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Weekly Recap: Hyundai scores NFL sponsorship after GM exits

Hyundai replaced General Motors as the official automotive sponsor of the NFL with a four-season deal that was announced this week. Hyundai gets exclusive sponsorship rights for mainstream and luxury cars, though not for pickups – as it doesn't have one in its current portfolio. "There may be another automotive truck sponsor, but not one that competes with our vehicle lineup," a Hyundai spokesman said in an email. That leaves the door open for another truckmaker to enter the fray. GM used the NFL to promote its GMC division, which makes pickups and sport-utility vehicles. The Detroit automaker decided to quit the sponsorship, which it had held since 2001, a GM spokesman said. Financials were not released, but ESPN said the sponsorship will cost Hyundai $50 million a year, double what GM paid. It gives Hyundai access to NFL trademarks for use in its marketing and advertising, and Hyundai will provide promotional vehicles to the league for the Super Bowl and other events. Hyundai celebrated the agreement by lighting up its Fountain Valley, CA, headquarters this week with a football field and the NFL logo. Hyundai's sister company, Kia, is the official automotive sponsor of the NBA. "We are huge football fans at Hyundai and feel there is no better venue to reach consumers, increase consideration, and tell the Hyundai brand story," Hyundai Motor America CEO Dave Zuchowski said in a statement. Hyundai will officially kick off its sponsorship when the NFL season begins on Sept. 10 with a primetime game featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. OTHER NEWS & NOTES Toyota Mirai rated at 67 mpge, 312-mile range The Environmental Protection Agency gave the Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell electric car a 67-miles-per-gallon-equivalent rating. The figure is for city, highway, and combined driving. The EPA also said the Mirai will have a 312-mile range. The sedan will arrive in dealerships in California this fall and will cost $57,500, though incentives can drop the price significantly. The Mirai will also be offered as a $499-per-month lease. Both come with three years or $15,000 worth of free fuel. Toyota plans to expand sales to the Northeast United States later. Toyota's top female exec resigns in wake of arrest Meanwhile, in other Toyota news, the automaker's communications chief and top female executive, Julie Hamp, resigned.

Overland Expo's GMC Sierra AT4X is an Aussie-style ultimate overlander

Overland Expo is a caravan of companies producing everything one could need or want for overlanding. So what better what to showcase the kind of hardcore overlander possible by dipping into that parts caravan than to build just such an overlander? That's what the Expo did in creating its second Ultimate Build, based on a 2022 GMC Sierra AT4X. Overland Expo said it chose the Sierra for the 6.2-liter V8 with 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque because it wanted to "go bigger and more extreme" than its first build last year, which was based on a Toyota 4Runner TRD Off-Road. This Sierra trim was chosen over its AT4 sibling due to the extra dose of rugged, like the Multimatic spool dampers that provide about an inch more suspension travel front and rear, and the front and rear locking differentials. The Denali-like luxury isn't a bad thing to have, either. The only performance mods are a MagnaFlow cat-back exhaust, Firestone Ride-Rite air springs at the bag and 17-inch Icon Dynamics wheels on 33-inch 33 Firestone Destination Mud Terrains replacing the stock 18-inchers on Goodyear Wranglers.   Rig builder Mule Expedition Outfitters tapped more than 21 exhibitors for components, and spent "hundreds of hours" putting them all together seamlessly. The most eye-catching swap comes from the MITS Alloy three-foot canopy and tray that replaces the pickup bed. MITS is an Australian company, hailing from the land that also gives us overlanding powerhouses like ARB and Old Man Emu, and this is a popular outback-style rig. In addition to the storage areas on the sides and underneath, the canopy holds a Dometic refrigerator, Green Goat Outdoors camp kitchen and an eight-gallon water can that feeds a Geyser Systems shower. A solar panel on the roof routes power to a pair of lithium-ion batteries in the canopy as well, their output controlled by a Redarc RedVision Manager30.  There are plenty of Rigid lights for avoiding trouble, and a Forrest Tool Max Tool Kit plus GoTreads for when trouble inevitably appears anyway. The crew cab should hold plenty of gear, but anything else that needs to be stored outside will go in a set of 3D dry bags.

GMC rules out subcompact crossover to go premium, focus on trucks

Don't wait for GMC's on-again, off-again baby crossover any longer. The company confirmed it has no plans to enter the growing car-based subcompact crossover segment in the near future because the expansion wouldn't fit its image. "I'm going to give you a definitive no on that one," answered Mark Alger, a regional marketing manager for GMC's Canadian division, when asked about the entry-level segment by GM Authority. "We want to position GMC as a premium brand, focus on our trucks, and capitalize on the AT4 name," he added. Positioning GMC as a premium brand wouldn't prevent officials from giving an entry-level the green light; Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz all sell cars priced in the vicinity of $30,000. Focusing on trucks like the Sierra and the Canyon makes sense, however, because they compete in a bigger segment of the market where profit margins are much wider. It helps that GMC doesn't have to worry about markets outside of North America; it's not concerned about its sales and image in, say, Spain. We've heard speculation about GMC's entry-level model since the Granite concept (pictured above) made its debut during the 2010 Detroit auto show. It was approved for production in 2010, approved again the following year (complete with rear suicide doors), and canceled in 2012, but the reports never went away. The segment's popularity added credibility to the recent murmurs describing a born-again Granite aimed at the Honda HR-V and the Toyota C-HR, among others. The Chevy Trax and Buick Encore are both GM vehicles that compete in this segment.  GMC also canceled a body-on-frame, Bronco-taming SUV, according to a recent report. The truck-focused automaker promised every nameplate in its range will receive the rugged AT4 treatment by 2021, however, and it announced plans to show the off-road-ready Canyon in early 2020.