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88,000 interested in Hyundai Tucson fuel cell, first units due in 60 days

Hyundai thinks it has a hit on its hands with the Tucson Fuel Cell CUV, an Internet hit at the very least. At the Washington Auto Show this week, Michael O'Brien, the vice president of corporate and product planning for Hyundai Motor America, announced that 88,000 people have visited the car's microsite. Since the company isn't yet taking orders for the vehicle, we'll have to take this as a sign that people are interested in a hydrogen-powered CUV. "The response surprised even us," O'Brien said. "The response surprised even us" Hyundai expects to deliver the first Tucson Fuel Cell to a "small group" of customers in the US within 60 days, O'Brien said. As we learned last year, Hyundai will lease the CUV for $499 a month (and $2,999 down) for 36 months. That price includes as much hydrogen refueling as you like, plus Hyundai's Valet Maintenance. The Tucson Fuel Cell is already in production and available in other markets (as the ix35 Fuel Cell), following 16 years of development and what O'Brien said were "hundreds of millions of dollars" spent on R&D. Hyundai has tested its fuel cell cars for over 2.4 million miles, including extreme heat, cold and altitude tests (but it hasn't shot a bullet into the tank a la Toyota). Hydrogen cars are "as clean and by some measures cleaner than today's EVs" but are more practical, with longer range and shorter refueling times, O'Brien said in DC. There's more in the press release below. Hyundai Receives Strong Consumer Interest With 88,000 Visitors To Its Dedicated Fuel Cell Microsite In Just Two Months $499 per month to drive the World's First Mass-Produced Fuel Cell Vehicle, Including Unlimited Free Hydrogen Refueling and At Your Service Valet Maintenance WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai is witnessing exceptionally strong consumer interest in its next-generation Tucson Fuel Cell CUV, with more than 88,000 unique visitors to its Hyundai.com fuel cell microsite since the program's November introduction. Consumers selected for the program can drive the Tucson Fuel Cell for just $499 per month, which includes unlimited free hydrogen refueling and "At Your Service" valet maintenance at no extra cost. For the first time, retail consumers will be able to put a federally-certified hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in their driveways, with availability beginning in late Spring 2014 at select Southern California Hyundai dealers.

Edmunds ranks the best used cars for 2013

When people ask us what car we would recommend for them, it's usually not easy to answer. To make a useful recommendation we must consider which of the numerous vehicle segments fits their needs best, and then choose one of the many vehicles offered in each segment. For some people, new cars don't meet their expectations of value, because they lose so much of it the moment they are purchased and driven off the dealer lot. For them, there's always the used-car market, where great deals can be found, but cars' histories of reliability and maintenance records - and perhaps that Certified Pre-Owned warranty - become ever-important factors playing into purchase choice.
To help out, Edmunds has done us the favor of assembling a list of the best used vehicles money can buy, covering model years 2006-2011, according to what it considers the most important criteria when shopping for used autos: reliability, safety, value and availability. That means unreliable, unsafe, super-expensive or limited-edition models don't appear on the list, but instead cars from each segment that are more likely to satisfy the general population.
There are some real goodies on the list, including but not limited to vehicles such as the capable Honda Fit, the cultish Honda Accord coupe (which can be had with a 240-horsepower V6 and a six-speed manual transmission some years), and the powerful Chevrolet Corvette. While Edmunds' choice of the Volvo C70 for best used convertible baffled us at first (not that it's a bad car), it redeemed itself by stating that the Mazda MX-5 still is an unofficial top choice if you don't require more than two seats.

Hyundai announces N performance sub-brand at WRC launch

It's been well over a year since Hyundai revealed its initial prototype for the i20 WRC at the 2012 Paris Auto Show. Now it's revealed the final version (pictured above, complete with Shell Helix livery) and it's also announced the full team that will field it next year in the World Rally Championship, including Thierry Neuville and additional drivers Juho Hänninen, Dani Sordo and Chris Atkinson. That's plenty exciting for rally fans, but the news that caught our attention was buried deeper in the press release.
That is the announcement of Hyundai's new N performance sub-brand. Named after the company's R&D facility in Namyang, South Korean, the N brand "will be used to symbolize Hyundai's high performance technology," not just on the rally car but also "future mass-produced high performance cars" for the road. The WRC car wears the logo that we'd expect to represent that new cadre of performance Hyundais.
Having hinted at the emergence of a European performance sub-brand a couple of months ago, the Korean automaker hasn't revealed any further details on which those road cars might be, but promises to transfer lessons it learns from the rally stage to the marketplace. We're looking forward to finding out more, but a roadgoing i20 hot hatch would be a good first bet. Here's hoping the North American product lineup won't be left out.