Many automakers are turning their backs on diesel these days, but General Motors continues to embrace the technology. Chevrolet has just announced pricing information for the 2017 Cruze Diesel sedan, which goes on sale early next year.
Starting at $24,670, the all-new Cruze will sport a 1.6-liter turbodiesel engine that produces roughly 136 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. We say roughly because official numbers from Chevy are still under wraps, but the engine is used under General Motors’ Opel banner in Europe and it makes the aforementioned amount of power. Either way, we expect the power plant to return upward of 40 mpg on the freeway. The motor is apparently so quiet that it has earned the nickname “whisper diesel” abroad. Buyers will also be able to choose between a nine-speed automatic transmission or a six-speed manual.
In October, Chevrolet confirmed that the Cruze hatchback will get the same diesel engine and transmission offerings as the sedan. Pricing info is to-be-announced for the five-door, but the fact that we’re getting a manual transmission diesel hatchback in the United States in 2017 means it’s not all bad news on the oil-burning front.
The diesel-powered Cruzes are just the latest examples of other automakers benefiting from Volkswagen’s ugly emissions scandal. VW’s TDI products dominated the compact diesel market for years, but with the German brand pulling out of the segment altogether, it leaves room for other manufacturers to swoop in and appeal to customers who like the low-end grunt and fuel economy of a diesel. Mazda recently introduced a diesel variant of the CX-5 crossover at the L.A. Auto Show, and a slew of new BMWs are on the way as well.
It’s taken some big hits recently, but clearly, diesel has some life in it yet.
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.