The next bite from Apple: Formula 1

By Miles Branman July 14, 2016

Despite creative interpretations of what form Apple’s “Project Titan” car will take, everything is pure speculation at this point. The Apple Car may be a mass-production consumer vehicle, it might be a fully autonomous fleet model, it might purely be software for other semi-autonomous cars. Who knows.

But perhaps more interesting — at least in the near term — is a crop of rumors that Apple isn’t just planning one automotive endeavor, it’s considering another large-scale investment. Business Insider made note of Formula 1 blogger Joe Saward’s report outlining an F1 bid by Apple. “The whisper is that the latest bidder is Apple Inc., which is a company with $161 billion (£122 billion) in net cash at the moment,” he wrote.

This might seem like something out of left field, but the pieces in play on Apple’s side could validate the rumors. In addition to whatever resources are being applied to Project Titan, Apple’s TV platform and its inconceivably large pile of money could lead to something in the global sports or entertainment space. Though F1 has struggled to gain traction in the U.S., it is one of the most watched events elsewhere.

Read More: This Is Jonathan Ward’s Vision for ICON 4×4

And should the tech giant enter into the realm of F1, Apple’s vehicle project would surely benefit from the motor sport’s engineering resources and talent. In tandem, Apple TV may gain exclusive rights to F1 coverage, attracting Formula 1 fans who may have held off from abandoning cable simply because there has yet to be a viable source for non-network F1 viewing.

Substantiating the Apple F1 rumors slightly more is the fact that the company must invest its capital in foreign nations to avoid tax penalties related to U.S. investments. Oh, and F1 is very much in need of new ownership. The unloved F1 boss, Bernie Ecclestone, has stated that a majority stake in the series would cost about 6 billion pounds. For anyone else, that would be a daunting figure, but for Apple, that’s little more than a rounding error.

Apple, up to this point, hasn’t made regular investments on this scale, especially within the sporting arena, but there’s a first time for everything – and it must be running out of ideas for how to spend all that cash.

Miles Branman developed a passion for cars early on thanks to a neighbor’s collection of rare and exotic vehicles. What…

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Why GM is killing a popular (and affordable) EV

GM has big plans for EVs — just not the Chevy Bolt

2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV parked outside a home.

When the Chevy Bolt EV was released in 2017, we took it on a test drive and it exceeded our expectations. Since then, the Chevy Bolt went on to become General Motors’ best-selling EV. According to Kelly Blue Book, GM overtook Ford to become the second best-selling EV brand after Tesla due to the Chevy Bolt’s high demand. Besides that, the Chevy Bolt is one of the most affordable electric cars on the market today.

But despite its success, GM is surprisingly pulling the plug on the Chevy Bolt. “It's now time to plan to end the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV production, which will happen at the very end of the year,” Mary Barra, the CEO of GM, announced the plan during the company’s Q1 earnings call. Why is GM dumping its most popular EV? Well, it has to do with profits.
GM is selling the Chevy Bolt at a loss
When the Chevy Bolt was released in 2017, UBS reported that GM was losing $7,400 for every unit that was sold. As per the report, GM was making a loss because it hadn’t yet ramped up the production of the Chevy Bolt to reduce the cost. Of course, GM was also willing to lose money to make the Chevy Bolt one of the cheapest EVs on the market.

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Pitch up in the best motorcycle tents for camping with your two-wheeler

There's nothing like cruising a backcountry road at sunset, wind in your hair, George Thorogood in your ear, and a few bugs in your teeth.

Wingman-of-the-Road Goose Motorcycle Camping System lake feature

After a few long years of pandemic-fueled "lockup," more and more of us are finally getting back to road-tripping. For some, that means camping across the country in an RV; for others, adventure awaits on the back of a two-wheeler (be it pedal or gas-powered). If you fall into the latter camp, we get it. There's nothing like the excitement of cruising down some backcountry road at sunset with the wind in your hair, George Thorogood in your ear, and a few bugs in your teeth.

If you're planning an extended trip, then you'll be looking to overnight along the way. If an ordinary roadside motel just won’t do, maybe you need a more adventurous alternative. Here are our picks for the best motorcycle tents for camping with your two-wheeler along the way in 2023.
Lone Rider MotoTent V2
Best motorcycle tent overall

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These are the questions you should always ask before buying a car

Here are all the questions you'll need to ask before you get to the dealership and when you talk to the sales rep

BMW M3 inside of a BMW dealership with glass windows and light.

Buying a car has changed dramatically because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, most people would spend hours at the dealership haggling over a final price, agonizing over paperwork, and test driving a car. Now, most of the paperwork can be done from home, dealers refuse to haggle on pricing, and test drives are timed, short trips.
Doing your homework before heading to the dealership is more important than ever. If you’re in the market for a new ride, there are some questions to ask when buying a car. To make things easier, we’ve broken these questions into two categories: what to ask before you go to the dealership and what to ask once you’re there.

Questions to ask before going to the dealership
What safety features are standard?
Car salespeople have to know a lot about a lot of different cars. Giving them the benefit of the doubt for a second, they can’t know everything, so it’s best to do your own research about what kind of safety features a car comes with. This is easy enough, as visiting an automaker’s official website on a vehicle and checking out the features or specs page is the best way to see what features come standard.