Given his status as a billionaire CEO, Bruce Wayne has the luxury of driving just about anything he wants. There’s the Batmobile, of course, but if he’s feeling a bit more subtle, his jet black Lamborghini Murcielago (Spanish for bat, by the way) never disappoints.
Both of those choices lack practicality though, which is why there’s a new spot in the Batcave for the 2016 Jeep Renegade Dawn of Justice Special Edition. Just announced by Jeep, the vehicle celebrates a marketing relationship between Warner Bros. Pictures and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, who will “address every automobile need for the movie.”
“Our partnership with Warner Bros. and the highly anticipated Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice film allows us to expose the Jeep Renegade and its best-in-class capability to an incredibly vast audience,” said Mike Manley, Head of Jeep Brand. “The new Jeep Renegade Dawn of Justice Special Edition boasts a unique, dark appearance package for the most capable small SUV that we’re confident consumers — including millions of moviegoers — will love.”
The crossover — which is featured in several advertisements for the film — is available in dealerships now for $26,250, and wears either a Granite Crystal or Carbon Black exterior finish. The Renegade also equips 18-inch gloss-black wheels, a two-tone roof, unique exterior badging, and an all-black interior to match Batman’s cape cowl. Mechanically, the Dawn of Justice Special Edition is identical to the Jeep Renegade Latitude 4×4, which comes standard with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder and a nine-speed gearbox. The featured vehicle is fitted with remote start, a power driver’s seat, and dual-zone automatic temperature control, however.
Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, and Jessie Eisenberg, and opens in the U.S. on March 25.
Volkswagen’s newest EVs in China are making its American and European models look unusually conservative.
With Xpeng’s help, VW has introduced 800-volt charging and advanced urban driving assistance. The new VEGA technology package brings its locally developed vehicle platforms and CEA electronic architecture under one umbrella. Bloomberg reports that Volkswagen intends to update VEGA every three months. Western buyers can find pieces of that package, but not the whole thing in a Volkswagen.
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?