It’s an open secret that Apple is poised to take on the auto industry with its rumored electric car project, and according to Apple design guru Marc Newson, the automotive industry is stalled.
In a new interview, the Apple designer touches on a number of topics, ranging from his love of fountain pens to his current design pet peeve: boring cars.
Here’s what Newson had to say about the current state of car design:
“There were moments when cars somehow encapsulated everything that was good about progress,” Newson told The Wall Street Journal. “But right now we’re at the bottom of a trough.”
Newson has designed everything from shotguns to high-speed boats, so it’ll be interesting to see what he adds to Apple’s automotive pursuits. If Cupertino’s innovative car ever makes it to market, it will likely have a few radical elements but also look ridiculously simple.
Another interesting nugget from Newson’s interview was how much time he spends daydreaming.
“I do a lot of thinking, a lot of pondering,” he said. “I rarely watch films in airplanes; I just sort of sit there, looking at the ceiling. Daydreaming is the equivalent of doodling; it’s mental doodling.”
The Apple designer also revealed his favorite app is Flightradar24, which allows him to track every plane in the world in real time and view details like their speed, destination, altitude and model.
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
One response to “Marc Newson says auto industry is ‘at the bottom of a trough’”
You can easily blame the EPA and the hippies that run the agency for the boring cars today. Emissions and mpg requirements are responsible for the plain jane look and feel to nearly every car on the road the normal consumer has financial access to. Gone are the days of souped up cars and trucks all over the place. Sure, plenty of custom owners out there, but the meat and potato average american is stuck with the choice between this boring car or that boring car.