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The Ceiling Is the Roof: Hyundai Santa Fe Cabriolet opens a sky of possibilities

The Nissan CrossCabriolet might be a relic of the past, but its spirit continues to live on each and every time another manufacture builds a convertible SUV. It's a memory that just won't go away, no matter how much everybody tries. This time, it's Hyundai Australia that sent an out-of-the-blue reminder, showing off a chopped version of its new Santa Fe three-row utility vehicle. The totally revamped Santa Fe debuted earlier this year and is starting to hit public roads with a much more aggressive and stylized exterior. One feature not on the order sheets, however, is a convertible top. That's because this is a one-off project car that is not legal to drive on normal streets. This specific Santa Fe started its life as a pre-production ride used only for promotional purposes. The roof was removed for better access to take top-down photos of the interior, and this particular Santa Fe was set to be crushed at a later time. However, auto publication CarAdvice found out about the peculiarity and finessed Hyundai into offering a test drive on a private closed circuit. Any impressions are for naught, however, considering the vehicle is not headed for production, and this Santa Fe was not set up to be driven. That means the Land Rover Evoque remains the only drop-top high-top vehicle that is currently available for purchase. As a manufacturer that strictly makes utility vehicles, Land Rover is okay with creating SUVs with less practicality, like the convertible Evoque and the coupe-like Velar, to offer some variety. Or, for those feeling frisky, CrossCabriolets can easily be found for less than $20,000. The choice is yours. Related Video:

Hyundai rehires R&D president let go over quality issues

Last November, Hyundai announced the resignations of research and development president Kwon Moon-sik and two other R&D executives. At that time, it was said that the executives wished to "take responsibility for a series of quality issues" at the Korean automaker. Kwon Moon-sik had only been in the position for a year, but some of the quality issues thought to have caused the resignations included recalls of the Genesis and other sedans around the world, along with the company's much-publicized fuel economy overstatement controversy - both of which dealt with matters that transpired before Moon-sik took his position. In its statement at the time, Hyundai said, "The latest personnel change shows our firm commitment to quality management and reaffirms our will to continuously improve R&D competitiveness."
Three months later, Reuters is reporting that Moon-sik is back with the company, a statement announcing the rehire saying, "Given his expertise, experience and leadership skills, we reinstated president Kwon to enhance quality and R&D capability from scratch." Company chairman Chung Mong-koo is said to have a reputation for firing then rehiring workers, and it's possible this rehire is especially timely because Hyundai will bring its new Sonata to market this year and likely wants its experienced R&D captain at the wheel.
The man who had taken Moon-sik's position has returned to his previous post as head of powertrain development. However, in another surprise resignation, the head of Hyundai's design center, Oh Sug-geun, has left the company for "personal reasons." He has been replaced by Lee Byung-seob, who moves up from his position as head of exterior design.

Hyundai testing Sprinter-style commercial van

Commercial vehicle sales are a key component to the success of many automakers, and in its persistent drive to become one of the largest in the world, it's a segment Hyundai can't very well ignore. But while it offers the i800 and H-series vans overseas, it hasn't offered anything bigger than a Tucson or Santa Fe in North America since the demise of the Entourage and Veracruz. That could all change in the near future, however, if these latest spy shots are anything to go by.
Pictured undergoing testing in Europe, this Hyundai commercial van prototype looks to be about the size of a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter or Ram ProMaster. There's little we can tell from these disguised spy shots at the moment, other than to note that this Hyundai is big and has small wheels, in typical European van style. We can't even tell if this is front-, rear- or all-wheel drive.
Of course, we have no indication at this point whether the van pictured here will make the transatlantic voyage to American showrooms. But with Mercedes having led the Euro van charge with the aforementioned Sprinter, and with the likes of Ford, Ram and Nissan all following suit, it seems possible. However, between the upgrades to service departments often necessary to accommodate such large vehicles and the sales retraining necessary to court commercial truck customers, doing so wouldn't simply be a plug-and-play operation - it would undoubtedly take a great deal of effort and money.