iCar, what? Apple pours more sand in the engine of its phantom car project

SAN FRANCISCO – Hi folks, and welcome back to "Is Apple Building A Car," the game where reading between the lines is more important than focusing on the road. Our Wednesday installment features media reports that the iPhone maker -- which insists its so-called Project Titan is a fantasy – is in investment talks with British supercar builder McLaren and Bay Area electric motorcycle startup Lit Motors. These discussions, were reported by the Financial Times and The New York Times respectively, were leaked by anonymous sources and immediately denied by all the companies concerned. But both plays make sense. Regular players of this game will know that as a notoriously secretive outfit, rumor denial is standard operating procedure at Apple.