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Ford Ranger, UK Mustang, Hyundai Hybrid | Autoblog Minute

Ford may bring the Ranger back to the US, the UK goes nuts over Mustang, and the battle of hybrids heats up with spy shots of Prius and a new Hyundai. Autoblog senior editor Greg Migliore reports on highlights from the week in automotive news.

2014 Hyundai Equus facelift revealed ahead of NY debut

Hyundai has dropped a pair of videos detailing the facelifted 2014 Equus ahead of the luxury sedan's official debut at the New York Auto Show later this month. New adaptive LED headlamps are matched with redesigned LED taillamps, along with new 18-inch alloy wheels at all four corners (19s are optional). Buyers will get to enjoy a card-type smart key and a shift-by-wire gear change indoors. More importantly, the vehicle's forward cabin is now dominated by a 9.2-inch screen mounted in the center of the dash.
The old analog gauges have also gone by the wayside in favor of a new TFT LCD display. Mechanically, the 2014 Equus will continue to offer a standard 3.8-liter V6 engine or an optional 5.0-liter V8, depending on the market (the US-spec car is currently only available with the V8). The vehicle can be configured with a total of three driving modes, including Normal, Snow and Sport, which can adjust multiple systems, including the vehicle's electronic dampers. You can check out two computer-generated videos of the four-door below.

Did a US automaker blow the whistle on Hyundai, Kia fuel economy issue?

In all of the most hotly contested mainstream segments of the motoring universe, the difference of one mile per gallon averaged on a widow sticker can mean the difference between a sale and a walk-off - to say nothing of two or three mpg. So, when Hyundai and Kia were forced to reveal that many of their 40-mpg ratings were actually 38s and 37s, well, it made for big news.
It also, conceivably, made for a competitive disadvantage immediately, when the Korean automakers' products were being shopped versus the guys down the block. And it's that disadvantage that makes a recent story from Automotive News so juicy.
AN is reporting that Margo Oge, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, got a tip in 2010 that Hyundai/Kia were "cheating" to get its impressive fuel economy numbers. The tip, said Oge (who retired from the EPA this past September), came from a senior vice president from a domestic automaker. The source was credible enough for Oge to launch an audit of the Hyundai figures, which ultimately lead to the debacle that we reported on a few months ago, and that the Korean company has been trying to bounce back from ever since.