We first saw Honda’s all-new 2016 Pilot unveiled a few short months ago at the Chicago Auto Show and now we’re learning a little more about what the three-row SUV is capable of.
First off, the Pilot is stepping things up in the power department,with a new direct-injected 3.5-liter six-cylinder engine that ups the output from 250 horsepower to 280 hp. The new engine turns out 262 pound-feet of torque, routing all the power through a new set of available transmissions. Power can be managed by either a six-speed or nine-speed automatic gearbox.
Making the most of the increased grunt is a new all-wheel drive system with a bunch of new tech to traverse all sorts of terrain. A new selectable intelligent traction management system allows the car to optimize its response on snow, sand, and mud. When on the good ol’ paved roads, a variable torque management system makes for sharper handling around bends.
Honda made the Pilot much smarter, too, by packing in a host of new or upgraded tech. In the cabin, the Pilot gets an upgraded audio and navigation display system while the body is loaded with sensors. The Honda Sensing suite brings several safety assists like collision mitigation breaking, collision warning, road departure mitigation, and lane keep assist. Higher trims will get more upgrades like rain sensing wipers and auto high-beam lamps. The Elite trim also brings some creature comforts like ventilated and heated front seats and a panoramic glass roof.
The first thing we noticed when we saw the new Pilot is how it fixes up its hum-drum looks. For starters, it dresses things up with a sharper fascia and angular headlamps that incorporate themselves with elements of the new front grille. Things get sleeker along the body as well, with contour lines accenting the flat, boxy paneling of the old Pilot. Now that we know what’s under the hood we like it even more.
The 2016 Pilot is set to hit dealer lots this summer, just in time to prep for some big family trips.
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.