As automotive journalists, we’re fortunate enough to drive high-performance vehicles in their natural environment. No, not sprinting between stoplights — on a racetrack. But we really shouldn’t be the only ones with this opportunity.
Knowing the limits and how to safely operate potent cars is immeasurably valuable. While some million-dollar supercars come with a free trip to the track for quality instruction, most performance vehicles for the masses don’t include that benefit. Recently, FCA announced its Fiat 124 Abarth would include a day at Bonderant Driving School. This offer is unheard of for a $28,000 sports car, and is a great example for other automakers to follow.
Now it’s Cadillac’s turn to invite owners of its V-Series cars to experience elite driver training. The American luxury automaker has announced that 2017 ATS-V Sedan, ATS-V Coupe, and CTS-V sedan buyers will earn a free ticket to Cadillac’s V-Performance Academy at Spring Mountain Motor Resort and Country Club near Las Vegas, Nevada. This two-day course will be available for online registration after owners take deliver of their cars.
Read more: Buy a Fiat 124 Abarth, get a trip to Bondurant for free
“Cadillac is a brand for passionate people, by passionate people,” said Nathan Tan, associate director of Brand Partnerships and Experiences for Cadillac. “V-Series customers are in many ways nearest the core of the Cadillac brand, and we are proud to offer this valuable training with our thrilling products.”
Included in the Academy experience is:
Should owners prefer, Cadillac will also offer a single-day V-Performance Lab, which travels to different racetracks around the country. In 2016, the V-Performance Labs will be held at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut, and Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
“The V-Series are the most-track capable Cadillac models ever, using exclusive technologies tuned by a select group of dedicated engineers,” said Brandon Vivian, Cadillac executive chief engineer. “These technologies, such as Magnetic Ride Control, Performance Traction Management software and the Performance Data Recorder, set the Cadillac ATS-V and Cadillac CTS-V apart from all other luxury cars and are the tools drivers will experience at the V-Performance Academy.”
While this might snub 2016 ATS-V and CTS-V buyers a bit, Cadillac will offer its V-Performance Academy training as a standalone purchase for owners who “went V” before V was cool.
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.