Hyundai Santa Cruz Crossover Truck Concept Hyundai has dropped another bread crumb leading to the upcoming Santa Cruz compact pickup with the announcement it will come together at the brand’s production plant in Alabama. The South Korean automaker has been teasing its truck(ish) product with detail after detail, ever since it introduced the concept to the world way back in 2015 at the Detroit Auto Show. Honestly, with all this teasing, we’re starting to feel like the younger sibling at our older brother’s birthday party: teetering somewhere between exasperation and excitement, tears of joy or pain ready to fall at any moment. There’s still no sign of the production version of the Santa Cruz, which Hyundai says will be quite different in design than the concept, but we know it’ll be bodied like a ute and have a ladder frame. Now, Hyundai Motor Co. has confirmed it will drop a casual US$410 million to bring its Montgomery, Alabama plant up to spec for Santa Cruz production.Open since 2005, Montgomery is Hyundai’s first U.S. location. The expansion builds on a total investment of US$1.1 billion in the plant in the last 18 months. The Santa Cruz will bring in another 200 positions to the facility, with an additional 1,000 jobs for regional suppliers and logistics companies. When it finally arrives, the Santa Cruz will likely be the smallest pickup truck on the U.S. market, but that could change. Production is scheduled to begin in Alabama in
Origin: Production of Hyundai’s Santa Cruz truck confirmed for 2021
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Hyundai’s Active Noise Control tech is a world-first
Noise cancellation is a pretty nifty science, even if it has been around for awhile. By projecting sound waves at an inverted frequency to those coming in, systems are able to decrease the overall noise heard. In a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, this means music untainted by the sounds of whatever noisy thing is nearby. In a car, it means a quiet cabin mostly free of the unwanted sounds coming from the engine and road. Hyundai Motor Group recently announced its new Road Active Noise Control (RANC), which improves on old tech (ANC) to reduce road noise by up to an additional 3dB, giving the Korean automaker an industry-best interior noise cancellation system. Old systems relied on insulation and dampers to passively kill sound, which ultimately resulted in extra weight and a faint, low-frequency buzz seeping through. The ANC system, on the other hand, uses software and components like controllers and microphones to measure and reduce noise. It’s like this: the mics pick up a sound, the software analyses it, and then the speakers spit out the inverse waves, thus cancelling it altogether. But that process was limited by the software, which struggled to get the cancellation done in the 0.009 seconds it takes for road or engine noise to reach the ears of passengers, says Hyundai. The new RANC will do the deed in just 0.002 seconds. “Using an acceleration sensor, RANC calculates the vibration from the road to the car and the control computer analyzes road noise,” the brand explains in a release. “As its computation and signal transfer speeds are optimized, it only takes 0.002 second to analyze the noise and produce an inverted soundwave, generated by the DSP (Digital Signal Processor).” “The microphone constantly monitors the road noise cancellation status, and sends the information to the DSP. RANC is able to conduct accurate noise analysis and rapid computation to combat road noise for the driver’s seat, the passenger seat and rear seats separately.”Hyundai anticipates the system working particularly well within the cabins of electric vehicles which, without combustion engines beneath them, will be particularly susceptible to road noise more than engine noise. The RANC system will debut in an unnamed upcoming Genesis
Origin: Hyundai’s Active Noise Control tech is a world-first
Hyundai’s hydrogen fuel-cell Nexo earns top crash safety award
The hydrogen fuel-cell-powered Hyundai Nexo has just undergone its first crash test, and subsequently, one of the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safetys (IIHS) first crash tests of a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle.Not only did the vehicle pass, it also earned a Top Safety Pick+ award, plus a load of Good and Acceptable ratings for its other safety systems. Most importantly, however, the Nexo didnt explode into a giant ball of flames.Per the IIHS, to qualify for a 2019 TOP SAFETY PICK+ award, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests.It also needs an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention and a good headlight rating. The NEXO, a midsize premium SUV, has good ratings in all six crashworthiness tests.Hydrogen doesnt have the best reputation for not exploding remember the H-bomb? The H stands for hydrogen. The infamous Hindenburg zeppelin was also filled with hydrogen. Luckily, hydrogen technology has come a long way since the days of using it as a literal bomb or of trying to hold it in a big balloon. Part of the reason the vehicle didnt toast marshmallows immediately after its small-overlap crash is the hydrogen tanks are fairly well-protected by the body of the vehicle, and are located underneath the rear seats.Theres more to the safety of the tanks than just the placement. In fact, Hyundai recently released a video explain more of the safety features of the
Origin: Hyundai’s hydrogen fuel-cell Nexo earns top crash safety award
Hyundai’s upcoming pickup will have a ladder frame, confirms exec
