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Hyundai cranks the Tucson to 700 hp for SEMA

The annual SEMA Show doesn't kick off in Las Vegas until Nov. 3, but Hyundai is getting an early start by teasing another collaboration with the talented tuners at Bisimoto Engineering. Following up on their high-performance takes on the Sonata, Genesis Coupe, and Elantra GT of past years, the attention turns to the Tucson. Now that the crossover packs over 700 horsepower, Bisimoto prefers to describe it as a "Brute Ute." To crank that much power out of a Tucson, the tuners perform quite a long list of modifications to Hyundai's 2.4-liter Theta-II four-cylinder. Among them, the mill gets strengthened internal parts, a new cam, high-boost turbo, and updated management system. Bisimoto then routes the grunt through a six-speed manual gearbox. The tuners match the massive power with an appropriately wild look. Up front, the normal grille is gone, and now all that's visible is a massive intercooler. The blue Tucson also hunkers low over 19-inch wheels thanks to a custom air suspension, and bigger brakes should help slow things down at high speed. The interior also gets outfitted with an upgraded stereo, and there's now a roll cage in there, too. While only being shown currently in the sketch above, we expect to get all the angles at SEMA in November. Bisimoto Engineering's First CUV is the Most-Powerful Tucson Ever FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Sept. 21 2015 –Hyundai has revealed the most-powerful 2016 Tucson ever created, built by the powertrain gurus at Bisimoto Engineering for 2015 SEMA. Partnering for a fourth straight year, Bisimoto's "Brute Ute" will be revealed at Hyundai's SEMA press conference on November 3 at 11:30 a.m. PT, in Las Vegas. Utilizing Hyundai's 2.4-liter "Theta-II" power plant as the starting point for the build, similar to last year's 2015 Sonata, Bisimoto mated strengthened internals with fast-burning flex-fuel, a high-boost turbocharger and an upgraded engine management system to put down more than 700 horsepower to the wheels through a 6-speed manual transmission. This rendition of the 2016 Tucson was built with the ultimate vision of packing world-beating performance and technology into a brand-new, unexpected vehicle platform. "The 2016 Tucson was the perfect platform for this year's build, offering me the opportunity to captivate a wider audience by tapping into the growing popularity of the CUV market," said Bisi Ezerioha, owner and chief engineer, Bisimoto Engineering.

Pre-owned deal alert: Hyundai Genesis

Hyundai used to make really crappy cars: horrible to drive, horrible build quality, and unreliable. Any sales person that sold Hyundais in the early 2000s can regale you with a story that goes like this: "I was delivering a brand new Hyundai to a customer and _____________ broke, but I told the customer _______________ and the customer brought the car home anyway. Selling those pieces of crap required true salesmanship. Hyundai knew its products would not sell without a competitive edge, so it offered one of the best warranties in America: 5 years/60,000 miles bumper to bumper and 10 year/100,000 miles on the powertrain. At the time most consumers viewed that warranty as a necessity; they felt they would not buy a Hyundai without the best warranty in America. All of that changed in 2008 with the debut of the Hyundai Genesis sedan. Everyone thought a luxurious Hyundai was impossible until they saw and drove the vehicle. The design was subdued yet elegant, the interior was not world-class but was above average, the ride was comfortable and quiet, and its steering was acceptable. The Genesis sedan is powered by a 4.6-liter, 375-horsepower V8 or a 3.8-liter, 290-horsepower V6. Both of these engines were smooth and propelled the car to 60 in under six seconds. The Genesis was not better than a Lexus or a Mercedes. But it was a great value: The starting price was $34,000 for a V6 base and topped out well under $50,000 if you got the V8 and tech package. Even so, Hyundai knew people might not plunk down $40,000 for a Hyundai, so they leased them out at really aggressive numbers. A no-money-down lease on the Genesis was around $450 a month during the darkest days of the recession. I was told the dealers were leasing them out for around $350 a month. Which brings us to today, when the market is flooded with tons of lease returns. A used Hyundai Genesis is an even better value. There are a good number of 2013 models with under 45,000 miles on the odometer for under $20,000; the average price is at $18,500. Assuming the vehicle was leased in 2013, you would still get at least two years and 20k miles on the bumper-to-bumper and at least five years of powertrain warranty with the car. Most of these lease return models come with power everything, leather, sunroof, upgraded sound system – most of what you expect in a luxury car. Some are more aggressively priced than others.

China sticking to its guns on EVs for the future

Automakers are obviously free to develop whatever next-gen, zero-emissions tech that they want. However, if a company wants to get on the good side of the Chinese government, that strategy better include some plug-in vehicles. The authorities there are lending major support to plug-ins at the moment, and its forcing the auto industry to play along. According to Bloomberg, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and BMW are all launching dedicated EV brands with their joint venture partners, and as many as 40 electric models could hit the Chinese market this year alone. However, analysts don't think the vehicles are going to sell well. Instead, the launches are essentially a way for companies to play nice with the government and help get the approval to build factories in the country. Take Toyota as an example. The company is pushing the future of hydrogen hard with promotional films for the Mirai and engineers talking down fast-charging EVs. Still, the Japanese automaker is getting ready to launch two EV brands in China with its joint venture partners, according to Bloomberg. China's push for alternative fuels has been happening for a while, but it really kicked into high gear last year. The government has set a goal to improve fleet-wide economy by 40 percent by the end of the decade in order to spend less importing oil and for the population's health. The plan has shown some success so far with hybrid and EV sales growing early in 2015. Related Video: News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Kin Cheung / AP Photo Government/Legal Green BMW Hyundai Toyota Volkswagen Green Culture Technology Electric tax incentives chinese government