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Written by Mark Fletcher
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Wednesday, 26 August 2009 11:33 |
It pays to have your camera at the ready and your SD card empty. While driving from Phoenix to Kingman, Arizona, Automotive Traveler magazine contributor Mark Fletcher spied a group of vehicles that stood out in the crowd. Did Mark snap photos of a new, mid-sized Ford pickup?
 The two odd looking vehicles, absent of all vehicle nomenclature but wearing Michigan manufacturer license plates were heading north towards Las Vegas. They were being led by an F-350 SD with a large fuel tank in the back--apparently diesel--and a U-Haul rental trailer in tow, the U-Haul typical for future vehicles testing. Both 4-door pickups were disguised with 3 to 4-inch raw sheet metal extensions above the crown of each front fender. They also had A-pillar disguises that mated to the hood. I believe the stock-looking hood was higher then normal in order to accommodate the diesel engine being tested. The size of the single tail pipe would represent a 4- or 6-cylinder configuration, but the way the caravan took the mountainous route at a consistent 75 miles per hour the latter was most probable. No black soot was visible at any time.
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Written by Rich Truesdell
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Friday, 31 July 2009 12:52 |
Surrounded by a Toyota Camry Hybrid, a Nissan Altima Hybrid, and with a Ford Fusion Hybrid across the parking lot, this time there's no doubt we encountered the 2011/2012 Hyundai Sonata Blue Drive Hybrid
 Last week, when we encountered an unattended Hyundai Sonata prototype we though we had stumbled upon a prototype of Hyundai's mid-sized Sonata Blue Drive. While it was an educated guess, based on what we already knew of Hyundai's hybrid plans, we think we were about one week premature as our analysis indicated that from the high level of trim, and the fact that the interior didn't show any indication of a hybrid-only status gauge, we determined that it was a V6 Limited in very near production specification. But today our initial analysis was proved correct when we encountered two Hyundai Sonata Blue Drive prototypes along with competitive models from Toyota, Nissan, and Ford, along with two dozen engineers who had stopped, en masse, for lunch. Based on past confrontations, especially three weeks ago, we kept a respectful distance from the vehicles and engineers, especially since we had so completely documented the the V6 Limited model last week. See that report for additional details on Hyundai' short- and long-term hybrid product plans.
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Written by Rich Truesdell
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Wednesday, 29 July 2009 04:14 |
Did our spies stumble onto the first prototypes of Hyundai's lithium polymer battery-powered serial hybrid? Is blue the new green?
With rumors swirling that Volkswagen will launch the Porsche Boxster-threatening diesel-powered Bluesport diesel-powered roadster, are we to surmise that blue is the next generation green? Possibly as it appears that Hyundai will be blue too with its next generation Sonata, coming in late 2010 as a 2011 model, will offer a hybrid version, dubbed Blue Drive. While the VW Bluesport clearly has sporting pretensions, the upcoming 2011 Hyundai Sonata is clearly aimed at the heart of the mainstream mid-sized sedan category populated by the Toyota Camry, the Honda Accord, the Ford Fusion and many others. And to be a leading player in this category, a manufacturer must offer a competitive hybrid model. Hyundai's first step is expected to come right after the launch of the new Sonata with the Blue Sport serial hybrid to be followed about 12-18 months later by a plug-in hybrid to go head-to-head with Chevrolet's Volt and an expected competitor from Toyota.
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Written by Rich Truesdell
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Thursday, 09 July 2009 03:48 |
Our second sojourn to the California desert yielded these very revealing photos of MINI's upcoming 4X4 crossover.
 In the cat and mouse game of automotive spy photography, while it's always important to be first with getting a particular car out in the wild first, sometimes it's almost as important to capture a significant detail as well. That's what happened yesterday when we captured MINI's upcoming 4X4 crossover in BMW's trademark psychedelic camouflage. Although the car has been extensively scooped earlier--in both hot and cold weather test sessions--we were lucky enough to confirm that while the camouflage wants you to think that the MINI crossover will have the Clubman's side-hinged, rear barn doors, since this engineer needed to get something out of the tightly packed rear compartment, we were able to confirm that the car will have a conventional top-hinged hatch. (Just a day ago LeftLaneNews.com reported that the MINI Crossover would have side-hinged doors.) This confirms this highly significant detail of the design, which is expected to premiere in full production trim possibly as early as this September at the Frankfurt Auto Show.
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Written by Rich Truesdell
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Thursday, 02 July 2009 07:11 |
Next-gen 2011 Hyundai and Kia 2011 caught by the long lenses of Automotive Traveler.
 While the big scoop yesterday was getting what might have been the first shots of the 2011 BMW 540 testing in the US, that wasn't the only test mule caught by our long lens. Just across the parking lot were what appeared to be two more prototypes, the next Hyundai Tucson and the Kia Sportage. Unlike their German counterparts, the engineers from Kia and Hyundai clearly didn't want me taking photos of their test mules and made it obvious that while I was in a public area, that they didn't want me getting any closer. (Normally, to avoid embarrassment, I try to not include the engineers in the photos but these guys were quite persistent in trying to block my shot so I had no alternative but to include them. Sorry guys.)
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