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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.

What do J.D. Power's quality ratings really measure?

Check these recently released J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS) results. Do they raise any questions in your mind? Premium sports-car maker Porsche sits in first place for the third straight year, so are Porsches really the best-built cars in the U.S. market? Korean brands Kia and Hyundai are second and fourth, so are Korean vehicles suddenly better than their US, European, and Japanese competitors? Are workaday Chevrolets (seventh place) better than premium Buicks (11th), and Buicks better than luxury Cadillacs (21st), even though all are assembled in General Motors plants with the same processes and many shared parts? Are Japanese Acuras (26th) worse than German Volkswagens (24th)? And is "quality" really what it used to be (and what most perceive it to be), a measure of build excellence? Or has it evolved into much more a measure of likeability and ease of use? To properly analyze these widely watched results, we must first understand what IQS actually studies, and what the numerical scores really mean. First, as its name indicates, it's all about "initial" quality, measured by problems reported by new-vehicle owners in their first 90 days of ownership. If something breaks or falls off four months in, it doesn't count here. Second, the scores are problems per 100 vehicles, or PP100. So Power's 2015 IQS industry average of 112 PP100 translates to just 1.12 reported problems per vehicle. Third, no attempt is made to differentiate BIG problems from minor ones. Thus a transmission or engine failure counts the same as a squeaky glove box door, tricky phone pairing, inconsistent voice recognition, or anything else that annoys the owner. Traditionally, a high-quality vehicle is one that is well-bolted together. It doesn't leak, squeak, rattle, shed parts, show gaps between panels, or break down and leave you stranded. By this standard, there are very few poor-quality new vehicles in today's U.S. market. But what "quality" should not mean, is subjective likeability: ease of operation of the radio, climate controls, or seat adjusters, phone pairing, music downloading, sizes of touch pads on an infotainment screen, quickness of system response, or accuracy of voice-recognition. These are ergonomic "human factors" issues, not "quality" problems. Yet these kinds of pleasability issues are now dominating today's JDP "quality" ratings.

Hyundai teases new Tucson ahead of Geneva [w/video]

Hyundai is giving us a pretty thorough tease of the design for the next-gen Tucson in sketch form ahead of the model's debut at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show on March 3, thanks to a newly released video and image. Up front, there's the latest version of Hyundai's chrome-framed hexagonal grille, and the squared-off wheel wells lend a more rugged appearance. According to the Korean brand's design boss Peter Schreyer in the CUV's announcement, the shape is meant to be a combination of flowing surfaces and sharp lines. The styling definitively takes some cues from the Hyundai Intrado concept from last year's Swiss show. While the grille is larger now, the two of them share similar shapes for the squinting headlights and more pronounced, bulging proportions overall, compared to the current Tucson. Also, judging by the additional shots in Hyundai's teaser video, the rear drops the show car's boomerang-shaped taillights and tiny hatch opening for more conventional features. While no interior looks are included, the clip suggests a more muted hue than the Intrado's eye-searing orange. Show full PR text HYUNDAI MOTOR SHOWS FIRST DESIGN IMPRESSION OF ALL-NEW TUCSON 03/02/15 Design sketch created in new teaser video Hints at bold and athletic SUV presence Global name underlines significance of new model Teaser video can be viewed at http://youtu.be/PzAJaWYRmdw High Wycombe, 3 February 2015 - Hyundai Motor has today unveiled its first hints about the design of the upcoming All-New Tucson, compact SUV, which will premiere at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, on 3rd March. Commenting on the All-New Tucson, Peter Schreyer, President and Chief Design Officer of Hyundai Motor Group, said: "Our new compact SUV will be a big step forward for the Hyundai brand globally. The All-New Tucson has a bold and athletic presence and a proud stance. Its design is characterised by flowing surfaces, bold proportions, sharp lines and – most important – our brand signature hexagonal grille." The strong, sporty SUV appearance is enhanced by the upright silhouette and sleek character line. At the front, Hyundai Motor's distinctive chrome-framed hexagonal grille is connected to the headlamp clusters creating a powerful impression. With more than one million SUV sales in Europe since the introduction of the first Santa Fe in the early 2000s, Hyundai Motor has established its credibility in the SUV segment.