One lucky bidder now has the ultimate Top Gear souvenir, and a functional one to boot.
The BBC program’s most recent “Reasonably Priced Car” — a 2013 Vauxhall Astra Tech Line GT — has been sold on eBay for £17,800 ($26,364). The auction benefits the BEN Motor and Allied Trades Benevolent Fund, a U.K.-based automotive charity.
“Star in a Reasonably Priced Car” was always a popular segment on Top Gear, as it featured celebrities from the car world and beyond lapping the famous Dunsfold track in a lighthearted competition. Personalities like Will Smith, Benedict Cumberbatch, Margot Robbie, Hugh Jackman, and Ron Howard all took the Astra for a spin, and English singer-songwriter Olly Murs holds the lap record with a time of 1:44.6. Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul and actor Nicholas Hoult are tied for second at 1:44.7, and AC/DC vocalist Brian Johnson comes in third with a time of 1:45.1.
The Astra began its Top Gear tenure on Season 20, and since then, it has accumulated 2,908 tough miles. The show’s fourth Reasonably Priced Car after the Kia Cee’d, Chevrolet Lacetti, and Suzuki Liana, the car sold for more than double its estimated current value at auction. Experts estimate that, without the star-studded imprints in the front seat, an Astra of this vintage would sell for £7,775-£8,325 ($11,518-$12,333) today. Because of the roll cage, though, all the Vauxhall’s airbags have been disabled.
As Top Gear prepares for a resurgence next year, the value of memorabilia from the 2002 series is only going to increase. It is not known if the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segment will continue with new host Chris Evans at the helm, but the program’s launch in May 2016 will be telling. As for the original trio? Clarkson, Hammond, and May’s new show on Amazon Prime is expected to debut later in the year.
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.