Hold the iPhone... Apple is designing a car!?

Something big is happening over at Apple, and from what CNN knows, it just might be a car, or something car related.

Will they reinvent an electric car? A self-driving car? Maybe a new car operating system for Apple users? We don't know.

Is Apple releasing a car?
Harold Cunningham / Stringer, Getty Images
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Nothing has been said publicly about an Apple Car project, but there are some clues:

1. Apple has been hiring a ton of car battery and auto engineers

Apple has been on a hiring spree that even resulted in legal action. They have been hiring engineers from Bentley who built prototypes, Chrysler and Hyundai engineers that made vehicles quieter and managed crash dummy tests. They have even been hiring from Tesla.

An electric car battery maker, A123, sued Apple for poaching it's staff earlier this year.

2. The company has also been hiring automotive executives

Doug Betts, a longtime auto industry executive, moved to Apple's Operations unit from Fiat Chrysler earlier this summer.

Apple also hired Johann Jungwirth, who led research and development for Mercedes-Benz in North America. He specializes in Internet-connected cars and autonomous driving. Now, Jungwirth is "director of Mac Systems Engineering."

3. An Apple-leased van filled with sensors has been driving around a San Francisco suburb

I have got to call my friend Lauren in San Fran and see if she has seen this! Apparently, unmarked vans with tons of cameras and sensors have been driving around a suburb of San Francisco. The car is leased to Apple and the sensors indicate it's doing more than just street mapping like Google.

4. Competitors are already welcoming the challenge

"I certainly hope Apple gets into the car business," Elon Musk said during an earnings call earlier this year. "That would be great."

I agree with you Elon, yes... let's get Apple into cars!

5. Car makers welcome the idea too

And do you blame them? With all that cash-ola that Apple has, I bet they could partner with an automobile company and do very, very well.

6. Investors believe it would be a good move for Apple and the car industry

Most of Apple's revenue comes from one product -- the iPhone. Even as the company expands into wearables with the Apple Watch, and enterprise business with bigger iPads and an IBM partnership, Apple still hasn't found another blockbuster product. A bold new idea that consumers can already relate to may help over the long term.

Does this mean we can expect a car from Apple? No one knows for sure, but I think this would be a fantastic new addition to the Apple product line. I'm sure it will cost an arm, a leg and a billion dollars.

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