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201-horsepower Hyundai Ioniq Electric track car is awesome

While we've seen plenty of high-performance electric cars, such as Rimac's supercars and Tesla's powerful sedans and crossovers, we haven't seen many modified electric cars. Or at least electric cars modified for more performance in the traditional sense of the word for more speed and handling prowess. Engineers at Hyundai are finally giving us a peak at the future of tuning and hot rodding with their upgraded 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Electric that's competing in the Optima Ultimate Street Car series this year. It's visually much more striking than the average Ioniq thanks in part to a bold color scheme, but also bolt-on fender flares and Volk TE37SL wheels wrapped in fat 275-mm width tires. More important, there are major changes under the skin. The standard Ioniq Electric's 118-horsepower, 218 pound-foot motor has been swapped out for the new Kona Electric's motor, which makes 201 horsepower and 291 pound-feet of torque. Though that's less power than the Veloster N that's also been racing this year, it's more torque than the same hot hatch. Power still goes to the front wheels, but now there's a limited-slip differential up front to prevent the inside wheel roasting its tire in corners. Interestingly, the only suspension change mentioned is firmer lowering springs, so presumably it still uses the torsion-beam rear suspension layout of the regular Ioniq Electric. Beefy six-piston Wilwood brakes up front and four-piston units in the rear help the car come to a stop much more quickly. The cooling systems for the electronics and battery pack have been upgraded, too. It all sounds like a blast to drive. As to why Hyundai built this, the company is using it for research and development purposes. Perhaps this will aid in developing an electric N model. It's also looking to build on its 2017 season when Hyundai was the only brand with a car in the Ultimate Street Car series GTE electric vehicle class. The modifications will certainly be useful this season, since a competitor has been to a few events with a Tesla Model X P100D. The overall standings show that the hopped-up Hyundai is second in total points, which will likely narrow after the Hyundai heads to its third event at Autoclub Speedway this weekend. The two cars have not been at the same events this year, but both appear to qualify for the final invitational event that takes place in Las Vegas following the SEMA show.

Krafcik says US Gov. shutdown is slowing Oct. auto sales

The government shutdown is eroding consumer confidence in the auto market, says John Krafcik, CEO of Hyundai's US sales unit, and could lower October sales by as much as 10 percent, Automotive News reports. "It's that anxiety that keeps customers, potential buyers, on the sidelines when making a big purchase like an automobile," Krafcik says, adding that industry sales could be off by five to 10 percent in October compared to September.
The fourth quarter, which started October 1, usually consists of increased auto sales as dealerships clear their lots to make room for the next year's models. Leading up to the fourth quarter this year, the auto industry was doing well in the fragile, recovering US economy, although September deliveries decreased by 4.2 percent, due in part to this year's Labor Day sales being recorded for August.
To help its customers, Hyundai announced it is deferring new-car loan and lease payments for furloughed federal workers until they're called back to work and also offering them a three-month payment deferral if they buy a new Hyundai in October. "We have already had requests from over a thousand people to have their payments deferred," Krafcik says.

Hyundai exec admits company studying pickup, no foolin'

Automotive News reports Hyundai may be considering jumping into the US pickup market. Lee In-cheol, ice president of international sales, says the company's product planners and engineers are currently trying to determine what size pickup would be best for our market. Currently, the automaker has no plans to build a truck, but Lee says that hasn't stopped US dealers from asking the company to produce one. The US and South Korea signed a free trade agreement that took effect in 2012 that removes the so-called Chicken Tax from South Korean imports in seven years.
That means that Hyundai or Kia could import a foreign-built truck without incurring the 25 percent tax on the vehicle's value after 2021. Even so, Hyundai isn't committed into jumping into the US full-size pickup market. Instead, the company may build a smaller truck designed to compete in emerging markets.
We've been hearing word about Hyundai's pickup musings for years now, including a rumored partnership with Chrysler to produce Ram-based trucks, but so far, nothing has come of it.