2006 Hyundai Tiburon Gt Coupe 2-door 2.7l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Recharge Wrap-up: Canada gets Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell, Washington governor favors EVs

Washington Governor Jay Inslee wants extend tax breaks for EVs past the July 1 expiration date. He also calls for looking into allowing EVs use of carpool lanes and creating charging infrastructure. Inslee sees encouraging electric driving as a way to help mitigate climate change, but detractors within the state don't like the idea of giving priorities to certain drivers. "I'm not enthusiastic about a subsidy that picks winners and losers and doesn't help the middle class," says representative Reuven Carlyle. Read more at The State. Novozymes says it has an enzyme solution, called Eversa, that can make biodiesel from waste oils. The technology converts the vegetable oils used by the food industry into usable fuel. The enzymatic process is said to be cheaper and safer than chemical processes with fewer harmful byproducts, and can handle higher levels of free fatty acids. The process is safer than others, says Novozymes' Frederik Mejlby, due to the lack of required high temperature and pressure, and that the "organic nature and mild process conditions do not generate toxic components as in some chemical biodiesel processes." Read more in the press release below. The USDA has announced funding of advanced biofuels and the bioeconomy. The USDA is providing $5.6 million in grants to advanced biofuel producers, as well as an additional $4 million toward a bioeconomy to reduce dependence on foreign oil. The funds come from the USDA's Advanced Biofuel Payment Program, which is part of the 2008 Farm Bill. The biofuel sources targeted are, in particular, crop residue, animal, food and yard waste, vegetable oil and animal fat. Read more in the press release below. Hyundai will be offering the Tucson Fuel Cell for lease in Canada. Beginning in early 2015, the hydrogen vehicle will be available to customers in Vancouver, British Columbia. It's the first hydrogen vehicle from a major automaker in the country. "We are proud to be leading the fuel cell movement," says Hyundai Auto Canada President and CEO Don Romano, "and now is the time for auto companies, governments, and citizens to join us in this initiative and push for the creation of a hydrogen infrastructure in Canada to maintain this positive momentum." Read more in the press release below. New enzyme technology converts waste oils into biodiesel Novozymes' latest offering secures flexible feedstock selection and lower operational costs for biodiesel producers.

Hydrogen stations that don't work putting a dent in H2 lifestyle

Hydrogen is the most plentiful element in the universe, but it's not abundant enough for some hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle drivers. Southern California lessees of models such as the Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell SUV are taking to Facebook to voice their complaints about out-of-order fuel cell stations, Green Car Reports says. In many cases, the lack of hydrogen supply has made the cars effectively undriveable. For Tucson Fuel Cell owners, the hydrogen is supposed to be free and unlimited, but Hyundai doesn't manage the stations. One Orange County lessee of a Tucson fuel-cell vehicle hasn't driven the car for over a month because the trio of nearby stations are out of commission. Additionally, some of the stations that do work can only provide about a half-tank worth of hydrogen, once again putting a crimp the driving range of the hydrogen car. California is home to 10 of the dozen public hydrogen refueling stations in the country (there's one each in Connecticut and South Carolina), according to US Department of Energy figures. These sorts of challenges can't help Hyundai's hydrogen efforts. Last month, it was reported that Hyundai has sold fewer than 300 fuel cell vehicles worldwide during the past three years, including about 70 through the first five months of this year. The South Korea-based automaker has said it wants to sell 1,000 fuel-cell vehicles globally by the end of 2015. Fuel-cell drivers and advocates alike are hoping that Toyota will change the game when its Mirai hydrogen vehicles start hitting California roads later this year. Toyota confirmed in May that Mirai US sales would start in October in eight California dealerships. The Northeast is on tap for 2016. Related Video:

Kia, Hyundai testing big crossovers, and one looks like the Telluride

Big things are coming from Hyundai and Kia in the near future, and we mean literally. One of our spy photographers caught the companies each testing full-size crossover SUVs out in the snow. The Kia caught our attention in particular, because it looks quite a bit like the Kia Telluride concept from 2016. At the front of the Kia, the entire fascia looks boxy with nary a curve in sight. It also has low-set, squared-off headlights at the far edges; both prominent features on the concept, too. That theme carries over to the back, where the metal portion of the hatch looks plain and flat and is almost perfectly vertical. The glass area leans forward a bit. The taillights also look like those on the concept, with thin vertical portions that make a 90-degree turn inward at the top. A neat design touch not found on the concept are the slight glass extensions into the roof on each side of the windshield. When the concept Telluride was revealed, it was based on the Sorento platform and had a combined 400 horsepower. This power came from a 270-horsepower V6 and a 130-horsepower electric motor, which Kia claimed would provide 30 mpg in all-wheel-drive form. We expect that the Telluride will mainly be offered in non-hybrid forms, and perhaps in diesel form, since this prototype was testing alongside a Volvo XC90 diesel. But we also wouldn't necessarily rule out a hybrid variant like the concept. Kia and Hyundai both are getting serious about hybrids and electrification, and if Kia is targeting something like the XC90, which itself offers a hybrid powertrain, it would make sense that Kia is planning to offer a competing product. A Kia executive said news about the production model is coming "soon," so we'll probably learn more about the production Telluride sometime this year, probably no earlier than the New York Auto Show. View 16 Photos As for the big Hyundai, it will likely take the space the newly downsized Santa Fe has vacated. We're not sure what it might be called, but the last time Hyundai had a crossover bigger than the Santa Fe, it was called the Veracruz, so the name could make a return. Styling-wise, the front of this full-size crossover is right in line with the rest of Hyundai's new-generation crossovers. It has the split headlight design that first showed up on the Kona, with the lower lamps providing primary illumination, and the thin, scowling upper lamps working mainly as daytime running lights.