Love them or hate them, the brief era of the quirky, boxy runabout is over, with Scion driving another nail in the cubic coffin.
According to Wards Auto, Doug Murtha, Vice President of the Toyota sub-brand is discontinuing its distinctive xB model by year’s end. The stumpy wagon was the signature model of the youth-targeted brand and a near direct import of the Toyota bB. It was recognized as the boxiest of the box cars, being directly compared to the Nissan Cube, Honda Element, and Kia soul.
After sales peaked in 2006, a new generation xB was issued, but sales only declined from there. This was partly due to the new version rounding out some of the sharp edges, forsaking its key design draw. In it’s defense, though, it could be argued that the waning novelty of cubic car conveyances played a bigger part in its demise rather than issues with the car itself. It now joins the Cube, which was discontinued in the U.S. just last year, and the Element, which ended its run in 2011.
The Kia Soul seems to be thriving on hamster power.
In the meantime, Scion has taken its first major steps in revitalizing the brand with the introduction of the Scion iM hatchback and the iA sedan. While the iM could be the closest thing to an xB replacement in the lineup, Murtha doesn’t view it as a direct replacement.
Have we lost our flavor for divisive and strange yet interesting cars? Did we like the xB and its contemporaries genuinely or just because they were different? It’s hard to say for sure. Nevertheless, that odd charm gave Scion the foothold it needed to stick it out as long as it has. It may have its detractors, but perhaps this new direction will change people’s perceptions of the brand.
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.