In case you might’ve missed the news, organizers of the famed Nürburgring track had announced they would be imposing speed limits on the 12.9-mile course, including for car manufacturers. That’s a big deal since ‘Ring times have become a significant and ubiquitous performance measurement in recent years, painting a clearer picture of what a can do beyond simply zero-to-60 acceleration.
Sources close to Road & Track say though, that automakers might get the reprieve they were hoping for.
The track is well known for including a multitude of tight bends and fast straight sections, testing a car’s power as well as its agility. Auto manufacturers use the course not only to test prototypes, but to set new benchmarks of performance.
This new level of track regulation came after the unfortunate incident back in March, when a Nissan GT-3 race car went off a section of the track during an endurance event, injuring several spectators and killing one. Track management was quick to apply speed limits to certain sections of the track which not only applied to the days in which the track is open to the public, but also when manufacturers book the entire track for timing purposes.
Filmmaker J.F. Musial brought this news to the forefront as he was scheduled to document the Koenigsegg One:1 hypercar’s attempt for his documentary, APEX: The Story of the Hypercar. Koenigsegg’s goal was to top the time set by rival hypercar, the Porsche 918 hybrid, a goal speed limits would make impossible.
The inside source claims that track owners and managers Capricorn Nürburgring GmbH might refine the regulations they have made, allowing the limited sections to go unrestricted for auto manufacturer activities. Still, nothing is yet official and they may still disallow lap record attempts. If they don’t, then we fans will need a new way to settle our “best car” arguments.
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.