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2019 Hyundai Veloster shows off its colorful new face

The next-gen Hyundai Veloster is coming soon. When I was in Korea for the launch of the new Hyundai Kona, all three variants — standard, Turbo and N — were trotting around the automaker's proving grounds, teasing and laughing at us since we weren't allowed to use our cameras. After some sleuthing, we uncovered some new info. Thanks to the automotive media back in Korea, we have what appears to be official images of the new Veloster Turbo done up in some of the best-looking camouflage we've seen in a long while. The car will make its full debut at the Detroit Auto Show in January. It seems the car was shown off to the Korean press at Inje Speedway in Gangwon Province. The car retains the same basic three-door layout of the old model. That means two doors on the passenger side and one for the driver. The shape may be generally the same, but the car looks far cleaner than before. It's as if Hyundai's designers smoothed out all the lines and pulled the bodywork tighter to the frame. Like before, the exhaust appears to exit from the center, though the N model I saw in Korea and in spy photos has a more traditional dual-exit exhaust pipe. Floating red-painted calipers appear to clamp on some pretty large rotors. There appear to be two wheel designs, too. There aren't any photos of the interior, but once again our spy photographers have come through. The press release we found also lists a new heads-up display. Since these photos came from Korea, we contacted representatives at Hyundai here in the U.S. for more info, but weren't given any clear answers. All we were told was that the images came from their counterparts in Korea. Expect the Veloster Turbo to share the 201-horsepower turbocharged 1.6-liter inline-four and transmissions from the Elantra GT Sport. Korea apparently gets a 1.4-liter engine, but it's unclear if that's coming here. We hope the hopped-up Veloster N will get the 271-horsepower turbocharged inline-four from the i30 N. Hyundai has been on a killer roll as of late. We can't wait to drive this. Related Video:

Hyundai will launch pickup, more SUVs to reverse U.S. sales slide

By Paul Lienert and Hyunjoo Jin DETROIT/SEOUL — Hyundai plans to launch a pickup truck in the United States as part of a broader plan to catch up with a shift away from sedans in one of the Korean automaker's most important markets, a senior company executive said. Michael J. O'Brien, vice president of corporate and product planning at Hyundai's U.S. unit, told Reuters that Hyundai's top management has given the green light for development of a pickup truck similar to a show vehicle called the Santa Cruz that U.S. Hyundai executives unveiled in 2015. Hyundai currently does not offer a pickup truck in the United States. Hyundai also plans to launch a small SUV called the Kona in the United States later this year. People familiar with the automaker's plans said separately that Hyundai plans to launch three other new or refreshed SUVs by 2020. So-called crossovers — sport utilities built on chassis similar to sedans — now account for about 30 percent of total light vehicle sales in the United States. Consumers in China, the world's largest auto market, are also substituting car-based SUVs for sedans. People familiar with Hyundai's plans said the company plans to roll out a new version of its Santa Fe Sport midsize SUV next year, followed by an all-new seven-passenger crossover to replace a current three-row Santa Fe in early 2019 in the United Sates. A redesigned Tucson SUV is expected in 2020, people familiar with Hyundai's plans said. Hyundai's U.S. dealers have pushed the company to invest more aggressively in SUVs and trucks as demand for sedans such as the midsize Sonata and the smaller Elantra has waned, and as Hyundai has announced a shift to electric vehicles. "We are optimistic about the future," Scott Fink, chief executive of Hyundai of New Port Richey, Fla., which is Hyundai's biggest U.S. dealer, said. "But we are disappointed that we don't have the products today." Hyundai's U.S. sales are down nearly 11 percent this year through July 31, worse than the overall 2.9-percent decline in U.S. car and light truck sales. Sales of the Sonata, once a pillar of Hyundai's U.S. franchise, have fallen 30 percent through the first seven months of 2017. In contrast, sales of Hyundai's current SUV lineup are up 11 percent for the first seven months of this year. "Our glasses are fairly clean," O'Brien said.

Kevin Hart tracks his daughter's Genesis in Hyundai Super Bowl ad

As the official automotive sponsor of the NFL, Hyundai has a massive advertising presence during Super Bowl 50, including four commercials premiering before or during the game. A newly released spot titled First Date markets the Genesis sedan (soon to be the Genesis G80) with humor by casting comedian Kevin Hart as a concerned dad who spies on his daughter's date. The commercial highlights Hyundai's Blue Link Car Finder that lets owners track their vehicle from a smartwatch. Hart uses it to follow his daughter on her date in increasingly absurd ways. By the end of the spot, he's hanging off a helicopter to keep an eye on her. This is also the second automotive ad to use a Queen song this year. Where Hyundai's commercial uses Another One Bites the Dust, Honda picks Somebody to Love for its Ridgeline spot. The 60-second commercial airs during the pre-kick time slot and joins Ryanville and The Chase among Hyundai's Super Bowl ads. The still unreleased Better premieres during the pre-game and shows the automaker's desire to improve its vehicles and customer experience. Related Video: