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The folks at HRE Performance Wheels dropped by the Rhys Millen Racing shop to check out the progress on the new PM580 Pikes Peak hill-climb car. Millen and his crew are in the process of building an Unlimited Class racer to crack the all-time record on the Colorado mountain. Millen will attempt to both recapture the record that his father held for 13 years and record the first ever sub-10-minute time.

The PM580 is powered by a Hyundai Genesis V8 engine mounted in the middle of a steel tube-frame chassis. Aside from the engine, the rest of the chassis looks rather conventional, until you see the carbon-fiber bodywork that looks more like something destined to hurtle down the Mulsanne straight at Le Mans rather than up the side of a mountain.

Unlike your mobile data plan, at Pikes Peak Unlimited means exactly that: anything goes, including active aerodynamics. The angle of the upper plane on the rear wing is automatically managed based on a yaw rate sensor and lateral accelerometer. When the car is on the straights it flattens out to a 10-degree angle, but as the car turns in, it tips up to 50 degrees to press the rear end down. It’s fascinating stuff and you can check it out in the video after the jump.

[Source: Youtube]

Continue reading Video: Rhys Millen previews the PM580 Hyundai Pikes Peak challenger

Video: Rhys Millen previews the PM580 Hyundai Pikes Peak challenger

Being in the market for a cheap new car used to mean resigning yourself to time bombs like the Chevrolet Citation or windups like the Geo Metro or Ford Aspire, but the times, they are a-changin’, and the good folk at Kelley Blue Book have worked up their very own top 10 list of cool cars for under $18,000.

Not surprisingly, the 2011 Ford Fiesta nabbed a mention thanks to its 28 mpg city, 40 mpg highway EPA rating and mile-long standard feature list. Likewise, the new 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring received a spot on the list. The Korean automaker’s new long roof manages 23 city and 30 mph highway thanks to its 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine.

The base Mitsubishi Lancer also made the cut – another 2.0-liter bruiser, the baby brother of the Evolution nabs 22 mpg city and 31 mpg highway. Suzuki also got some love on the KBB list with its SX4. When optioned with the five-speed gearbox, the car walks away with 23 mpg city and 33 mpg highway. Rounding out the list is the ever lovable 2010 Honda Fit. Just like the Suzuki, if you want a few more miles per tank, you’ll need to opt for the manual transmission. Thusly equipped, the little Honda can 28 mpg city and up to 35 mpg highway.

Want to see what else made the list? Hit the jump or visit KBB for the whole list.

[Source: Kelley Blue Book]

Continue reading KBB names coolest cars under $18k… do you agree?

KBB names coolest cars under $18k… do you agree?

Last week, we heard rumors that Buick had finally decided to produce the Regal GS but no official announcement came from General Motors headquarters.

This morning as U.S. media gathered to drive the Regal in California, the GS officially became a reality. And while our man Michael Harley is on the launch, we also just received an email from Dayna Hart in GM communications proclaiming:

“At wave 1 of our drive program for Regal we just confirmed that the Regal GS will be added to the Buick portfolio. We are not providing any additional details at this point.”

As the quote notes, Buick isn’t sharing any other details about the GS such as timing, or what engine will be in the car. We’re expecting that Buick will stick with the 2.0-liter turbocharged and direct-injected Ecotec inline-four that was listed on the spec sheet for the concept version shown at the Detroit Auto Show last January. However, now that Hyundai has announced the Sonata Turbo with 276 horsepower, we’re expecting that Buick will try to ensure that the Regal GS will have more than the 255 hp announced back in January.

Live photos by Sam Abuelsamid / Copyright (C)2009 Weblogs, Inc.

Officially Official: Buick Regal GS is a go!

There’s a battle raging over the northern border between the Mazda3 and Honda Civic: the Mazda3’s 5,436 units sold in April outdid the Civic by 135, and through the end of last month the Zoom-Zoom ride leads the Honda by just 21 units. The rest of April’s Canadian top five is filled out by the Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra and Hyundai Accent. Compare that to April’s American top five of the Honda Accord, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Camry, Honda Civic and Ford Fusion. Mazda (and higher gas prices) really have a hold on the Canucks, it seems – even if they’re flogging Mazdas for $20K over list…

[Source: Canadian Driver]

Mazda3 unseats Honda Civic as Canada’s best-selling car

You only have two more months to wait for the Mazda2 to appear in your local showroom, but you can start practicing your mixing and matching right now with the newly freed dealer order guide. The 2011 Mazda2 starts at $13,980 plus a $750 destination charge and goes all the way up to $16,980, including destination charges for the top-flight automatic Touring model. That last figure is actually $945 more than the larger Mazda3, so if you might want to crunch some numbers if you’re pondering going high-end, but even if you do, you’re still looking pretty sweet against competitors like the Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit and Hyundai Accent.

On top of the a 100-horsepower, 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine that comes with the car, you can play around with options such as fog lights, portable Garmin navigation, a Motorola hands-free device and a kayak carrier. Check out the guide in our gallery below and let the configuration games begin.

[Source: Mazda via Inside Line]

2011 Mazda2 dealer order guide surfaces on the interwebs

Along with eight-cylinder engines and manual transmissions, six-cylinder motors appear to be on the outs, relatively speaking. In the first quarter of this year, USA Today notes that four-cylinder lumps made up 46.5 percent of new car sales, almost a five percent jump over the same period last year.

This movement to fewer cylinders is likely to continue, as more and more mainstream models like the Hyundai Sonata, Suzuki Kizashi and Buick Regal are only being offered with four-cylinder powerplants. That’s partially because modern technologies, including direct injection and forced induction, have closed the power deficit, and partly because automakers’ need to raise their CAFE figures and play to growing consumer appetites for better fuel economy.

The trend has caused J.D. Power to raise its four-cylinder sales prediction for 2012 from 48 percent to 51 percent. If that ends up being the case, that will leave 35 percent for six-cylinder cars, and just 17 percent for V8s.

[Source: USA Today]

USA Today: Four-cylinder engines powered nearly half of all new car sales last month

We hate to say this, but until now, we didn’t realize it was physically possible to do a stoppie in a subcompact car. We thought launching a vehicle onto its front rollers was generally left to the two-wheeled crowd, but a new video of the Geely Panda has officially proven otherwise. The company has let loose a video of a fleet of the tiny cutesy hatchbacks being flogged in the best way possible. Want to see a Panda do donuts in reverse? No problem. How about cruise along on two wheels? You got it.

We have no idea what the text in between the shots of the cars suffering the kind of abuse that only stunt drivers can inflict and video of the assembly line says, but that’s okay. We understand the cute-as-a-button Panda paw print, and, as you all know, hooning is a universal language. Besides, it makes us think of the old Isuzu I-Mark and various Saab stunt team exhibitions, and that can’t be all bad. Hop the jump to see the mad skills for yourself. Thanks for the tip, JPHyundai!

[Source: Geely via YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Geely Panda gets to stuntin’

Video: Geely Panda gets to stuntin’

Don Krusemark must have been that rare breed of person that just won’t stop giving. The 87-year-old great-grandfather from Dallas, Texas served in the Navy during World War II and was such a frequent blood and platelet donor at Carter BloodCare that he was awarded with a ride along at the Texas Motor Speedway courtesy of the Texas Driving Experience. A day later, Kruseman passed away as a result of a life-ending injury he sustained at the track.

Details are scarce as to exactly what went wrong, but according to The Dallas News, neither anyone from Kruseman’s family nor the Texas Motor Speedway is willing to speak about what happened. From what we can gather, the veteran was a passenger when some sort of accident occurred.

In a prepared statement, family members lamented the loss of their patriarch, noting that Kruseman was a wonderful father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

[Source: The Dallas News Image: Texas Driving Experience]

87-year-old blood donor, veteran killed in ‘thank you’ ride accident at Texas Motor Speedway

Battle of the Sixes: Ford Mustang V6 takes on Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 and Nissan 370Z

With its upgraded V6, the 2011 Ford Mustang could easily be considered a sports car. So we pit it against the 370Z and Genesis Coupe to see which coupe reigns supreme.

Unexpected winner crowned at Nürburgring 24 Hours [SPOILER]

This past weekend’s 24-hour race at the Nurburgring provided plenty of thrills and chills, with one unlikely team taking the top spot from Audi and Porsche.

Spy Shots: 2011 Land Rover LRX stays true to the concept

Hidden beneath that psychedelic camouflage is the 2011 LRX, and to our surprise and delight, the three-door ‘ute from Land Rover looks exactly like its conceptual predecessor.

Also of interest:

• Wife of Tesla CEO demands 10-percent stake in company and a Roadster in divorce
• Next-generation Honda Civic may be delayed
• Video: Driver dives to escape burning Exige at N-Ring 24HR
• Spy Shots: Alfa Romeo testing GTA versions of 8C, MiTo for centenary launch
• GM earns $865M first quarter profit, first in three years

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Continue reading Daily U-Turn: What you missed on 5.17.10

Daily U-Turn: What you missed on 5.17.10

This comparison test couldn’t have happened just a few short months ago. Sure, the Hyundai Genesis Coupe has been around since 2008. And not counting a seven-year walkabout, the Datsun/Nissan Z has been with us in one form or another since the first moon landing. Want to talk old? The Ford Mustang dates back to the invention of the wheel. At least it seems that way.

So why no comparison until now? Because until quite recently, Ford’s entry level V6-powered Mustang was never really a sports car. The heavy, near impotent Cologne iron-block V6 was a joke, fit for little more than rental car duty, and it wasn’t even terribly adept at that. But the non-V8 pony car has undergone some significant changes for 2011 – the biggest being its all-aluminum V6 producing 305 horsepower and 280 pound feet of torque – allowing it to finally hang with these two V6-powered competitors from across the Pacific.

At least on paper.

Read on to find out which V6-powered sports car reigns supreme. If you can’t wait, skip right to the results.

Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading Battle of the Sixes: Ford Mustang V6 takes on Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 and Nissan 370Z

Battle of the Sixes: Ford Mustang V6 takes on Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 and Nissan 370Z

If automotive designers can agree on one thing, it’s that the future will be more diverse. Three current designers and one teacher came together to discuss the way forward at the monthly Automotive Press Association luncheon in Detroit. Cadillac’s Clay Dean, Hyundai’s Phil Zak and Ford’s Scott Strong joined Larry Erickson from the College for Creative Studies at the Detroit Athletic Club.

There will be multiple forces driving this increased diversity, including the emergence of megacities (like Paris, Beijing, Shanghai, Mumbai and Singapore), changing demographics and new powertrain systems.

The increased urbanization we’re seeing in many regions is leading to larger, more crowded cities that make traditional automobiles unsuitable and unsustainable. There simply isn’t enough room for large vehicles carrying only one or two occupants on the roads of these metropolises. Dean discussed vehicles such as the General Motors EN-V concepts being shown at the Shanghai expo as one possible answer to the increasing density. Read on after the jump to hear more of what the panelists said.

Continue reading Designers: Future transportation environment will be much more diverse

Designers: Future transportation environment will be much more diverse

Chris Perry has some big shoes to fill in his new job. Hyundai has named Perry to replace Joel Ewanick as its vice-president of marketing. Ewanick, who left Hyundai in March for a short stay in the same position at Nissan, recently was appointed to that role at General Motors.

Ewanick is credited with many of the particularly creative initiatives that have boosted Hyundai’s market share in the past several years, including last year’s assurance program, in which the automaker committed to making payments for laid off customers.

Perry has been with Hyundai for ten years and since 2007 has been director of marketing communications. In that role, he’s been involved in developing the aforementioned award-winning programs, so things shouldn’t shake up too much. Perry will report to CEO John Krafcik

[Source: Hyundai]

Continue reading Hyundai names Chris Perry new VP for marketing

Hyundai names Chris Perry new VP for marketing

First Drive: 2010 Lotus Evora delivers performance, civility and little concession

In a move that would have impressed Harry Houdini, Lotus has made one thousand pounds of vehicle mass seemingly disappear – yet we…

Volkswagen Golf GTI Adidas and Excessive unveiled at Wörthersee 2010 [UPDATE]

As usual, Volkswagen has used this year’s annual GTI meetup in Wörthersee, Austria to unveil new special variants of…

Ford turns Fiesta into ultimate mobile hot-spot and cloud-linked cruiser

While engineering students at the University of Michigan were figuring out how to turn the Ford Fiesta into a rolling iPad, engineers…

Also of interest:

• Report: Chrysler Sebring name to live on, at least until all-new model arrives
• Report: Ford, GM make quality gains in new supplier study
• Hey Ya’ll, Wash This! NASCAR to license car wash chain, already moving into RV parks
• Hyundai Genesis sedan and Mercedes-Benz E-Class named IIHS Top Safety Picks
• Project Runningblade will attempt 100+ MPH lawnmower land speed record [w/video]
• Rumormill: BMW may bring diesel 5 Series to America

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Autoline Daily for 5.13.10

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Daily U-Turn: What you missed on 5.13.10

The Hyundai Elantra is currently produced in Ulsan, South Korea, with about 100,000 of those vehicles earmarked for the U.S. each year. But while the Elantra is currently Hyundai’s most successful export product, word on the street is that production of the affordable compact could come to the Korean automaker’s Montgomery, Alabama plant in April, 2011, with volumes reaching 150,000 units per year.

Wards Automotive reports that Hyundai is considering the move, though Hyundai was quick to tell the auto-focused publication that no decision has been made. To make room for the Elantra, Hyundai could consider moving Santa Fe production to Kia’s West Pointe, GA plant. But while Hyundai has the available production capacity here in the U.S., the Elantra’s 2.0-liter engine would still likely need to be made in China and exported to the States.

If Hyundai does indeed bring Elantra production to the U.S., it would likely mean more high paying manufacturing jobs at a time when high-paying jobs are very tough to find, and that certainly wouldn’t suck.

[Source: Wards Automotive]

Hyundai pondering U.S. Elantra production?

It’s no secret that earning a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety will boost a car’s street cred, and now the engineers at Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz can stand tall knowing that the Genesis and E-Class sedans have just received this prestigious honor.

Hyundai launched its flagship Genesis in 2009, but the automaker made slight changes to the roof structure for the 2010 model year, which has (obviously) greatly improved the crash ratings. Thus, the Top Safety Pick award only applies to Genesis models built after January 2010. The Benz, on the other hand, has been on sale for decades, but this is the first time that the E-Class has garnered IIHS’s top rating.

Hit the jump to read the full crash test results, and be sure to scroll through the galleries below to see high-res shots of the two cars getting smashed.

[Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety]

Continue reading Hyundai Genesis sedan and Mercedes-Benz E-Class named IIHS Top Safety Picks

Hyundai Genesis sedan and Mercedes-Benz E-Class named IIHS Top Safety Picks

First Drive: The Gumpert Apollo is a near-mythological, utterly fantastical beast

Now this is a fascinating little creature. A compound of contradictions that goes by the unlikely name of Gumpert Apollo. The first…

Video: B-roll footage of Porsche 911 GT2 RS is just fine with us

We’ll admit it – the 2011 Porsche 911 GT2 RS gives us the willies. There’s something about the…

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee officially priced from $32,995* [UPDATE]

To say that Chrysler has a lot riding on the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee would be an understatement of epic proportions. Though the…

Also of interest:

• Officially Official: Acura releases Canada-only TL A-Spec
• Report: Hyundai puts kibosh on Ram-based pickup, considers commercial market
• Google may be GM’s mystery technology partner
• Kia releases special edition Ghost Soul… Spooky!
• Ferrari idling engine plants and laying off workers?
• Report: NHTSA launches fresh investigation into Toyota recall delays
• A Prius costs $846/year to fuel… and other fun facts about car costs

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Autoline Daily for 5.12.10

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Daily U-Turn: What you missed on 5.12.10

“Hyundai Motor Co. denies that there are any current plans to bring a pickup truck of any type into the U.S. now or in the foreseeable future. Hyundai is not in discussion with Chrysler in regard to a selling a rebadged Chrysler Corp. pickup truck, or any other vehicle, in the U.S.”

So, there you go. But, as is often the case, where there is smoke, there is fire. Late last week, news reports began filtering in that Hyundai was indeed in talks with Chrysler regarding the possibility of a fullsize pickup truck wearing the Korean automaker’s badge built atop the Ram truck platform from the Pentastar. Those negotiations apparently did happen, according to the always reliable PickupTrucks.com, but stalled after the two companies couldn’t agree on volume numbers.

