It was 2010, at the famed Nürburgring, motor sports complex in Germany, when the first hybrid racer, the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, debuted. In 2015, based on lessons learned on the 911, Porsche AG fielded an endurance racer, the 919 Hybrid, which took the first of three victories in a row at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With all that success, you might think Porsche had discovered some new technology, but Porsche started with a hybrid way back in 1900. Yes, 1900.
Ferdinand Porsche, later the founder of the company of the same name, was fascinated by electricity even as a teenager. As early as 1893, the 18-year-old installed an electric lighting system in his parents’ house. That same year, Porsche joined Vereinigte Elektrizitäts-AG Béla Egger in Vienna. After four years there, he progressed from mechanic to head of the testing department.
While there, Porsche designed the Egger-Lohner Phaeton, which boasted an octagonal electric motor, in 1898. The Phaeton could reach 18 miles per hour and had a very limited range
The electric wheel hub motor was the next innovation by Porsche, in 1899. At the Paris Expo the following year, the Lohner-Porsche Electromobile debuted. The vehicle had a higher top speed of 23 miles per hour, however the range continued to limit the appeal of hybrid technology.
The Lohner-Porsche also demonstrated why electric mobility has failed over the decades: Despite its modest power output, the car weighed almost two tons. The lack of infrastructure and the short range put an end to electromobility for a long time.
One hundred years later, with the development of lithium-ion batteries suitable for use in vehicles and more stringent legal requirements for carbon dioxide emissions, the focus turned once more to electric drive systems. With the Cayenne S Hybrid in 2010, Porsche paved the way for electromobility in the 21st century.
Now, Porsche has entered the FIA Formula E race series with a newly developed powertrain. Here too, the close interaction of racing and series development ensures smooth feedback. Somewhere Ferdinand Porsche is smiling.
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.