While they may not see eye-to-eye when it comes to border disputes, ownership of certain islands, or Top Gear, Chile and Argentina can at least set aside differences when it comes to motorsport. The most significant automotive bond the countries share is the Gran Premio de la Hermandad, a rally race held each year in Tierra del Fuego. Drivers from both countries participate in this annual event, and as the video above shows, can pack just as much action as the more well known events.
The video, posted recently on YouTube, shows how car control, luck, and a brass set of gentlemen equipment get a Volkswagen Gol through a tricky downhill bend. The driver takes the diminutive VW literally to the edge as we witness him take the turn flat out, descending rapidly towards the uneven ground along the boundary. The car then pitches wildly on both sides and even catches air at the end, but the driver takes it all in stride.
We don’t know what sort of time the driving team of Roberts and Soto set, (the official website seems to be down), nor can we scrounge up info on the specs these cars are running. We know that the Gol doesn’t pack anything larger than a 2.0-liter four-cylinder and can get around 150 horsepower out of it, if unaltered from the factory.
Either way, this video just goes to show that a fun vehicle doesn’t have to be a blazingly fast million dollar hypercar, but can simply be a volume economy vehicle, a stretch of road, and the guts to send it flying.
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.