Apple’s self-driving car effort stuck in low gear: report

Apple's quest to produce a viable self-driving car remains stalled despite years of work, with its team plagued by setbacks as rivals race ahead, The Information tech news website has reported.    

Buzz surrounding a potential Apple car began some eight years ago with the vehicles being touted as the first new "big thing" from the company since its iconic co-founder Steve Jobs died in October 2011.    

However, self-driving Apple cars have had trouble on streets near its Silicon Valley headquarters, bumping curbs, straying from lanes, and almost hitting a jogger legally crossing a road, The Information said, citing interviews with people who worked on the project.    

The article maintained that team troubles resulted from ever-shifting goals and leadership, staff turnover, and lack of faith in the project by high-ranking Apple executives.    

Apple chief Tim Cook early last year portrayed self-driving cars as an ideal match for the technology giant during an interview released by the New York Times.    

"An autonomous car is a robot and so there are a lot of things you can do with autonomy; we will see what Apple does," Cook told journalist Kara Swisher's "Sway" podcast.    

Cook hinted that an option could be for Apple to build an autonomous-driving technology platform used by automakers.    

Apple first revealed its self-driving tech aspirations in 2016 and Cook has since then said he saw autonomous driving systems as a "core technology" for the future.    

Apple acknowledged last year that it trimmed its team devoted to self-driving car technology but stressed that it's still in the race.    

Most major auto manufacturers and many technology groups are currently developing autonomous vehicles,...