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Hyundai Genesis gets stanced by Ark Performance for SEMA

Hyundai has yet another high-performance concept for the upcoming 2014 SEMA Show in November to join its 708-horsepower Sonata. For this one, Ark Performance is taking the Genesis Sedan and pumping up the output by supercharging its 5.0-liter V8, along with a mile-long list of other modifications to mix speed with added luxury.
Ark calls the tuner concept the AR550 in reference to taking the Genesis' standard 420 horsepower V8 and boosting it an extra 130 hp with a Rotrex supercharger to bring total output to 550 hp. The mill also benefits from a freer breathing intake and exhaust, new engine management and more.
All of that extra power would be nearly useless without upgrades elsewhere to handle it, and Ark has some big additions to include. The one-off rides on an air suspension system and stiffer front and rear sway bars. To bring things to a halt faster, larger brakes from Brembo replace the standard units.

Did a US automaker blow the whistle on Hyundai, Kia fuel economy issue?

In all of the most hotly contested mainstream segments of the motoring universe, the difference of one mile per gallon averaged on a widow sticker can mean the difference between a sale and a walk-off - to say nothing of two or three mpg. So, when Hyundai and Kia were forced to reveal that many of their 40-mpg ratings were actually 38s and 37s, well, it made for big news.
It also, conceivably, made for a competitive disadvantage immediately, when the Korean automakers' products were being shopped versus the guys down the block. And it's that disadvantage that makes a recent story from Automotive News so juicy.
AN is reporting that Margo Oge, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, got a tip in 2010 that Hyundai/Kia were "cheating" to get its impressive fuel economy numbers. The tip, said Oge (who retired from the EPA this past September), came from a senior vice president from a domestic automaker. The source was credible enough for Oge to launch an audit of the Hyundai figures, which ultimately lead to the debacle that we reported on a few months ago, and that the Korean company has been trying to bounce back from ever since.

2019 Hyundai Santa Fe gets $550 price bump, more tech

Hyundai's all-new 2019 Santa Fe will start at $25,500 and include more safety and other technology when it goes on sale later this year. Hyundai also confirms that the three-row version of the crossover will be renamed the Santa Fe XL for 2019, while it's developing an as-yet unnamed three-row, eight-passenger SUV, filling a hole in the Korean automaker's lineup. The Santa Fe's new starting price is $550 higher than the 2018 Santa Fe Sport, which is going away as a separate nameplate. (To keep the moves straight: The former Santa Fe Sport becomes just plain Santa Fe. The former Santa Fe becomes Santa Fe XL.) The 2019 Santa Fe's price doesn't include the $980 destination fee, which nudges the starting price up to $26,480 for the front-wheel-drive SE model. It's offered in seven trim models, topping out at the all-wheel-drive Ultimate 2.0T, which starts at $39,780. The 2019 Santa Fe borrows some of the Hyundai SmartSense safety technology from the Santa Fe Sport, including forward-collision avoidance, lane-keeping assistance and blind-spot collision assist. Other standard technology includes idle stop-start and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility. Hyundai has also updated the looks on its fourth-generation crossover, with more chiseled hard lines in the body, a rising beltline, improved visibility and a reorganized interior with more storage space. Powering the ute is the base-level 2.4-liter inline-four engine, which makes 185 horsepower and 178 pound-feet of torque, or a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder putting out 235 hp and 260 lb-ft. An eight-speed automatic transmission routes power to the front or all four wheels. Fuel economy ratings top out at 22 miles per gallon in the city, 29 on the highway and 25 combined for the 2.4-liter engine in front-wheel drive, a slight improvement over its predecessor.