"cazzyodo" (cazzyodo)
01/14/2015 at 15:03 • Filed to: Hyundai Santa Cruz
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"cazzyodo" (cazzyodo)
01/14/2015 at 15:03 • Filed to: Hyundai Santa Cruz | 3
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Hyundai surprised us all with the Subaru Brat-like Santa Cruz concept. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! I was also very curious about the feasibility of a production model within a couple years.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
I'm not sure if anyone has seen or posted this but I figured I would share !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! did with Hyundai's VP of Product Planning, Mike O'Brien. Some takeaways:
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
Configuration
Our intention is to focus on one configuration, a five-passenger, four-door configuration with the extending bed.
Access to Rear Seats
That's part of the prototype nat
ure, so we're evaluating both ways—with conventional doors as well as the suicide doors.
AWD or 2wd?
We would offer both. [note: 2wd being front]
Production
We've been very serious in terms of the concept, so we've been working very close with engineers. There's been an engineering team working on this as well as a design team. It's not just been a design exercise at all.
I'm in the class of individuals who love trucks and their versatility. I'm also in the class that does not need a truck for heavy duty projects such as yard work, towing, moving, etc. I would like the versatility of an open bed configuration with the maneuverability and daily functionality of a smaller vehicle.
Happy to see someone is taking a serious approach to a neglected (and debatable sized) market segment!
If you missed the link above, go !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .
ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
> cazzyodo
01/14/2015 at 15:33 |
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I agree this is a segment that needs addressing, however, I do not think most 'Muricans (Fuck Yeah!) will get it.
If they decide to build this, I suspect it will have about the same reaction as the Subaru Baja, and quietly disappear after too short a time.
While I still want a Baja, my wife thinks they are ugly, and an appeal to the logic behind such a configuration is utterly lost on her. Sigh...
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cazzyodo
> ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
01/14/2015 at 15:51 |
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Yeah...but I take heart in that he kind of acknowledges this in the interview. Perhaps I read between the lines a bit and write my own story but it seems that they recognize that not everyone wants a truck but those who do want an actual truck. I wonder what studies led them to this concept as not just a concept but as a legitimate production possibility.
KentWynne
> cazzyodo
01/16/2015 at 17:54 |
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I wanted a Brat, but by the time I could afford and had a need for a new car, they weren't importing them to the US. I bought a Samurai.
I wanted a Baja, but the needs of a growing family and the refusal of my wife to drive a truck resulted in my buying an Outback.
I'm now retired, divorced, can buy whatever the hell I want [up to a certain limit...]. Build a compact pickup that can handle like a car, put too much power in it and back it up with a trick differential and a choice between a stick and a quick-shifting automatic, and it would likely be this.