This is the sketch that follows an earlier rendering of the third generation Hyundai Equus, due in 2010. As far as sedans are concerned, it looks like Hyundai is moving toward the Aston Martin school of design -- make something everyone loves, and then make it a little different and give it another name. The coming Kia luxury sedan started it, and beneath the cartoonish anger of this Equus sketch there's a Genesis on a bad batch of nandrolone. Underneath and inside, the car won't be lacking in either power or pleasures. Pushed by the rear wheels this time, an Equus first, initially it will be offered with the Genesis' 4.6-liter V8 and Hyundai's in-house eight-speed automatic transmission. Later, a 5.0-liter V8 will get up to 420 hp, and some speculation hints that the lump will be direct injection and cylinder deactivation. Other chatter suggests that engine will be joined by an optional 5.5-liter supercharged variant. The bulging sheetmetal on the previous rendering won't be the only thing the car shares with the Mercedes S-Class; it will also be loaded with tech. Features will include a Lane Departure Warning System, Pre-Safety Seatbelt System, and LED-equipped headlights and taillights. Hyundai's newest flagship is expected to be in South Korean dealerships in February.
Stop/start technology is like a trial membership for hybrids: it lets drivers in on the fuel savings and lower carbon emissions without forcing them to become a card-carrying member of the hybrid brigade. Kia is will be offering buyers just such an opportunity by introducing ISG, or Idle, Stop, and Go (also called Intelligent Stop & Go) on the new cee'd. The ISG will be available on the 1.4- and 1.6-liter gasoline-engined c'eeds, and unlike other stop/start technology, this ISG shuts the engine down not only when the car is stopped, but when it's moving less than four mph. To engage the ISG while the car is moving, the driver puts the car in neutral and depresses the clutch, the engine is shut down, and he or she will be rewarded with 15% better fuel economy in the urban cycle. The frugal-ized cee'd also benefits from a lighter five-speed gearbox and low-rolling-resistance tires as standard fitment. Later in 2009, the 1.6-liter diesel c'eed will be offered with ISG technology.
When automotive mad man Rhys Millen broke five vertebrae attempting to back flip the Red Bull trophy truck, it only made him want to try it again. The drift king set the stage for redemption on New Years Eve with the truck, ramp and huge crowd on national television for all to see. ESPN even had the obligatory live-cam shot of Millen's concerned wife to lend some extra drama to the daring jump. The magnificent Millen hit the ramp at speed, executed a near perfect back flip, then proceeded to roll his trophy truck. The rear passenger wheel touched down just before its parallel partner, resulting in a messy landing that left Millen's truck at its side. Luckily, this time Millen walked away from the crash without any serious injuries, but his pride was still hurt. Millen did perform a mid-air back flip, but he doesn't count that for anything because "It's nothing unless you drive away." Fair enough. You know what they say, though, if you fall off the bike, you have to get back on and try again. Something tells us this isn't the last we've seen of Rhys Millen and back-flipping trophy trunks. At least we hope not.
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Twelve years ago, Toyota started selling a car that was bought by those considered avant-garde, on the fringe. It was called the Prius. Now Toyota is looking to "turn around its struggling business with a futuristic ecological car," and the company is supposedly working on plans for a solar-powered car. We'll ignore, for a moment, that a company with $18 billion in cash and experiencing its first annual operational loss in 70 years is now called a "struggling business." The noteworthy news is that while other automakers are trying to get their hybrid acts together, Toyota is down the road working on a car powered solely by le soleil.
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After discovering that Hyundai would be running two separate commercials during the Super Bowl to introduce the Genesis coupe to the masses, we've been trying to imagine what kind of "precision driving footage" Rhys Millen would provide "matched to a completely distinct soundtrack" from cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The two spots share a single theme, "The Epic Lap." Rhetorical ads aside, we're genuinely excited about the upcoming Genesis Coupe, which will be offered with either a 210-horsepower (220 with premium fuel) 2.0L turbocharged four or a 306 hp 3.8L V6 driving the rear wheels. Considering how cool Hyundai's other Genesis Coupe commercials have been, we're looking forward to seeing this one too. You can count us among the millions of viewers who'll be tuning into the big game on Sunday, Feb. 1st, regardless of who happens to be playing. Later, Hyundai will launch a contest where online users can edit their own "Epic Lap" commercials. That sounds like it should get the creative juices flowing rather nicely.
