For a guy who used to command television starships and is currently an avid equestrian, it must be hard to impress William Shatner with a “cool ride.” Nevertheless, the team of custom motorcycle builders at American Wrench managed to intrigue the famous actor, partnering up with him and conceiving the Rivet three-wheeler motorcycle.
Today, the ol’ captain announces that he’s setting off on a new trek, making good on his promise to take the bespoke creation on a trip across the United States, and he’s bringing a new crew with him.
“I am taking another step into the unknown!” said Shatner, who will set off in the final version of the first-of-its-kind Rivet this month. Starting off at the American Wrench motorcycle shop in Chicago on June 23rd, Shatner and his Rivet will head out on an eight-day mission to Los Angeles, stopping in various cities along the way.
Joining the stalwart captain will be members of The American Legion Riders, who will escort him to Legion meetings in St. Louis, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Amarillo, Albuquerque, Flagstaff, and Las Vegas. This will raise awareness of the work the Legion does for U.S. veterans as well as show off the Rivet to eager enthusiasts.
The entire trip will be documented by a film crew for an upcoming television show, where we will likely see all the strange and mysterious things Shatner and his Rivet will encounter on his journey across Route 66.
As for the Rivet itself, we haven’t seen anything beyond the computer renderings provided by the company. In concept, the three-wheeler is intended to have a V8 powerplant, rivets, and three-wheels. Yes, that’s just about all we know for sure. Mockups show an open canopy one-seater with rather unique controls, but in a video introducing the Rivet, we see Shatner lobbying for a closed-cockpit two-seater. We’ll have wait just a few weeks to see what the final build looks like when Shatner and the Rivet set off for their fantastic voyage later this month.
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.