New information suggests Mercedes has already begun gathering up intelligence for its potential Formula E entry.
Although Mercedes won’t be able to join Formula E until 2018 at the earliest, a new report from Motorsports.com says Mercedes F1 engineering leads Neil Martin and Steve Clark were present at the Marrakesh ePrix this past weekend. Specifically, the report says the two gentlemen spent most of their time around Indian Formula E team, Mahindra Racing.
The duo wouldn’t comment on their presence or purpose in Marrakesh, but it doesn’t take much of a mental leap to assume they were engaged in collecting information relevant to a future Formula E endeavor. Clark and Martin have worked for both Mercedes and Ferrari throughout their Formula 1 careers.
An agreement Mercedes signed with Formula E in October 2016 confirmed Mercedes isn’t eligible to join the series until its fifth season begins in 2018. Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, said about the potential entry “[Mercedes has] been watching the growth of Formula E with great interest.”
Despite the interest on Mercedes’ end, there doesn’t seem to be a rush on taking the dive into the relatively new racing series. Much like Ferrari, which has also shown interest in Formula E, Mercedes has made clear it’s not interested in joining the series until technological advances allow for a single car format. Currently, drivers have to switch cars midway through the race to complete the ePrix on battery power.
Formula E is currently in its third season, with two of the twelve races out of the way. It’s expected that Mercedes will continue to send resources to Formula E events throughout the year to continue assessing its decision to enter the electric-only racing series.
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.