With exotic vehicles being quite commonplace in Dubai, it makes sense that the Police Force would want in on the action. Indeed, the additions made to its fleet have made it legendary already, with a collection of squad cars that include a Lamborghini Aventador, a Bugatti Veyron and a Ferrari FF.
Thanks to Motor Authority, we get news that a new car hits the hot Dubai streets: the 2015 Lexus RC F. The sport coupe is powered by a 5.0-liter v8 that produces 467 horsepower and 389 pound-feet of torque. It can get off the line and hit 60 mph in 4.4 seconds, topping out at 167 mph.
Is it enough to chase down the hypercars of this desert oasis? Yes and no. No, it’s probably not fast enough to pounce on lawbreakers with their own Porsche 918, but it’s not really meant to. This car, like the other exotics in the fleet, are more used in patrolling the areas around tourist-heavy spots like the Burj Khalifa. These cars are intended more to promote tourism than cracking down on Dubai’s most wanted.
Capable 4×4 off-roaders do the hard stuff, allowing the authorities to patrol the outskirts of the desert oasis while the show cars tend to be a little sand-shy. Apart from looking good, the RC F and its exotic bretheren help bridge the gap between citizens and local officers, giving both a chance to be familiar with one another.
We can appreciate using these vehicles as a tool for community outreach, but we, as car fans, hope the men and women of the Dubai Police force occasionally take them outside city limits and stretch their legs a little.
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.