A Japanese company named Rimono has introduced an experimental, battery-electric two-seater developed specifically to navigate the world’s most crowded mega-cities.
Called simply Rimono, the 86-inch-long concept blurs the line between a car and a scooter. When viewed from a distance, it stands out thanks to a friendly design characterized by a grille-less front end, round headlights, and a two-tone blue and beige paint job. However, the most striking aspect of the Rimono is that its body is made entirely out of a waterproof material called polyester cotton. That’s the same type of fabric generally used to manufacture tarps.
The minimalist treatment continues inside, where the Rimono offers space for either two adults or one adult and two kids. The steering is commanded through a scooter-like handlebar, and the instrument cluster is made up of a pair of gauges that look like they came out of a kiddy car. An iPad mounted directly behind the handlebar replaces the traditional infotainment system that’s usually found in bigger cars.
Power for the Rimono is provided by a 6.8-horsepower electric motor that draws electricity from a four-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack, according to Motor1. The two-seater has a top speed of 28 mph, and it can drive for up to 31 miles on a single charge. That’s not much on paper, but it’s enough to cover a day’s worth of errands in big cities. To be on the safe side, Rimono is developing a battery pack that can be easily swapped out when it’s depleted.
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Rimono explains that its fabric-bodied city car is merely a concept built to gauge the public’s reaction, at least for the time being. The company will continue to fine-tune its first creation, and it expects that production will kick off in the summer of 2017. Pricing information hasn’t been announced yet, but the Rimono is unlikely to make the trip across the Pacific.
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.