Thursday, May 22, 2014

Hyundai testing facelifted Veloster Turbo in Germany

Love it or hate it, you have to admit that Hyundai went against the cookie-cutter norm when it unveiled theVeloster in 2011. And to many eyes, its oddball shape is still refreshingly original. But in the three and a half years since, Hyundai has moved its design language onwards, so it's about time the Korean automaker bring the quirky three-door (or novel four-door, depending on the angle from which you look at it) into the fold. And that's just what it appears to be doing in these latest spy shots.

Though it's hard to tell much from underneath the heavy camouflage, it's clear from these spy shots that this is indeed the Veloster, and given the center-exit dual exhaust tips, it seems to be the Turbo model and not the base naturally aspirated version. It seems to be wearing a bigger grille like the one Hyundai put on the latest Genesis, among others, and new bumpers front and back as well. The half-door on the right side does appear to be carrying over, it's wearing new wheels, and we're told there seems to be something afoot inside the cabin as well – likely revolving around an updated infotainment system.

Whether there are any consequential mechanical changes as well, we don't know. That said, development seems to be in a fairly advanced stage, so we wouldn't be surprised to see a refreshed Veloster on the show stand sometime later this year or early next at the latest.

Source: autoblog.com

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Honda releases H2O brand bottled water to promote FCX Clarity

Remember when Hollywood stars Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds) and Joshua Jackson (Fringe) took aMercedes-Benz B-Class F-Cell into Death Valley and "survived" by drinking water from the car's tailpipe?Honda has taken that idea into movie theaters in Australia. The idea, but not fuel cell water itself.

Honda H2O logoHonda has created a bottled water brande called H2O, and it's meant to promote the hydrogen-powered Honda FCX Clarity as part of Honda's "clever thinking" campaign. The headline message, just as it was for Mercedes, is that a hydrogen fuel cell car emits nothing but water vapor, which is actually safe to drink. To give movie fans a hands-on experience, Honda Australia filled a number of Palace Cinemas movie theaters with free disposable bottles of H2O water. Of course, since there are only a handful of FCX Clarity vehicles in the world today and it would take a lot of driving to fill up that many bottles, Honda admits that, "if you're holding a bottle of our specially produced H2O water in your hand right now, you've been drinking plain old spring water. If you want to taste the real thing, you'll have to travel to California, Japan or the UK where the FCX is currently available."
 
Source: autoblog.com