If you’re looking to go green, but don’t want to lose the convenience a larger car offers, you may want to keep an eye out for Ford’s new Explorer. The 2011 Explorer will be at the top of its class for fuel economy thanks to its new EcoBoost engine. The 4-cylinder EcoBoost engine will improve fuel efficiency by more than 30 percent and still pump out an impressive 237 horsepower. The standard 3.5L TiVCT V6 will deliver a best-in-class 290 horsepower and 255 lb.-ft of torque while offering 25 percent better highway mpg than the previous Explorer. Ford has also made strides in using up to 85 percent recyclable material to manufacture the new Explorer, including using left over steel from the F-150, which has cut down on the use of virgin steel by up to 119 tons annually. The new Explorer will be available this winter and base models will start around $28,000.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.