To sound smart, some car manufacturing executives have defaulted to calling their product “an iPhone on wheels”.
The phrase helps investors conjure up images of smooth, glitzy, consumer-beloved technology, while helpfully banishing visions of heavy machinery or labour unions.
It is true that connecting cars to the internet unlocks an array of features, from ordering coffee while driving to on-board streaming for the children in the back. These features, carmakers believe, will provide them with lucrative new revenue streams in the future, helping them expand from low-margin metal bashing to the more investor-friendly arena of “services”.