Commissioning talented artists to work their magic on a vehicular canvas is nothing new. Heck, BMW has made “Art Cars” since the 1970s. But motorcycles, with their limited artistic real estate, aren’t usually candidates for one-off design projects (apart from individual customer requests).
That hasn’t stopped Ducati from pursuing its first-ever Scrambler “Maverick” in conjunction with renowned tattoo artist Grime. The Italian manufacturer says it chose Grime because of his unique style, self-expression, and “ability to effect change in the arts.”
For those of you unfamiliar with Grime’s work, in the 25 years since the San Francisco-based artist started tattooing, he has grown into something of an international public figure. His particular style includes bold medieval and mythological figures. In addition to body art, Grime dabbles in photography, canvas, board, and graffiti, with much of his pieces selling out in minutes during art exhibitions.
“Grime has always carved his own path, and as a result, he’s become one of the most respected tattoo artists, with a distinct style embodying free-spirited creativity –and the Ducati Scrambler represents these same attributes,” said Ducati North America CEO Jason Chinnock.
Ducati says it created the Scrambler Maverick project, which will have successor designs, to “empower unique mavens by embracing their creativity and individuality.” Each year, Ducati will select two new mavericks to work with local Ducati North American dealers to customize Scrambler Icons with only Ducati parts, fabrication, and a small budget. The Italian bike builder will look outside the motorcycle industry for its mavericks, as it believes their customization will be unlike anything seen before within the bike world.
At the conclusion of the project, all proceeds from the Maverick’s build (which, we assume, means auctioning of the bike itself) will be donated to the Maverick’s charity of choice. Kudos, Ducati. Not only does this project highlight up-and-coming artists, the results benefit charities that are close to the hearts of each Maverick. We hope more brands mimic Ducati’s model.
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.