Even with a myriad of supercars and high-profile debuts at its back, Honda’s press conference at the 2015 New York Auto Show may have stolen the show. And no, that’s not an April Fool’s joke.
The brand unveiled a new Civic Concept at the event, one that showcases a new design language for the model. Dressed in Nickelodeon-inspired green paint (which will indeed be a production color), the Concept rides on a lower, wider, but most importantly global platform that will underpin every 10th-generation Civic made. That includes sedan, coupe, five-door hatch, Si, and Type R models.
As a cherry on top, every single one of those cars will eventually see American shores, starting with the sedan in fall, the coupe in winter, and hatchback/performance variants soon after.
That’s right, VTEC worshipers: the beloved Civic Type R will finally, finally be available in the U.S.
Frequently referred to in New York as a “game-changer,” the Concept’s design is aggressive and eye-catching, injecting some serious attitude into the long-running compact car.
Speaking of injection … as we speculated last month, the next-generation Civic will equip a 1.5-liter VTEC Turbo engine in North America. Power output wasn’t specified, but the Earth Dreams powerplant will bolt up to either a six-speed manual transmission or a CVT. Clearly, this ain’t your average grocery getter.
Despite the Civic’s renewed focus on performance and sporty driving dynamics, Honda is targeting class-leading fuel economy and what the brand calls “near-luxury levels of cabin quietness and ride refinement.” The automaker’s ‘Honda Sensing’ safety package, which includes Lane Departure Warning, Forward Collision Warning, Multi-Angle Rearview Camera, Adaptive Cruise Control and Honda LaneWatch, will be offered as well.
“The new Civic will be, flat out, the most dynamic, the most technologically advanced and the most refined and stylish Civic we’ve ever made,” said John Mendel, Honda’s Executive Vice President. “In every way, this will be an epic Civic.”
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.