2004 Hyundai Tiburon 2dr Cpe Gt At (cooper Lanie 765-413-4384) on 2040-cars

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Hyundai pulls motorsports in US, parts ways with Rhys Millen Racing

Automakers don't necessarily undertake racing programs in proportion to their size. A company like Ferrari or McLaren, for example, may be small, but their racing programs are huge. The inverse could be said of a company like Hyundai, which has grown to rank among the largest automakers in the world, but has traditionally maintained a relatively short reach when it comes to racing. And now it's getting even smaller as the company is shutting down its entire motorsport program in the United States. Not that the program was that big to begin with in the first place. Although Hyundai recently launched a factory effort in the World Rally Championship, in North America its competition activities revolved essentially around Rhys Millen Racing, the California-based outfit with which the Korean automaker has tackled Pikes Peak, Formula Drift and the Global RallyCross Series – the latter of which Millen describes as "arguably the fastest most exciting form of racing to hit the US in years." But now Millen has announced that Hyundai has withdrawn from their partnership that has stood for six years. Without support from the automaker, Rhys Millen is putting up his Hyundais for sale or rental to any privateer team interested in getting in on the RallyCross action, while the team looks for a new partner with which to move forward. As for Hyundai, it seems the automaker may have stretched its motorsport budget a little thin with the WRC effort, on which it will now apparently rely to establish its racing cred. We reached out to Hyundai for clarification on its future motorsport plans in America, but representatives weren't immediately available for comment. We will update this story when and if we hear back.

Kia Seltos, electric Cadillac and a looming Bronco | Autoblog Podcast #615

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder, and Associate Editor Byron Hurd makes his ABP debut. This week, they start with the cars they've been driving: the Jaguar XE, Kia Seltos, Hyundai Venue and Ford Escape. Then they dig into the news, including an upcoming Cadillac EV, Lincoln and Chevy sedans and the Ford Bronco. Finally, they help a listener replace his Jeep Patriot in the Spend My Money segment. Autoblog Podcast #615 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving: Jaguar XE 300 R-Dynamic S Kia Seltos Hyundai Venue Ford Escape Cadillac bringing EV to New York Auto Show Chevy and Lincoln dealers say they still want sedans Ford tells dealers the Bronco is weeks away from its global debut Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: 2020 Ford Escape 2.0T #POV drive

Ford Mustang Mach-E fails Sweden's moose test

The infamous moose test has claimed another casualty. This time it's the Ford Mustang Mach-E AWD Long Range, which was tested in an electric four-way alongside the Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Skoda Enyaq iV (an electric utility vehicle closely related to the Volkswagen ID.4 that is sold in the United States). According to the Swedish testers at Teknikens Varld, Ford's electric car not only failed to hit the speed necessary for a passing grade, it didn't perform well at slower speeds, either. To pass the outlet's moose test, a car has to complete a rapid left-right-straight S-shaped pattern marked by cones at a speed of at least 72 km/h (44.7 miles per hour). The test is designed to mimic the type of avoidance maneuver a driver would have to take in order to avoid hitting something that wandered into the road, which in Sweden may be a moose but could just as easily be a deer or some other member of the animal kingdom elsewhere in the world, or possibly a child or car backing into the motorway. Not only is the maneuver very aggressive, it's also performed with weights belted into each seat and more weight added to the cargo area to hit the vehicle's maximum allowable carrying capacity. The Mustang Mach-E only managed to complete the moose test at 68 km/h (42.3 mph), well below the passing-grade threshold. Even at much lower speeds, Teknikens Varld says the Mach-E (which boasts the highest carrying capacity and was therefore loaded with more weight than the rest of the vehicles tested in this quartet) is "too soft in the chassis" and suffers from "too slow steering." Proving that it is indeed possible to pass the test, the Hyundai and Skoda completed the maneuver at the 44.7-mph figure required for a passing grade and the Tesla did it at 46.6 mph, albeit with less weight in the cargo area. It's not clear whether other versions of the Mustang Mach-E would pass the test. It's also unknown if Ford will make any changes to its chassis tuning or electronic stability control software, as some other automakers have done after a poor performance from Teknikens Varld, to improve its performance in the moose test. Related video: