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Autoblog Podcast #188 – with Mike Spinelli of 0-60 magazine Tuesday, 27 July 2010, 9:30 pm

Filed under: Podcasts, Etc., Audi, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Hyundai, Porsche, Toyota, Design/Style

Chris Shunk, Alex Nunez and Dan Roth are joined this week by Mike Spinelli, editor-in-chief of 0-60 magazine. Topics for Episode #188 of the Autoblog Podcast are the 2011 Ford Explorer, Audi’s A7 Sportback, the announcement of the Hyundai Equus coming to the U.S. market, hybrid/electric Porsches and zombie-like rumors of a new Ford Ranger for North American showrooms. We also pepper poor Mike with our impressions of his fine publication. It’s an hour-and-ten of stellar repartee this week, thanks for listening, see you next time!

Autoblog Podcast #188 – with Mike Spinelli from 0-60 magazine

In the Autoblog Garage:

Dodge Challenger R/T
Toyota Avalon
Toyota Sienna Limited AWD

News:

• Mulally unwittingly confirms next-gen Ford Ranger for U.S.
  
• 2011 Ford Explorer unveiled
  
• Audi A7 Sportback images leaked ahead of Monday reveal
  
• Hyundai reveals 2011 Equus details
  
• Porsche testing three electric Boxsters in 2011

Hosts:
Dan Roth, Alex Nunez, Chris Shunk

Runtime: 86:17

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Autoblog Podcast #188 – with Mike Spinelli of 0-60 magazine originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog | Dan Roth

Hyundai reveals 2011 Equus details, range topper to come in two U.S. flavors Monday, 26 July 2010, 2:00 pm

Filed under: Sedan, Hyundai, Luxury

The 385-horsepower Hyundai Equus cometh, and Hyundai has let loose a torrent of information on the two kinds of horses you’ll be able to buy: Equus Signature and Equus Ultimate. The Signature version comes with almost everything: leather and Alcantara interior, heated steering wheel, climate controlled seating with a massaging driver’s seat, Smart Cruise Control, parking assistance, air suspension and a 17-speaker, 608-watt Lexicon stereo are at the beginning of a terrifically long list.

Pay a little more for the Equus Ultimate and you add the around-the-corner-view cameras to the parking assist, power trunk, and in back, reclining, cooled rear seats with their own massage function and leg support – like in Korean Air business class – and a rear seat refrigerator. Among many, many other things. And there’s always that Apple iPad manual, because you can never get enough of something special. You can find the press release listing all the goodies after the jump.

[Source: Hyundai]

Continue reading Hyundai reveals 2011 Equus details, range topper to come in two U.S. flavors

Hyundai reveals 2011 Equus details, range topper to come in two U.S. flavors originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog | Jonathon Ramsey

Korean-spec Hyundai Avante interior gives sneak peek inside 2011 Elantra Tuesday, 20 July 2010, 10:29 pm

Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Hyundai, South Korea

Even though we have yet to see official images of the U.S.-spec 2011 Hyundai Elantra, we have a pretty good idea of what will be heading our way in the coming months. Hyundai debuted the new Avante sedan (the Elantra’s Korean market equivalent) at the Busan Motor Show this past April, and now the first interior snapshot of the Avante has been leaked out.

If you’ve been in the new 2011 Sonata, you know that the family sedan’s cabin is a giant leap forward in the right direction. The center stack is awash with curves and angles that pay homage to the automaker’s new “fluidic sculpture” exterior design. And styling aside, we’re willing to bet that Hyundai hasn’t skimped out on high-quality materials for the less-expensive Elantra’s innards, either.

This more attractive, better-tailored interior will do well when matched with the swoopier lines of the new Elantra’s exterior. That – combined with Hyundai’s new 138-horsepower, 1.6-liter GDI four-cylinder – will mean that other new cars in the budget sedan segment (this means you, Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze) will need to watch their backs. If the new Elantra is being positioned as a baby Sonata, the competition should indeed be stiff. Top tip, Monkaroo!

[Source: Hyundai Blog]

Korean-spec Hyundai Avante interior gives sneak peek inside 2011 Elantra originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog | Steven J. Ewing

Michigan and Ohio senators demand Obama gets tough on South Korean auto importing Tuesday, 20 July 2010, 7:28 pm

Filed under: Government/Legal, Hyundai, Kia, South Korea

Talk to most analysts in the auto world, and they’ll say that the recent rise of South Korean automakers like Hyundai and Kia have been an absolute blessing to the industry as a whole. Consumers now have an array of quality, inexpensive products, extra jobs have landed in rural areas of the deep south thanks to American-based manufacturing facilities and the competition from low-priced models have forced domestic manufacturers to up their game.

But not everyone’s thrilled about the balance of automotive trade between the two nations. According to The Detroit News, senators Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, recently wrote to the Obama administration in order to urge the President to take a hard line on the South Korean Free Trade Agreement.

The two senators aren’t taking issue with Korean products here in the U.S., they simply think it’s unfair that South Korea has made it economically difficult to import vehicles into the country. The senators want American companies to have the opportunity to do business on the peninsula – something that most automakers, with the exception of General Motors, have been pushing for since before the second President Bush was in office. GM, meanwhile, owns Korean automaker Daewoo, so it has no problem dealing with the current ban on auto imports.

For its part, Obama administration has said that it will once again open talks about the free trade agreement in hopes of making more American goods available in the global market.

[Source: The Detroit News | Image: Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images]

Michigan and Ohio senators demand Obama gets tough on South Korean auto importing originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog | Zach Bowman

First Drive: 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid looks to split the uprights Monday, 19 July 2010, 5:00 pm

Filed under: Sedan, Technology, Hyundai, First Drive

Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that the 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid hails from a nation where Buddhism is one of the dominant religions. After all, this slippery sedan’s design is the gas-electric’s equivalent of The Middle Path – a road that the company hopes is truly the way to automotive enlightenment.

Say what?

In the still-young history of the modern hybrid automobile, there have been two prevailing schools of thought on design: As the less costly path, The Low Road to hybridization is already a crowded one – it’s a design route that basically calls for the electrification hardware to be buried beneath a familiar bodyshell that’s shared with a conventional internal combustion-only model (see: Lexus LS 600h, Ford Fusion Hybrid, Chevrolet Silverado, etc.). The driving philosophy here is to keep production costs in check while also appealing to audiences that might be otherwise reluctant to embrace “new” technology.

By contrast, The High Road calls for swoopier model-specific bodywork – if not an entire dedicated platform – enabling a “greener than thou” halo for its owners and parent company. Unfortunately, this high-visibility strategy also costs a boatload of cash, and the only such model that has managed to make a solid business case for itself is the Toyota Prius, a vehicle that’s become the de-facto postercar for the green movement.

But here’s the conundrum that Hyundai has keenly recognized: Despite being on the checklist of every politician, environmentalist and Hollywood glitterati, hybrids don’t sell in America – they account for less than two percent of new vehicles purchased in the U.S. every year, and their high technology bandwidth means that they require a disproportionate amount of money to develop. Basically, Hyundai knows that the Sonata Hybrid is a necessity for improving its technological capabilities, as well as for burnishing its industry-leading CAFE scores, but it also seems to understand that it is almost certain to lose money on each one it builds. Which is why they’ve taken The Middle Path.

In this case, the Sonata Hybrid tries to integrate the best of the other two hybrid strategies – create a distinctive new model with a unique look that says “I care more about the earth than you do” without incurring the cost of a whole new platform and all-new sheetmetal. Have they been successful? We flew all the way to South Korea to find out…

Continue reading First Drive: 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid looks to split the uprights

First Drive: 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid looks to split the uprights originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog | Chris Paukert

Video: Next generation Hyundai Elantra caught practicing its parking? Sunday, 18 July 2010, 10:04 pm

Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Videos, Hyundai

The next Hyundai Elantra was revealed a few months ago at South Korea’s Busan Motor Show. It’s been revealed again, this time outdoors, in a parking lot where it appears to be practicing parallel parking maneuvers. Hyundai’s small four-door has grown in size, which helps it wear those stretched ‘fluidic’ design cues rather nicely. Once a portrait of anonymity, the Elantra’s now as good-looking as its big brother, the Sonata.

When the restyled Hyundai Elantra arrives next year, we expect it to be motivated by a 1.6-liter gasoline direct-injection engine with 138 horsepower. And we have a feeling those new looks are going to make people take a good, long look at the Elantra in liew of say, a Civic or Corolla.

As for parking jobs like this? We have a feeling they’ll be a lot easier than these drivers are making it look. If they had to find street parking in, say, New York, they’d run out of gas before they successfully stashed the car. Follow the jump to see the video, which does nothing to make parking seem any less mundane than it is. Hat tip to Avery

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Next generation Hyundai Elantra caught practicing its parking?

Video: Next generation Hyundai Elantra caught practicing its parking? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 18 Jul 2010 17:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog | Jonathon Ramsey

Hyundai releases Genesis Coupe 3.8 R-Spec for 2011 Friday, 16 July 2010, 12:24 am

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Hyundai

Hyundai isn’t content to just sit back and rest on its laurels. Despite the fact its Genesis Coupe, which was just introduced for the 2009 model year, has earned plenty of praise – including here on our own pages – the Korean automaker has upped the ante for 2011 with a host of new detail changes and one completely new model to spice things up.

The biggest single piece of news is the addition of an R-Spec package for the 3.8 V6-powered coupe. Previously only available on the smaller-engined 2.0T, the R-Spec model includes all the goodies to make the car go, turn and stop as quickly as possible without adding the frilly stuff to hold it back… or add dollars and unwanted weight.

To the standard 306-horsepower V6 mated up to a six-speed manual transmission, the R-Spec adds 19-inch wheels with a gunmetal finish, Brembo brake package with 13.4-inch ventilated front rotors, stiffer suspension, a limited slip differential and sportier seats with larger bolsters. Naturally, appropriate badging is also included.

All Genesis Coupe models get a refinished interior for 2011 with soft-touch, matte-finish surfaces and dark metal-grain accents on key bits and pieces, along with softer leather on the steering wheel and cloth-wrapping on the A-pillars. There’s also new chrome trim on the shifter bezel, center stack knobs and gauge cluster rings.

There’s plenty more for the truly obsessive to, um… obsess over, so feel free to check out all the details in the press release after the break.

[Source: Hyundai]

Continue reading Hyundai releases Genesis Coupe 3.8 R-Spec for 2011

Hyundai releases Genesis Coupe 3.8 R-Spec for 2011 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog | Jeremy Korzeniewski