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Hyundais caught testing in high elevations
Filed under: Spy Photos, Coupes, Sedans/Saloons, Crossovers/CUVs, Hyundai 
Click above for more Hyundai spy shots
Remember: When traveling to faraway locales, always have your camera. A reader by the name of Steve did just so and was rewarded with some pictures of Hyundai's latest and greatest models. Why, you may wonder, was the Korean automaker testing these vehicles? They were likely undergoing high elevation testing, as they were snapped on Mount Evans in Colorado. The Mount Evans Scenic Byway, leading to the summit overlook, is the highest paved road in North America (thanks, Wikipedia!).
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Hyundai Genesis' Tau V8 could grow to five liters, or beyond
Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Hyundai 
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Hyundai Genesis sedan.
The Hyundai Genesis sedan has only been on sale for a month, but the automaker is already considering upgrading the current 4.6-liter V8 with a 5.0-liter version. Hyundai's North American product chief, John Krafcik, told MotorTrend that the Tau V8 could be stroked up to 5.5-liters, but the ideal displacement to keep fuel economy on par with power is an even five liters.
The plan is to increase the displacement of the V8, as well as adding direct-injection to Hyundai and Kia's range of fours, sixes and eights over the next few years. It's...
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Let there be victory: Hyundai Genesis trumps Lexus GS 350 in comparo
Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Hyundai, Lifestyle 
InsideLine, no strangers to luxury, recently put the Hyundai Genesis up against the kind of competition the Korean automaker wants to be associated with: the Lexus GS 350. The GS 300 first came out in 1993 and had the luxury re-defining LS and ES for siblings; at the time, Hyundai was still making do with Excel, Sonata, and Scoupe, and parking any of them next to a Lexus would have laid bare the gulf. Now the marques are going head-to-head. This, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call progress.
Still, issues of cost -- and perception -- skew the comparison slightly....
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Hyundai to sell 50,000 Genesis per year, Sonata hybrid coming in 2010
Filed under: Coupes, Hybrids/Alternative, Sedans/Saloons, Hyundai 
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Hyundai Genesis sedan.
Hyundai's first foray into the world of rear-wheel-drive needs to be a success in order to justify the development, manufacturing and launching costs. Hyundai's vice president for product development, John Krafcik, told reports that the automaker expects to sell 50,000 Genesis models annually in the U.S. - 20,000 sedans and 30,000 coupes.
But the Genesis is only part of Hyundai's image makeover. The Korean manufacturer intends to launch its first hybrid model by 2010, equipped with a next generation lithium-ion battery pack. According to Krafcik, "Our first U.S....
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Hyundai considers sourcing city car from India
Filed under: Economy, Hatchbacks, Hyundai, India 
Click above for high-res gallery of the Hyundai i10.
Since last October, Hyundai has been selling the i10 minicar in 70 countries throughout the world. The diminutive sedan is just over 140 inches long (about 20 inches shorter than the Honda Fit), powered by an 80 hp, 1.2-liter four that returns up to 56 mpg and retails for between $7,800 and $11,200 in India. Those specs could be enticing for American consumers looking for a simple runabout that's smaller than the Fit/Yaris and larger than the smart fortwo, so Hyundai is seriously considering bringing it to the States.
According...
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Hyundai releases teaser of extra large Equus sedan
Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Hyundai 
Until now, we've had to be content with only spy shots of Hyundai's Equus replacement, usually in heavy camouflage. But now we're treated to the image you see above, though the camo has been replaced with heavy shadows and a glaring spotlight.
Don't bother taking it into Photoshop to bring out more detail on the bulging fenders or the big upright grille. We tried and there's just not a whole lot of info there to work with. But Hyundai-Blog says the company is going to make a full presentation of its largest, most powerful sedan in February. Expect the car to have a...
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GM and Toyota first in line to buy Hyundai Genesis
Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Etc., Hyundai 
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Hyundai Genesis.
Hyundai sold a healthy amount of Genesis sedans after it went on sale last month, and of the 800 models running around the U.S., General Motors and Toyota were two of the first to pick up the new luxury sedan from the Korean automaker.
According to Michael Deitz, Hyundai's manager of product development, both automakers purchased V6-equipped models since the V8 isn't available yet, and that one of the buyers identified himself as part of GM's "Competitive Intelligence Department."
While automakers routinely purchase competing vehicles for in-house R&D purposes, it's telling that...
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Spy Shots: Hyundai's Pacifica-like Portico crossover
Filed under: Spy Photos, Minivans/MPVs, Crossovers/CUVs, Hyundai  The market for oversize and jacked-up minivans parading as crossovers hasn't exactly set the world on fire, as Chrysler's Pacifica and Mercedes-Benz R-Class have ably proven. Still, Hyundai is set to throw its hat into the ring with the upcoming Portico, which is based on the concept vehicle from 2005 with the same name. To its credit, the Portico does manage to have a few new features that its competition doesn't. Seating for up to six is standard, though there are only two rows. Each row is a long bench, with the center spot on each row also able to...
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Hyundai Genesis gets introduced to DUB
Filed under: Tuners, Sedans/Saloons, Hyundai 
Click above for more high-res pics of the Genesis DUB-ified
Who says you need to wait for Hyundai's Genesis Coupe to get your tuning freak on? Not the rims and system folks over at DUB, who took two Genesis (Geneses?) and kitted one out like, well, KITT, and the other kind of like a Stormtrooper from Star Wars. For an interior we can't exactly describe as attractive, the white one's not that bad -- certainly not as bad as it could have been. Still, following Wesley Snipes' advice from Passenger 57, we're going to bet on black. Check out the gallery of hi-res images...
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Hyundai boss receives pardon from South Korean president
Filed under: Etc., Hyundai 
In South Korea, economics trumps justice. Chung Mong-koo, the head of Hyundai who recently received a suspended sentence for embezzling and bribes has -- along with 341,000 other businessmen, bureaucrats, and politicians -- been given a full pardon.
President Lee Myung-bak, who said he was "personally against" the decision, decided to issue the pardons anyway. Mong-koo wasn't even in jail, but apparently the convicted and jailed businessmen were "having problems doing business overseas." Go figure.
So on Liberation Day, in hopes that "businessmen would take the lead in reviving the economy by creating jobs through active investment and exploring markets abroad," the bad...
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