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Hyundai HG350 ready to take on Europe's Transits and Sprinters

Here in North America, Hyundai has been historically known as a purveyor of affordable, content-laden everyday cars and crossovers. More recently, it's also been pushing upmarket and attempting to gain respect for its sporting joneses. In other parts of the world, however, the Korean automaker is a major force in commercial vehicles, providing everything from chassis cabs and dump trucks to fullsize motor coaches. Now, it's looking to push further overseas, squarely into Europe's already mature van business with this new HG350, a new commercial vehicle that will form the basis for a cargo van, passenger transport and flatbed truck.
This three-pronged approach will see Hyundai fighting directly against the new Ford Transit, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, and models like the recently overhauled Fiat Ducato/Peugeot Boxer twins. The rear-drive, six-speed manual-equipped range is available in 3.5-ton cargo or flatbed spec, or in 4.0-ton guise with as many as 15 seats. The cargo version, incidentally, can hold up to 456 cubic feet of stuff. Regardless of configuration, power comes from a common-rail diesel displacing 2.5 liters with either 148 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque or 168 hp and 311 lb-ft.
With the American market finally embracing Euro-style cargo vans, does that mean that Hyundai might bring the HG350 here? Not likely. "While a heck of a vehicle, this isn't anything we are seriously considering right now for the US market," Jim Trainor, Hyundai Motor America's national manager of product public relations, tells Autoblog.

NHTSA investigating 8 million airbags not made by Takata

In a shocking turn of events, we have a line of airbags under investigation that weren't made by Takata. Rather, Automotive News reports that 8,000,000 airbags made by ARC Automotive Inc. are under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). According to Automotive News, NHTSA is looking into ARC's airbags after two injuries and a recent death were attributed to the company's products. The two injuries occurred first and prompted the initial inquiry of 490,000 airbags, which then expanded after an airbag from a different line caused the death of a Canadian driver. The airbags in question are found in GM, FCA, Hyundai and Kia products, and all automakers are cooperating with the investigation, Automotive News reports. It is also important to note that these airbags have not been recalled, as NHTSA is trying to determine the issue and whether a recall is necessary. NHTSA also told the news outlet that the ARC inflators use a different design than those from Takata, instead using some pressurized gas and an ammonium nitrate charge. While the design may be different, the Takata inflators also used ammonium nitrate propellant, which other manufacturers have avoided. We will be watching this situation closely to see what develops. Here's hoping – for our collective safety and sanity – that we won't have to go through another airbag crisis like with the Takata recall. Related Video: News Source: Automotive NewsImage Credit: Shutterstock Government/Legal Hyundai Kia Safety FCA airbag fiat chrysler automobiles

Hyundai shows off six custom creations in Vegas

Hyundai rolled in to SEMA this year with an array of six customized vehicles. And while it previewed several members of that lineup in the run up to the tuner expo, it has now brought them all together under one roof – namely that of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The fleet consists of three custom creations based on the Tucson crossover, two on the Genesis Coupe, and one on the Veloster. The Tucson lineup includes one by Bisimoto, another by John Pangilinan, and a third by Rockstar Performance Garage. In typical style, Bisimoto cranked the crossover up past 700 horsepower, thanks to a high-boost turbocharger running on flex fuel. Pangilinan crafted his JP Edition Tuscon for off-road adventure with a pop-up tent on the roof, brush guards, and a lifted suspension. And Rockstar went with a Baja-style off-road competition approach with a massive 6-inch lift kit and 32-inch tires. The Genesis Coupes include one by ARK Performance and another by TJIN. The former is dubbed the Solus edition, adopting a dual focus on performance and luxury with a wide body kit, carbon-fiber trim and a supercharged V6 stroked out to 4.0 liters to produce over 500 horsepower. The TJIN edition also ups the output past 500 horses with a supercharger from Bisimoto, plus a free-flowing exhaust, intercooler, and blow-off valve. KW coilover suspension, custom body kit, and green paint job finish it off. Finally, there's the Veloster Turbo R-Spec done up by Blood Type Racing with a black paint job, red racing stripe, carbon-fiber wide-body kit, and a 1.6-liter turbo four boosted up to – you guessed it – over 500 hp. Check out five of them together (sans the Bisimoto) in the slideshow above, or each of the six in the individual galleries at bottom for a closer look - along with the details in the press release below. Related Video: HYUNDAI'S 2015 SEMA LINEUP FEATURES SIX VEHICLES BUILT BY THE INDUSTRY'S BEST TUNERS Concepts Based on 2016 Tucson, 2015 Genesis Coupe and 2015 Veloster Turbo R-Spec FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Nov. 3, 2015 – Once again, Hyundai has teamed up with some of the best vehicle tuners in the automotive community to deliver six concept vehicles for SEMA 2015. This year's builds feature three of Hyundai's all-new 2016 Tucson crossovers, two high-powered Genesis Coupes, and a Veloster Turbo R-Spec. Hyundai will be showcasing these creations at its SEMA display in Center Hall (booth #24387) at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Nov. 3-6, 2015.