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Hyundai i30 N getting 'fastback' variant

Overseas, the Hyundai i30, known as the Elantra GT here in America, has three total bodystyles. The first of course is the hatchback that we have here, and the other two include a wagon and a "fastback." The latter is basically a sedan with a liftback. It's also apparently the next Hyundai to get the N treatment based on these spy photos. There's no question this i30 fastback is an N. It has huge wheels and bright red brake calipers. The side skirts and rear bumper are more aggressive. And, like the normal hatchback and the Veloster N, it has a triangular rear light. But, unlike those two cars, this triangular light appears to be a rear fog light instead of a center high-mount brake light. This i30 N fastback also has the wide-set dual exhaust outlets of existing Hyundai N models. One major deviation we see on this fastback is the lack of a large rear wing. Both the i30 N hatchback and the Veloster N have large wings at the trailing edge of their respective roofs that just barely walk the line between classy and garish. The fastback seems to lack any wing at all, opting instead for just the little lip of the trunk lid found on the standard fastback. It could be that there's a bigger lip spoiler hidden under this prototype's wrappings, but that's still not a wing. Whenever the fastback does arrive, perhaps within a year, it will likely have the same two engine options available on the i30 N hatchback: a base version of the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder making 247 horsepower and a hotter iteration making 271 horsepower. The latter of these is the only available engine in the American Veloster N. And it's safe to say we won't be seeing the i30 N fastback in America. Hyundai has already made it clear that the i30 N hatch isn't coming to the U.S., despite the fact we get the normal i30 hatch. Since there's no Americanized i30 fastback, there's effectively no chance Hyundai would try to certify the body style solely for a niche model like the N. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2018 Hyundai i30 N Fastback spy shots View 19 Photos Image Credit: CarPix Spy Photos Hyundai Hatchback Performance Sedan i30 hyundai i30 Hyundai N

Less stressful than a taxi: We ride in Hyundai's Autonomous Ioniq Electric

The day after California told Uber to halt the testing of its driverless cars, Hyundai gave us a brief ride in an autonomous Ioniq Electric. The trip was mostly uneventful — our driver/engineer didn't hit anyone, and, unlike Uber's, Hyundai's car didn't run any red lights. You may think that's faint praise, but at the speed of advancement we take nothing for granted. More than once during our ride around a pre-mapped, all-right-turn route in Las Vegas, the Ioniq had to sort things out for itself, and the longer you ride the more you realize the scope of data we humans process without noticing. This Ioniq was identified only by its Korea-spec origins — dual charging ports for fast and regular recharge and no side marker lights — and Nevada's autonomous vehicle license plate. Tourists were completely unaware that it was driving itself. The autonomous Ioniq uses one 140-degree and two 110-degree Ibeo LiDAR units in the front fascia, plus a camera array inside the cabin at the top of the windshield. A single camera is used for traffic-light detection, with stereo units for the driving assistants. According to Hyundai, the autonomous gear detects objects knee-high but also will not drive into a low-hanging tree branch. We're also told the system works in rain and snow, citing the all-conditions approval certificate from Nevada, though that center front sensor looks prime for snow packing in heavy stuff. Essentially, one processor collects all the input data and combines it to a singular view, and a second processor tells the car what to do about it. Hyundai notes that minimal system power consumption was a primary target. The cabin sports the prototype-standard large red kill switch, an extra display atop the center of the dash, and two real-time monitors hanging behind the rear seats. The dash display is there so human drivers know the car is aware of its surroundings — it shows traffic lights as red or green (yellow is not detected but it will not panic stop if it loses a green light), speed limit, vehicle speed, route, a steering wheel to denote autonomous operation, and pedestrians detected. One rear monitor shows what the traffic-light camera sees, the other what the LiDAR units are picking up, from road curbs to people, vehicles and buildings. The ride experience is drama-free if a bit on the cautious side. Braking is often moderate to heavy, more on/off than the modulation range of many human drivers, but we felt no panic braking or ABS intervention.

Hyundai exec admits company studying pickup, no foolin'

Automotive News reports Hyundai may be considering jumping into the US pickup market. Lee In-cheol, ice president of international sales, says the company's product planners and engineers are currently trying to determine what size pickup would be best for our market. Currently, the automaker has no plans to build a truck, but Lee says that hasn't stopped US dealers from asking the company to produce one. The US and South Korea signed a free trade agreement that took effect in 2012 that removes the so-called Chicken Tax from South Korean imports in seven years.
That means that Hyundai or Kia could import a foreign-built truck without incurring the 25 percent tax on the vehicle's value after 2021. Even so, Hyundai isn't committed into jumping into the US full-size pickup market. Instead, the company may build a smaller truck designed to compete in emerging markets.
We've been hearing word about Hyundai's pickup musings for years now, including a rumored partnership with Chrysler to produce Ram-based trucks, but so far, nothing has come of it.