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Hyundai Veloster facelift includes new 7-speed DCT, light cosmetics

Hyundai hasn't given the Veloster the exterior overhaul that we expected, but it has outfitted the quirky, oddly doored hatchback with some new tech, at least in the Korean market. The biggest change for the Veloster is confirmation that the previously rumored seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox will replace the current six-speed unit in the Turbo. It's mated to the same 1.6-liter, forced-induction four-cylinder featuring 201 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque. The exterior receives a few tiny tweaks, too, with new wheel designs and slightly different silver trim around the grille, but the bigger changes are found in the cabin. Those alterations aren't limited to new materials: Hyundai has included a new engine sound equalizer for the Veloster that lets drivers select from six different engine soundtracks. The instrument cluster also gets slightly altered, and there are new two-tone looks for the seats, as well. According to a blog post by Hyundai, the price for the Turbo with the seven-speed dual clutch starts at 23.7 million won ($22,000). Unfortunately, there's no official word whether these changes are going to make it across the Pacific to the US market. We've got an inquiry in with Hyundai Motor America, and will let you know if we hear more.

Hyundai reveals flying car among other wacky concepts [w/video]

Hyundai has held an IDEA festival for the past three years that gives its engineers a break from seat belts, and electrical harnesses and wheel arch moldings. Each festival serves up a theme for personal mobility, after that there's no limit - competing teams can come up with anything that serves the theme and are encouraged to get creative.
That's how you get concepts like the E4U 'egg car' (pictured); a single-stander mode of transportation that channels Mork from Ork. The oddest thing about the egg is not the yellow shell but the helmet the 'driver' wears. Other ideas included a flying car with 16 (!) rotors, a bicycle that could serve as a spare tire and a car with five joints. Although most appeared totally impractical, all were totally cool.
This year's festival is in the works, the theme being the rather ambiguous "R&D for customers," the point is apparently to come up with concepts that Hyundai customers might actually use. There's a video with scenes of last year's festival and a press release below (our vote goes to the Pandora).

Minivans and hybrids shopped by men and women equally

Men love fast, exotic cars, and women want something safe and practical – at least that is the way conventional thinking goes. But a new study challenges these old beliefs. According to the auto information aggregators at iSeeCars, both sexes shop for minivans and hybrids equally. The study also dug deeper into the different browsing habits between genders. For instance, women are twice as likely to shop for Kia and 67 percent more likely to shop for Hyundai. Men are seven percent more likely to buy American cars. Both sexes shop the German brands equally. It seems that men might be slightly greener in their shopping because they are twice as likely to browse electric cars and two and a half times more likely to look at diesels. Still, the old stereotype of men wanting a more performance-oriented car is not entirely false. They also are more likely to look at cars that cost over $45,000, and men are still more likely to buy a sports car. "Men like fast, flashy cars. They are performance oriented, even if they have to shell out more money," Phong Ly, cofounder and CEO of iSeeCars, said in an interview with CBS MoneyWatch. "Women are looking for the best value." The iSeeCars study got its data directly from dealers and online sellers like eBay Motors, then determined sex based on first name and excluded gender-neutral names. What it shows is that even if men might like browsing for fast cars, practicality and economy win out in the end. It's still fun to look, though. News Source: iSeeCars via CBS News MoneyWatchImage Credit: Shutterstock / Deklofenak Hyundai Kia Car Buying Minivan/Van Electric Hybrid