2017 Hyundai Elantra Limited on 2040-cars

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Hyundai Santa Cruze pickup is a when, not an if

A production version Hyundai HCD-15 Santa Cruz concept looks all but certain to arrive in showrooms to compete in the growing small truck field, and Hyundai Motor America CEO Dave Zuchowski claims the official announcement is now just a matter of scheduling. "Our timing is not crossing our fingers and waiting for approval, it's trying to figure out when we're going to announce it," he said to Motoring. According to Zuchowski, the people at Hyundai's headquarters in South Korea have a say when the announcement comes, but he didn't indicate exactly how soon the model's production could be official. Zuchowski suggested Hyundai intended to ship the truck to places outside the US, too. "I'm not clear on the other markets, but from our perspective it's a vehicle that will be exported to other markets," he said to Motoring. The Santa Cruz was one of the most popular concept debuts at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, and Hyundai execs in the US quickly started working to get a green light for production from headquarters. As of late December 2015, the automaker reportedly had the engineering feasibility and business case complete for the truck, and the bosses just needed to give final approval. Hyundai would reportedly use the Tucson for the Santa Cruz's underpinnings, and the model might be the company's first with a diesel engine in the US. The production version would enter a booming market for smaller pickups like the Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, Toyota Tacoma, and newly unveiled second-generation Honda Ridgeline. However, Hyundai's entry would likely be the smallest among them and target young crossover customers who want a little more hauling capability. Related Video:

Is it time for the car-based trucks to return?

Back in 1957 Ford began producing the Ranchero. In 1959 the El Camino made its debut. In time, other manufacturers would execute their own version of the "Car Truck" anomaly. Dodge, Subaru, and Volkswagen would all join in the category before eventually ceasing production for the United States. Although production ran longer overseas, including Australia, where the "utes" were very well received, in the United States the last ute offering, the Subaru Baja, would cease production in 2006. The manufacturer offerings were very diverse. Powerplants ranged from 4 to 8 cylinders. The number of driving wheels were also diverse. Some were 2 wheel drive, others 4 wheel drive. Even more differentiation could be found in how the manufacturers decided to pursue the utility portion of their vehicle by providing either a unibody architecture for improved mileage, or a solid chassis for extra load bearing capacity and better towing ratings. Here's a brief (not comprehensive) production history of ute history in the United States... Chevy El Camino/ GMC Caballero: 1959-1960 then 1964-987 Dodge Rampage/ Plymouth Scamp: 1982-1984 Ford Ranchero: 1957-1979 Subaru Brat: 1978-1987 Subaru Baja: 2003-2006 Volkswagen Rabbit Sportruck: 1978-1984 That brings us to 2017. Trucks are huge sellers for manufacturers. However, miles per gallon ratings are huge concerns for those same manufacturers. So, automakers are looking to increase the efficiencies of their products to make them more palatable to the increasingly green conscience buying public. Enter a ute revival. A reborn unibody ute would meet that need as it would have the mileage numbers more closely tied to a car than a truck. It seems that I'm not the only one thinking this way. Hyundai has identified the emptiness of this car truck niche, looked at its own portfolio, and recognized the lack of pickup trucks. Fixing that emptiness is one of their concerns. So, they have viewed the active traditional pickup market, while also watching the unibody Ridgeline sales over in the Honda camp and determined that the niche needs to be filled with their own twist. They are rumored to have green lighted the 2019 Hyundai Santa Cruz for sales beginning in 2018. Hyundai's twist however, is that their vehicle would be based on a crossover chassis, possibly the Tucson. Remember, this is a rumor. So, it could change to a red light from the manufacturer or just as easily change to a Genesis chassis overnight.

At meeting with automakers, Trump launches new attack on NAFTA

WASHINGTON — Ten American and foreign automakers went to the White House on Friday to push for a weakening of U.S. fuel efficiency standards through 2025, while President Donald Trump used the occasion to launch a fresh attack on the North American Free Trade Agreement that has benefited the companies. A draft proposal circulated by the U.S. Transportation Department would freeze fuel efficiency requirements at 2020 levels through 2026, rather than allowing them to increase as previously planned. Trump's administration is expected to formally unveil the proposal later this month or in June. "We're working on CAFE standards, environmental controls," Trump told reporters at the top of the meeting, referring to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards for cars and light trucks in the United States. Trump said he wants automakers to build more vehicles in the United States and export more vehicles. But much of the hour-long meeting focused on NAFTA. Trump blasted the pact involving the United States, Canada and Mexico as "terrible" and noted that negotiations to make changes sought by his administration were ongoing. "NAFTA has been a horrible, horrible disaster for this country and we'll see if we can make it reasonable," Trump said. Automakers have called NAFTA a success, allowing them to integrate production throughout North America and make production competitive with Asia and Europe, and have noted the increase in auto production over the past two decades with the deal in place. They have warned that changing NAFTA too much could prompt some companies to move production out of the United States. The chief executives of General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co, Fiat Chrysler, along with senior U.S. executives from Toyota Motor Corp, Volkswagen AG, Hyundai Motor Co, Nissan Motor Co, Honda Motor Co , BMW AG and Daimler AG met with Trump, as did the chief executives of two auto trade groups. Major automakers reiterated this week they do not support freezing fuel efficiency requirements but said they want new flexibility and rule changes to address lower gasoline prices and the shift in U.S. consumer preferences to bigger, less fuel-efficient vehicles.