Hyundai and Rhys Millen Racing deserve a round of applause for their recent video antics that spread through the Internet like a leaked photo from a celebrity cell phone.

This time around, the team took their Veloster Rally Car out to the golf course where it replaced the traditional golf cart. Almost everything you can imagine that shouldn’t be combined into a video, is. We’re talking golf clubs, golf balls, a 500-hp Veloster with 600 lb-ft of torque, and cows. Yes, we said cows.

Really there’s no reason behind this video, other than the fact that millions of people will watch it which means millions of eye balls on Hyundai’s little Veloster.

Check out the video after the break.

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Hyundai has launched an inventive social marketing program called the “HYUNDAI RACE” at Times Square, one of the busiest city cross streets in the world. By downloading a controller app from the iTunes app store, participants can enjoy the HYUNDAI RACE featuring the all-new Hyundai Veloster on a prominent billboard via Hyundai WiFi.

Steve Shannon, Hyundai Motor America vice president of Marketing said, “Having a large video display in Times Square certainly creates awareness among consumers through creative graphic elements. But Hyundai’s racing game takes engagement to a new level. The game invites the audience to interact with Hyundai in the middle of one of the world’s busiest venues for commerce and tourism. It’s a great example of our innovative marketing at work.”

HYUNDAI RACE  is played by tilting a smart phone like one would steer a car. Players race their Veloster against the clock and their score will get posted on the billboard to be ranked amongst other players. HYUNDAI RACE will be up on the billboard in Times Square until the end of this year, and Hyundai will continue launching a number of other interactive experiences in Times Square thoughout 2012.

GALLERY: Hyundai Veloster

South Korean automakers have been on a roll for the past two years and there are no signs of letting off. A radical departure from Hyundais of the past, the new Hyundai Veloster earned GOOD DESIGN award in the transportation category. Held at the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design, GOOD DESIGN awards are handed annually to the most innovative designers in a broad array of industries– not just automotive.

According to Hyundai Motor America director of Product Planning, Scott Margason, “With Veloster, we want to show consumers that high style, fuel efficiency and affordable pricing can all be found in one vehicle. Veloster stands out from the crowd with a stylish yet functional design. We’re honored that GOOD DESIGN is recognizing the beautiful design and unique personality of the car.”

Highlights of the Veloster’s design are its three-door layout. While this design has been adopted by the and Saturn SC-2 3-door coupe in the past, the third door is opened conventionally rather than suicide, retains a B-pillar for structural rigidity, and has its own exterior door handle rather than needing to rely on the front door to open first. What’s more, designers compliment the Hyundai for its bold design statement and its distinctive forms including black A-pillars to give the sports coupe an aggressive motorcycle helmet visor appearance. A distinctive glass hatch in the rear and dual centered chrome exhaust tips carry the edgy design to the rear. Inside, the center console is designed to resemble a sport bike fuel tank while HVAC air vents are heavily influenced by motorcycle tailpipes.

Click here to read Autoguide’s review of the 2012 Veloster.

GALLERY: Hyundai Veloster

Despite being confirmed a Photoshop fake by Hyundai themselves to Jalopnik, we’re pretty confident that the production 2013 Hyundai Genesis will look very close to this render. We’ve already seen some spy shots here and here, which gives us reasons to believe that this Photoshop isn’t far off from the real thing.

Nonetheless, if this is what we’re to expect from Hyundai’s 2013 Genesis, it’s obvious that the coupe will be borrowing some styling cues from the Veloster, giving it quite the more aggressive stance. What we still don’t know is what will lie underneath the hood, but after checking out Rhys Millen Racing’s SEMA creation, one can only hope that Hyundai will offer a 5.0L V8 Genesis coupe somewhere in their model lineup.

[Source: Autoblog]

Hyundai has already promised a “more dramatic” design for the 2013 Genesis Coupe and now we have a strong idea what that means. Spied recently in South Korea, the 2013 model looks to take its design cues from the Veloster – for better or worse.

Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik has also ready said that the Coupe’s mid-cycle update will be a bigger change than what we saw on the sedan. He also indicated that if Hyundai is to stay a design leader, it will need to continue to innovate and offer models that are “aspirational… not a step back.”

When it is unveiled at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, look for the 2013 Genesis Coupe to sport a more powerful base 2.0-liter turbocharged -cylinder with 274-hp, while the V6 will be bumped up to at least 333-hp. A rumored 5.0-liter V8 model has yet to be confirmed.

