Steve Jobs 'went off on a rant' about the terrible design of cars way back in 2006
According to a former Apple engineer familiar Apple's plans, Jobs singled out cell phones and cars as two products he thought were "terribly designed."
"Back in 2006, Steve Jobs spoke to the interns in the hall next to the cafe and they were allowed to ask random questions," the former Apple engineer, who wished to remain unnamed, told Business Insider. "I remember he went off on a rant on two products he thought were terribly designed: cell phones and cars. Remember this was pre-iPhone as well. He then proceeded to rant about how terrible cars were - especially the design of the dashboards - and how if he were to start a new company he'd want it to be a car company because nobody had done it right. That certainly doesn't prove anything with today's news, but it's interesting that even back then Steve was talking about 'What if Apple made a car?'"
Interestingly enough, Apple's work on the iPhone was still shrouded in secrecy at the time, with work on the iPhone being carried out in a secret lab located in a building called "IL2." As most in the room were unaware that Apple was planning on disrupting the cell phone industry, Jobs also took the time to carry out an impromptu survey on how happy the interns were with their phones.
"I also remember Steve asked the interns how many of them liked their cell phones," our source said. "About half the room raised their hands. He was totally taken aback - he couldn't understand how they could like what he called 'pieces of s---'."
Of course, Apple announce the iPhone the following year, but it's interesting that both Jobs and Apple designers Jony Ive and Marc Newson have all voiced their distaste for the current design of cars.