Fans of Top Gear need not worry … well, at least about the remaining unaired episodes from this season, anyway. According to a source inside the BBC, the final three episodes that were said to have been cancelled will indeed be aired at some point.
According to a source that spoke to The Sunday Times Driving section, the Beeb (that’s a nickname for the BBC, right?) is still editing the pre-filmed segments of the episodes and intends to air them, no matter what the result is of the investigation of Top Gear’s controversy du jour. If you’ve been living under a rock, host Jeremy Clarkson allegedly assaulted a producer on the show a few weeks back, causing quite the kerfuffle. This has resulted in his suspension from the BBC pending an internal inquiry, and the future of Top Gear in limbo.
“These aren’t going to be the Nixon tapes,” the source is quoted in saying. Details behind the episodes themselves are few, but we do know one episode features another car challenge, where the trio are charged to buy, with their own money, three classic convertibles and take them through the countryside. Another episode had a similar challenge involving second hand SUV’s.
The one big question that kept viewers in suspense throughout the season, now understandably sidelined by higher stake issues, was if Top Gear could get the respective manufacturers to agree on a shootout between today’s top supercars: The Ferrari LaFerrari, The Porsche 918, and the McLaren P1. The staff behind the show is reportedly making plans to do to a bonus show as they continue to arrange to acquire all three of the sold out supercars.
It should be noted that this department of the Sunday Times is where Clarkson maintains a column of reviews and the publication is likely pro-Jezza. Even so, this makes their having inside BBC sources more likely, and we’re more willing to take what they have to say over the dubiously sourced stories coming out of The Mirror.
For now, we’ll just have to sit tight and allow for events to unfold, giving you time to do some driving of your own … or diving deep into the reviews your favorite super awesome car-technology site has to offer, who aren’t above shameless plugs.
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.