GALLERY: 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe

[Source: GenCoupe]

Yesterday, Hyundai Motor Group said it is expecting to raise its U.S auto sales by 18.2 percent this year to 1.06 million vehicles, an improvement from a previous target of 1.01 million.

Hyundai would to sell 624,000 units and Kia with 433,000 in the U.S. Both South Korean automakers are experiencing fast growth in the U.S market with a combined share reaching 10.1 percent as of May from 7.7 percent in 2010 and 3.3 percent in 2001. The launch of the Hyundai Veloster and the Kia Rio subcompact in the U.S are to help maintain the sales momentum of both companies.

Chung Mong-Koo, charman of the Hyundai Motor Group, announced the sales increase while visiting the U.S, which may be linked to the possible construction of a second plant to meet booming demand in the world’s second- largest auto market.

[Source: Reuters]

Mercedes isn’t the only company with a hold on the “four-door coupe.” Like trickle-down economics, the luxury and prestige of the swoopy CLS might come down to the Hyundai Veloster, available to the huddled masses with zero down and low APR.

One of its executives has revealed that they’re looking at a four-door version of the Veloster. The current Veloster has one long door on the driver’s side, and two shorter doors on the opposite side. It’s as if a Saturn SC2 and an AMC Pacer walked into a bar, and promptly started playing with each other’s pivot hinges. But if this unique egress configuration wasn’t enough (remember, the Veloster also features a hatchback), they’re also working on one with four conventional doors.

If a four-door Hyundai with a hatch makes you think of the Accent, then that’s a perfectly normal response. “Hyundai is very focused on the ’1+2′-door Veloster as an exciting and innovative car for our customers,” said Ben Hershman, a senior manager. As such, the company is denying any statements on a conventional-doored Veloster.

But if a four-door Veloster comes to fruition, expect some cannibalization of the product line. Not all-out spit-roasting, but maybe a nibble.

[Source: Carsales.com.au]

The all-new Hyundai Elantra Coupe will debut this fall at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show, with Hyundai is hoping this new coupe will eat into Honda Civic Coupe sales.

The basic powertrain will likely come from the sedan which is powered by a 1.8-liter four-cylinder producing 148-hp and 131 lb-ft of torque. Hyundai is also likely to create a high performance Elantra R-Spec in 2012. This coupe will likely be powered by the same 208-hp turbocharged engine already confirmed for the high-performance version of the Hyundai Veloster. Transmission choices for the Veloster include an optional duel-clutch automatic transmission for its naturally aspirated 1.6-liter engine, so this will likely be the choice for the R-Spec Elantra.

Fuel economy will likely be around 29 MPG city and 40 MPG highway regardless of transmission, trim level and wheel size. The Elantra sedan is offered in two trim levels including GLS and Limited. Coupe equipment will likely be similar to the sedans offerings.

[Source: Edmunds Inside Line]

Contrary to several reports, Hyundai has confirmed that the Veloster compact sports coupe/hatchback will not debut at the LA Auto Show later this year. Speaking about the rumor, Hyundai rep Dan Bedore commented that, “there is no truth to this.”

And while the Veloster will not debut in LA, Bedore did confirm that “We will have a very important North American product debut at the LA Auto Show.”

As for what that product is, we’re expecting debuts for both the new Elantra and the 2011 Accent in the near future. Although rumors have also suggested Hyundai may show a concept car that will set the company on the path towards it’s 50-mpg CAFE goal. This could be a version of the Blue-Will Concept that would rival the Toyota Prius.

The Veloster may beat all these products to market, wit rumors suggesting the 40-mpg highway model will first appear at the Paris Auto Show in a month’s time.

Several amateur spy photos have appeared online showing what appears to be the upcoming Hyundai Veloster out testing in Korea. While the body cladding certainly covers up the details, the overall shape of the car is undeniably like the Veloster Concept. As it should; after all, Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik did say the sub-compact would look a great deal like the concept version, calling it both “Accent sized” and like a,” four passenger Honda CRX.”

Thought by many to be the replacement for the Tiburon, the Veloster will be in a different class, with no Tiburon-type model in Hyundai’s future product plans. Instead, much as the Genesis Coupe is a slightly larger, more powerful and more expensive model, the Veloster will sit at the other end of the scale, undercutting the Tiburon in most areas.

Reportedly, the Veloster will be powered by a direct-injection 1.6-liter 4-cylinder that will get over 40 mpg on the highway.

The Tiburon’s sporty-CRX-like successor is due out as a 2012 model at dealers by late 2011.

GALLERY: Hyundai Veloster Spy Photos

GALLERY: Hyundai Veloster

[Source: bobaedream.co.kr]