, and he cut right to the chase:

»The biggest problem is that the car as an object has basically remained the same for over 100 years. It has four wheels, an engine in the front and a steering wheel for the driver.«

»Strictly speaking there has hardly been any real innovation of the object itself.«

»The lack of innovation is primarily rooted in the big car markers’ reluctance to change car design fundamentally. Without fundamental change, however, it is impossible to bring about something that is truly new.«

Julian Hönig: "Buben spielen lieber mit Autos"

So here’s a seven-year Apple ID team member talking very openly about the wrongs of today’s car world. Obviously it struck a chord with me because he challenges the very same basic principles about cars as I did when starting this series.