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Hyundai looking to add plant in Mexico

Mexico is rapidly becoming the go-to place for North American auto production, and companies including Toyota, General Motors, and Audi are all building new plants, expanding or shifting some production there. Now, Hyundai is investigating joining them in the future. "I'm sure that over the years we'll see production of Hyundai products in Mexico," Pedro Albarran, managing director for the automaker in Mexico, said to Bloomberg. Albarran indicates that a likely location for such a factory might be the state of Nuevo Leon, where Kia also has a forthcoming $1 billion plant. The site would be an ideal location near suppliers. It's probably going to be a while before any of Hyundai's models start coming out of Mexico. According to Bloomberg, the automaker wants to wait to make a final decision until sales there reach around 50,000 annual units, and that benchmark isn't expected until 2018. While Kia's plant is slated to have a capacity around 300,000 vehicles a year when it opens in 2016, Albarran thinks Hyundai might start smaller at just over 100,000 annual examples. Some of those would likely include subcompact models for the Mexican market. The Korean automaker was rumored to be looking into a factory south of the border as far back as 2013.

2014 Hyundai Veloster Re:Flex brings the bling

Despite launching in late 2011, Hyundai has managed to keep its funky Veloster hatchback relatively fresh in our minds, with the Turbo and R-Spec, several special edition models and even a cloth-roofed concept. Here at the 2014 Chicago Auto Show, we're seeing the next iteration of Veloster creativity, the limited-edition Re:Flex.
The Veloster Re:Flex isn't a hugely different car from the standard hatchback, and the theme of this car is chrome, chrome, chrome. Hyundai has added 18-inch chrome-finished wheels, chrome door handles and chrome hood accents (yep). There's also the usual Re:Flex badging on the actual hatch itself. Inside, the Re:Flex gets full leather seating, in either black or red, and the car can be purchased in a new Ice Pearl color, in addition to Century White, Vitamin C (orange), Ultra Black and Boston Red.
Hyundai is only offering the Re:Flex edition on the base Veloster, powered by a naturally aspirated 1.6-liter inline four-cylinder engine. All Re:Flex models are fitted with the company's six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission (sorry, manual fans).

Vaccar Hyundai Tucson Sport to be shown at SEMA

Hyundai will display a custom concept version of its Tucson Sport developed by Vaccar at the SEMA show in Las Vegas, showing a more muscular-looking crossover that contains a full aero kit and significant additions to the powertrain, design, infotainment and suspension. The concept enhances the Sport, the third-highest of four trim options for 2017, by adding a Boostec turbocharger, AEM air intake system and charge pipe kit, a Mishimoto G-Line intercooler, new piping and exhaust, and other elements to the standard turbocharged 1.6-liter, inline-four engine. It also gets forged wheels, new tires, and Vaccar-Power Stop front and rear Z23 Evolution brakes. The exterior gets a blue and silver metallic two-tone paint treatment from BASF, an M&S mesh front grille and Vaccar front lip, side skirts and rear diffuser. Interior features include Katzkin ice grey leather, 9-inch headrest-mounted LCD screens, and an Android-powered 9-inch head unit with WiFi. "The Vaccar Tucson Sport Concept takes the Tucson far beyond its OEM roots without sacrificing reliability," said Aaron Vaccar, president of Vaccar. "By building upon the well-developed Tucson platform, powertrain and design, we've given enthusiasts a vision of just where this affordable crossover aspires to go." SEMA runs from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3.Related Video: Featured Gallery Vaccar Hyundai Tucson Sport Concept: SEMA 2017 View 9 Photos Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2017 Drew Phillips / Autoblog.com SEMA Show Hyundai Crossover Concept Cars hyundai tucson