As is so often the case these days, some early details regarding Honda's upcoming Prius-fighter have leaked out before the hybrid's official unveiling at the Detroit Auto Show. Included among the surprises is a Modulo-trimmed Insight featuring a full set of body mods from Honda's accessory catalog in Japan. We can't be sure if any of those bits will come Stateside (we're not betting on it), but it wouldn't be surprising if we got three trim levels similar to what's slated to be available in Honda's home market of Japan. We could get a base DX trim along with an up-level LX edition and a sportier EX model with such tasty bits as a paddle-shifted CVT automatic transmission and navigation system with 7-inch screen. With just 88 horses underhood along with an additional 14 from the hybrid's electric motor, don't expect the Insight to be a tire scorching performer, as its true calling with be in delivering the best fuel economy possible. In Japanese testing, the Insight has scored over 70 miles-per-gallon, which may be lower than what the Prius was able to register, but the Insight is also expected to cost several thousand dollars less than its rival.
BYD, which stands for Build Your Dreams, is a Chinese company with huge ambition to become the world's largest automaker. If there's any chance of making that monumental task a reality, the company will need some amazing products, a stage to present them to the world and a little luck. At least one of those requirements has been met, as BYD is set to capitalize on Nissan's absence at the Detroit Auto Show in January by placing its products right on the main floor with all the rest of the major automakers. BYD's working on the product problem too, having just released its first plug-in hybrid, called the F3DM, in its home market ealier this month. If that weren't enough, the automaker reportedly plans to release two more all-electric models in 2009, with the goal of bring its products to the crucial American and European markets in 2011. All of these impressive developments have been made possible with the help of a $230 million investment from Warren Buffet. Much like the upcoming Chevy Volt, the BYD F3DM and F6DM sedans and the E6 van rely on an electric motor and an on-board battery pack to provide motive force for the first 60 miles, after which a normal gasoline-powered engine kicks in to keep the party going. Needless to say, we'll keep an eye out for the budding Chinese automaker next month in Detroit.
The GTby Citroen has had a short, busy life: from teaser renderings to its Paris Motor Show debut to rumors that Citroen might make the coupe - and then quickly to a denial. Now it is evidently running on European tarmac with a distinct high-powered wail. The commentary is entirely in Polish, but you don't need to understand the language to know that this is where the car looks its best: hugging the road at high speed. Follow the jump to check out the video.
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Now it begins to make sense: The previous performance art video teasers for the 2010 Prius were made up largely of edited shots from this teaser, with the Blue Man Group restored to its place. This one doesn't make any more or less sense than the previous videos, and there isn't much more to see, but it does offer a couple of chuckles. We would love to see how far you get with that eyedropper, though. Follow the jump to check out the video and see what we mean.
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Eaton, a company primarily known for making superchargers that make your vehicle go like stink, but guzzle even more gas, is also in the series hydraulic hybrid (SHH) business. The drive system in a hydraulic hybrid replaces the conventional drivetrain; the engine is effectively rendered a "pump" for the hydraulics, and energy is stored in two different accumulators that then power the wheels. Fuel savings of 50-70% are achieved by the system being much lighter than a traditional drivetrain, along with regenerative braking and the fact that the engine can be turned off when stopped and when decelerating.
The first real-world application of Eaton's SHH will be in a number of UPS delivery trucks next year. No auto manufacturer has any plans to create an SHH -- because of the lack of batteries, when the engine is cut off, electrical systems like the radio and climate control are also shut down. Eaten has a cooperative working agreement with the EPA to develop its hydraulic hybrid system, and has selected IBM to develop software to refine the system.
