Article Image

Behind the Wheel episode 3: Tim Walbridge’s ’65 Volkswagen Bug named Rusty

This Volkswagen Beetle may still look like a barn find, but it's actually an award-winning restoration project. The paint, or lack thereof, will continue to patina, but under the hood and inside, it's a reliable daily driver.

Long before he began collecting and driving luxury and exotic cars, Behind the Wheel host Tim Walbridge fueled his car fix with Volkswagens. The collection at 503 Motoring includes a few Beetles, but the one everyone asks about is Rusty, a 1965 Bug that’s in serious need of a paint job, but will never see one.

Rusty was pulled out of a field in Washington, and despite outside appearances, the car has been restored extensively. The interior has a new headliner and seats, the engine is new, mechanically it’s sound, and the car is lowered with 17-inch wheels. The wooden roof rack and original VW ski rack were found at flea markets to round out the rusty look. Yes, Tim has driven this up to the mountain to go skiing.

Digital Trend’s video series, Behind the Wheel, takes you inside some of the fastest, most exotic, and most unique cars on the planet. Join host Tim Walbridge as he shares his expertise and excitement for cars. You’re along for the ride in modern supercars like the McLaren 720S, American classics including a restomodded ’48 Ford Convertible, and everything in between. Celebrity guests regularly get behind the wheel with Tim and share their favorite car stories.

Today on Behind the Wheel, we go for a ride with Iain Gordon, shop manager at 503 Motoring. Lunch at the iconic Portland burger joint Humdinger is on the menu. But before lunch, we learn some VW history and also get a TMI look into the senses of humor of Walbridge and Gordon. What could be more informative than riding shotgun while we learn about the “heater” inside Rusty. The conversation also gets pretty deep with a philosophical exploration of why they love their cars and the lengths taken to keep them going.

Digital Trend’s video series, Behind the Wheel, takes you inside some of the fastest, most exotic, and most unique cars on the planet. Join host Tim Walbridge as he shares his expertise and excitement for cars. You’re along for the ride in modern supercars like the McLaren 720S, American classics including a restomodded ’48 Ford Convertible, and everything in between. Celebrity guests regularly get behind the wheel with Tim and share their favorite car stories.

Tim Walbridge is the president and founder of 503 Motoring, a luxury and exotic car dealership and customization center in Portland, Oregon. With over 20 years of industry experience, Tim has driven just about every exotic — and not so exotic — car there is. His expertise and down-to-earth attitude show in all of his projects, including hosting Behind the Wheel.

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.