Further, what prompted the whole series of truck-based discussions is Hyundai’s reported desire to enter the commercial vehicle market later this decade. If true, this action would mirror a similar move by Nissan, which just unveiled its initial salvo into the large but mostly stagnant commercial vehicle marketplace.

Might Hyundai’s commercial vehicle bear something in common with the Dodge H-100 Wagon that Chrysler markets in Mexico? Seems like a definite possibility, considering that the Ram-headed commercial vehicle is actually based on an overseas design from Hyundai. Stay tuned.

[Source: PickupTrucks.com]

Report: Hyundai puts kibosh on Ram-based pickup, considers commercial market

Before we get to this week’s show, we wanted to explain what’s up with The Autoblog Podcast in iTunes. The short story is that TV Squad, one of our sister sites in the AOL Network, recently received an update that went awry. The result was all of our RSS feeds being replaced with the TV Squad RSS feed. The issue was quickly fixed, but for some reason iTunes isn’t recognizing this fact and continues to display the TV Squad podcast as if it were the The Autoblog Podcast. We’re in contact with people from iTunes who assure us the problem is being worked on, so hang tight.

In the mean time, if you subscribe to The Autoblog Podcast via iTunes, you will not automatically receive this week’s episode. The easiest workaround until we get this fixed is to use the link below to download the MP3 file directly and drag it into iTunes. We’re terribly sorry for the inconvenience, even though it’s not our fault. Send your hate mail to TV Squad.

Chris Shunk, Sam Abuelsamid, Dan Roth, and Steven Ewing take on topsy-turvy topics like hybrid Ferraris, the Land Rover LRX, Hyundai’s focus-grouping a pickup truck, Toyota’s possible hydrogen future, and the OnStar relaunch. There’s the Autoblog Garage to start, and we finish with questions for this week’s 80-minute installment. See you next week!

Autoblog Podcast #177: What? Hybrid Ferraris, FWD Land Rovers, and Hyundai Pickups

In the Autoblog Garage:

Audi A3 TDI
Acura ZDX
BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo
Toyota Tacoma

Hosts:
Chris Shunk, Sam Abuelsamid, Dan Roth, Steven J. Ewing

Runtime: 1:18:56

Autoblog Podcast #177 – What’s up with The AB Podcast in iTunes?

Is Hyundai about to repeat the mistakes of Toyota and Nissan? PickupTrucks.com reports that Hyundai has been showing off a modified Dodge Ram pickup at some consumer clinics to gauge interest in such a product. This wouldn’t be the first time the Koreans have looked down this road. A midsize pickup based on the new Kia Sorento had been considered before being killed off two years ago. Tackling the full-size truck market could be an even more perilous endeavor.

Nissan never made a significant dent in the big truck segment with the six-year-old Titan. The enormous resources that Toyota has poured into the development and production of the Tundra are considered by some analysts to be one of the causes of the automaker’s recent spate of quality problems and recalls. While many of Hyundai’s recent introductions have done well, not everything has been a hit. The Veracruz hasn’t been particularly successful in the larger CUV segment and the Genesis Coupe, while getting good reviews, is still very much a niche player against the likes of the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro.

[Source: PickupTrucks.com]

Is Hyundai really considering full-size pickup truck?

Ever since the all-new 2011 Hyundai Sonata went on sale in February, it’s been selling faster than ever. Over 18,000 units were moved in both March and April and the new turbo and hybrid models are still to come later this year. In order to continue meeting the demand for the new sedan, moving Santa Fe SUV production out of Hyundai’s Montgomery, Alabama factory (where the Sonata is also built) is now under consideration. Montgomery’s been running overtime for weeks.

But if the Santa Fe is ousted to open up additional Sonata capacity, where would it go? Sister brand Kia recently opened factory in West Point, Georgia that builds the Sorento. Relocating Santa Fe production there could work, since it the and Sorento share many components already. If Hyundai does pull the trigger on a production shift for the Santa Fe, it could happen before the two new Sonata models are added in the fall.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Report: Hyundai Sonata demand could prompt SUV manufacturing shuffle