In case you haven’t heard, a small indie film called Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out this month, and its massive success has led to an odd mix of Star Wars-branded products popping up all across the galaxy. You can now buy packs of oranges, water, mouthwash, coffee creamer, and even shower heads adorned with Darth Vader or BB-8 logos, and although Chevy’s latest crossover doesn’t feature any lightsabers or X-Wings, it’s clearly inspired by the iconic sci-fi saga.
Dubbed the Trax Midnight Edition, Chevrolet calls the car a blacked-out “styling statement.” Like Kylo Ren and Vader himself, the car is dressed in ebony from head to toe, including the exclusive wheels, bezels, belt-line molding, and door handles. That’s right, even crossovers can be seduced by the Dark Side.
“Introduced just a year ago, the Trax has quickly become an important vehicle for Chevrolet, bringing in new, younger, and more female buyers to the brand,” said Betsy Flegg, senior marketing manager of Chevy Crossovers. “The small SUV segment is the fastest growing in the industry and models such as the new Trax Midnight Edition provide customers an expressive option.”
The sinister aesthetic package will be available in late February 2016 for $500.
As a whole, Chevrolet had a very successful year in 2015, at least in terms of consumer interest. In their respective classes, the brand’s Malibu sedan and Silverado pickup were the most searched vehicles on Google this year. The 2016 Camaro and 2016 Colorado were fourth and eighth in their segments, respectively.
“Search plays a tremendous role in educating customers about our products,” said Paul Edwards, the firm’s vice president of marketing. “To see Chevrolet on top of trending car and truck model searches for 2015 further emphasizes that the product, design, and technologies that make up our vehicles are resonating with consumers.”
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.