Four-door convertibles are a rarity, but at the annual Specialty Equipment Market Association trade show in Las Vegas, they’re just par for the course. Every year, manufacturers put together unique builds to showcase what they are capable of, and Kia is coming in hot for 2015. Inspired by the Florida A1A highway, the Korean automaker is chopping the roof off its 2016 Optima sedan. The custom teal paint, shaved down windshield and suicide rear doors add a sporty look to the traditionally sedate sedan. The ride height has been lowered and the A1A Optima sits on chrome 20-inch wheels and a Ksport coilover suspension.
The body structure has been strengthened with hidden reinforced steel tubes to retain the rigidity usually lost in convertible models. The 245-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder engine is the same one found in the production model, but Kia has bolted on a high-performance exhaust.
Inside, front and rear off-white leather bucket seats provide room for four sunbathers. The rear seats are separated by extended armrests and a custom center console.
As with many custom cars found at SEMA, don’t expect to see the A1A Optima go into production anytime soon, if at all. Some design elements may make it into future models, but the vehicles themselves are mostly one-offs. You can look for new variants of the Optima, however. At this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, Kia announced that it will be expanding the Optima lineup to include a station wagon and plug-in hybrid.
Kia has already teased other SEMA-bound vehicles, including the Forte Koup Mud Bogger concept and the Pacwest Adventure Sorento. The latter is described as a “tough, off-road utility vehicle equipped with custom suspension, snorkel intake system and a paint scheme inspired by the lush forests of the region.” Kia plans to unveil a total of six vehicles at SEMA on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
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.