When we hear “Oregon Trail,” many of us may be inclined to think about the video game of the same name, which took schools by storm in the 1980s. Young students shot squirrels for food, forded deep rivers, and felt (vicariously) the pain of disease and death.
The historical northwest trail’s fame spread far beyond the computer screen, however, and 1984 saw the staging of the first Oregon Trail Rally. This initial event was a one-off, one-day race event. Over a decade later in 1995, the newly formed Oregon Rally Group resurrected the event and kept its original name. The Oregon Trail Rally has been held nearly every year since, and Toyota is bringing its RAV4 SUV to the grueling three-day event in Portland this weekend.
Off-road racer Ryan Millen and his fiancee Christina Fate (who takes the role of navigator) form the face of the Toyota-Millen RAV4 team, and they are taking on this year’s Oregon Trail. The team faced some challenges at the 100 Acre Wood rally, which was held March 18-19 in Missouri and was won by Travis Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom. With extensive modifications to its vehicle, and after a long rest, Millen’s team is aiming for the championship in Oregon.
“I’m really proud of how this team has responded,” said Ryan Millen. “We worked a ton of hours and changed out almost everything. We’ve basically built a new car.”
Beyond re-engineering, Millen’s RAV4 has been put through its paces in preparation for the next event. Any weaknesses or signs of trouble can be identified, and the car itself benefits from the break-in period.
On her end, navigator Fate has kept a close eye on logistics and details relating to the vehicle, team, and race, tying up any loose ends. “We’re excited to get to the event to get a chance to redeem ourselves,” said Fate. “It’s exciting to get back in and move forward.”
A unique feature about the Oregon Trail event is its full tarmac stage. Teams are expected to adjust their vehicle’s settings to deal with and take advantage of the high levels of grip provided by a tarmac surface.
The Toyota-Millen RAV4 team is taking part in the 2WD class, and will face competition from brands like BMW, MINI, Volvo, Subaru, and Ford. “We’ll have our work cut out for us,” said Millen. “We’re still looking at the big picture. Championships are about putting points on the board, and we are ready for just that.”
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.