According to Hyundai, the Santa Cruz was not designed to be an alternative to a truck. The rumour mill continues to churn over Hyundais forthcoming pickup, a product that has seemingly been in gestation longer than a baby elephant.Recent scuttlebutt had the maybe-it-will, maybe-it-wont vehicle being built on a unibody platform think Santa Fe or Palisade with a bed instead of a cargo area and youd be on the right track.Now, however, it seems likely the Hyundai pickup will be built on a ladder-frame chassis. According to an interview with Aussie automotive site Which Car, development costs of a new separate frame will be shared with Kia, meaning theres every chance that brand will get a version of the truck as well.Whats clear to us is that if were going to bring a ute out, it had better be a ute, said John Kett, Hyundai Australia CEO, before setting off for the Outback to wrestle a gooly-gooly snake with his bare hands. Were going down that pathway and were working towards it. We just have to make sure that when it arrives, its a bloody ute.Clear as the water at Surfers Paradise, eh, mate? Kett went on to tell the Aussie gearheads the company is looking at a range of models, including two- and four-wheel-drive models and a possible array of cab configurations. Introducing anything other than a four-door Crew Cab would be a waste of time in this and many other countries, so, if a Hyundai pickup does materialize, expect it to launch in that body style.Another wrench in the works? Just because a company is selling a vehicle Down Under doesnt necessarily mean itll make it to this side of the pond. For proof of that in this very segment, one need look no further than Ford, a company which inexplicably refuses to sell the mighty Ranger Raptor in this country despite a favourable climate for doing so.Earlier this year, top brass at Hyundais U.S. unit spoke about the pickup truck in interviews, saying it would be very versatile and create a whole new class of buyers. Whatever form the truck takes, theres a good chance it will be manufactured in North America, thanks to the so-called Chicken Tax that levies stiff tariffs on imported pickup
Origin: Hyundai’s upcoming pickup will have a ladder frame, confirms exec
Hyundai’s retro-styled 45 EV previewed again ahead of unveil
Hyundai has again previewed its Frankfurt motor show star car, a retro-styled electric concept. Called the 45, it’s said to feature styling references to the brand’s first production car, the Mitsubishi-powered Pony hatchback, which was launched in 1974. The first preview image of the EV showed off an LED bar across the rear that will display a matrix flourish upon start-up. Now a rear-side view reveals the car’s large wheels and minimalist profile. Elsewhere, we can see hints that the 45 will bear a resemblance to sibling brand Genesis’s recent Mint concept, with a rakish roofline, a narrow rear window, extended wheel arches and a low, wide stance. As well as paying tribute to the brand’s historic design work, Hyundai says the 45 will “act as a symbolic milestone for Hyundai’s future EV design”. There’s currently no production intent for the 45; it acts as a design study, rather than a preview of a particular future model. However, a Hyundai spokesperson said the concept is based on a new EV platform and will “preview the potential for EV designers in the future”. The 45 will make its first public appearance alongside an all-new version of the i10 city car and the limited-run i30 N Project C hardcore hot hatch. Luc Donckerwolke, Hyundai’s design chief, said earlier this year that the firm’s styling language needs to be further differentiated from that of sibling brands Genesis and Kia. He said: “Our core task is to differentiate the design philosophy of the three brands, not least because we have a big share in Korea. “We need to differentiate each model, otherwise the landscape is too
Origin: Hyundai’s retro-styled 45 EV previewed again ahead of unveil
Hyundai’s 2020 Venue to get the N Line upgrade
2020 Hyundai VenueHandout / Hyundai Hyundai brought a few intriguing products to the New York Auto Show last week. There was the handsome redesigned Sonata, as well as the 2020 Venue, a “youthful” compact crossover designed to tempt even more buyers to make the switch to SUVs. And like the Sonata, which is said to be coming in N Line spec, the Venue will also be upfitted with the N Line badge and accompanying upgrades. Aussie website Drive reports this information nugget from an interview with Brian Smith, Hyundai’s North American COO, in an interview last week at the auto show. “This is really going to be a vehicle that I think applies to that as well,” Smith told Drive when asked about a potential Venue N Line. “I think the next one will be Sonata, but you’re going to see more across the lineup. So, while that may not be completely official, it’s a pretty safe indication that the new compact crossover will soon see the visual boosts that comes with that N Line badge. It’s unclear if it’ll also benefit from an increase in power, like alleged bump to 275 horsepower for the Sonata N Line. Regardless, the N Line doesn’t empart as much of a performance spike as those models that get the full N treatment, like the Veloster N, which is faster and all-around more athletic than the normal Veloster. Smith did technically leave the door open for a potential Venue N, however, telling Drive it could be.” The 2020 Venue will arrive on Hyundai lots as its smallest and most affordable SUV — and the automaker now offers seven SUVs — which is sure to make it appealing to North American buyers.
Origin: Hyundai’s 2020 Venue to get the N Line upgrade
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