Big Tech's car mania all about taking eyes off the road & on to the screen

Americans were behind the wheel for 307.8 hrs in 2016 - time not spent using apps on an iPhone, searching on Google, etc. Any firm able to free up that time will have a good chance of capturing it

At first glance, the forays Apple Inc., Google and other technology giants are making into the world of cars don’t appear to be particularly lucrative.

Building automobiles requires factories, equipment and an army of people to design and assemble large hunks of steel, plastic and glass. That all but guarantees slimmer profits. The world’s top 10 carmakers had an operating margin of just 5.2% in 2020, a fraction of the 34% enjoyed by the tech industry’s leaders, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

But for Apple and other behemoths that are diving into self-driving tech or have grand plans for their