Hyundai goes stargazing, new details arise regarding the Cruise AV crash, Porsche plans a third SUV. All this and more in today’s issue of The Morning Dump.
Welcome to The Morning Dump, bite-sized stories corralled into a single article for your morning perusal. If your morning coffee’s working a little too well, pull up a throne and have a gander at the best of the rest of yesterday.
Hyundai Gazes The Stars
Aw hell yeah, it’s van time. Hyundai’s been absolutely killing it with some dope vans lately, from the Blade Runner-esque Staria to the incredibly handsome Custo. After rolling out these larger products, Hyundai’s dusted off its shrink ray to create a cassette-futurist van for the entry-level market. Meet the Stargazer, Hyundai’s competitor to the Mitsubishi Xpander and Toyota Avanza. While not slated for sale in America, you’ll really wish it was once you read more about it.
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I mean come on, would you just look at that? The one-box silhouette, the chunky wheel arches pushed out to the extreme corners of the vehicle, the wild giant H tail light treatment, it all works to produce a chunky, funky little van. While the silhouette may be a touch bulbous, it’s all for the sake of interior room.
A standard 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine puts 115 horsepower and 107 lb-ft of torque down to the front tires through either a six-speed manual gearbox or a CVT. While that doesn’t sound like a whole lot of power, the Stargazer isn’t a whole lot of metal to move. The whole MPV’s just 4,460 mm (175.5 inches) long, or 35 mm (1.5 inches) shorter than a Nissan Versa. Despite the Stargazer’s short silhouette, it still has room for six or seven passengers. Nice.
Speaking of nice, the interior really doesn’t look bad. High-spec models get an eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system, airplane-style seatback trays for second row passengers, wireless charging, and a digital gauge cluster. It may use old-school segmented LCDs for speed and rpm, but I feel like that’s almost cooler than a modern display. So, lots of kit, lots of practicality, but what’s the price? Well, a fully-loaded Stargazer stickers for 307,100,000 Indonesian Rupiahs, or around $20,500. That’s an absolute bargain. So, what’s the fly in the ointment here? There must be some big cost cut to get pricing that low, right? Indeed, despite the Stargazer name, this nifty little MPV isn’t available with a moonroof.
Illinois Is Fed Up With Carvana
Hey, remember when Illinois suspended Carvana’s license to sell cars due to delayed title issuing? Well, it’s happened again. According to financial news outlet Barron’s, Carvana lost its license once again on Monday, when the Illinois Secretary of State’s enforcement division pulled the plug.
Despite having almost two months’ reinstatement, Carvana failed to clean up its act. According to state spokesperson Henry Haupt, “Carvana continued to conduct business in a manner that violates Illinois state law.” Alright, so what sort of manner are we talking about here? Well, Carvana allegedly failed to transfer vehicle titles within the allotted 20-day window, plus the company’s alleged to have sometimes issued out-of-state temporary plates multiple times per vehicle. Both seem like crappy moves that would really hang buyers out to dry, from receiving undriveable vehicles to having weird stuff show up on a vehicle history report should they sell.
That Cruise AV Crash Seems To Have Been A Little Harder Than Initially Reported
Hey, remember that San Francisco crash involving a Cruise autonomous car last month? Well, more details have come to light regarding passenger count and injury status, and it’s not fantastic news. According to Automotive News, the San Francisco Police Department has released some information on the incident:
The Cruise vehicle carried three adult passengers in its rear seats, police said. Paramedics transported one of those passengers to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries following the June 3 collision, according to police.
Two occupants in the Toyota Prius, a male driver and female passenger seated in the rear, were treated for injuries at the scene and released. A Cruise official had written in a June 10 report that occupants of both vehicles were treated for “allegedly minor injuries.”
Are “non-life threatening injuries” the same as “allegedly minor injuries”? Perhaps, although there’s a big difference between injuries treatable on scene and injuries treatable in hospital. Honestly, slowly peeling back the layers on this incident feels like it could be a painful reality check for autonomous vehicles. The promise of Level 5 autonomy feels like the promise of virtual reality – a few proofs of concept exist, but widespread capability that doesn’t suck has always been five years away.
Porsche Has Another SUV On The Way
Well, it looks like people simply won’t stop buying SUVs. Not only are mass-market crossovers soaring to new heights, the market for luxury SUVs has never felt bigger. Mercedes G-Wagens are subject to big markups, the Rivian R1S is the new hotness, and I swear I see a Lamborghini Urus every other time I step outside my apartment. As such, it shouldn’t be surprising to hear that Porsche is considering a third SUV, this time a bit of a mashup of existing concepts. In an investor relations statement published Monday, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume announced some plans for this new vehicle.
“We plan to add a new luxury, all-electric SUV model to our attractive portfolio, which will roll off the production line in Leipzig. This will further expand our position in the luxury automotive segment. We are targeting the higher margin segments in particular and aim to tap into new sales opportunities in this way.”
So, a bit of a mashup between a Taycan and a Cayenne, then. According to Automotive News Europe, this new SUV will start production mid-decade and carries the codename K1. This piece of news regarding a high-end luxury SUV is pretty crucial considering what Porsche does, other high-end manufacturers often copy. In addition to this new high-end SUV, the upcoming electric Macan has been pushed back by a year to 2024 due to software delays. Hey, it is what it is.
The Flush
Whelp, time to drop the lid on today’s edition of The Morning Dump. Happy Tuesday, everyone! You made it through Monday, that’s excellent. To celebrate, let’s play a little bit of a game of extremes. Our hypothetical unlimited money genie is back and has some new conditions this time. You can buy any two cars you want, so long as one has more than eight cylinders in its engine and the other has fewer than four cylinders in its engine. What two cars are you buying?
Lead photo credit: Hyundai
Koenigsegg Gemera, 3 cylinder inline. I’m in the mood for glossy mint green from a 1950s era diner or something like that. Maybe match one of the colors in the Autopian logo. Or maybe a 50s era salmon pink.
Bentley Bentayga Speed, Turbocharged W12 engine. The “Solar Flare” orange and black color scheme on the Bentley page is nice. Or neon green and black.
If the Magic Genie is short on cash after buying that Koenigsegg, I’d accept an Audi Q7 Turbo Diesel V12. Pearl white, as all Audi SUVs should be.
Well, the flush, easy choice, BMW 850i and Yaris GR.
Ram V10 MAGNUM second or third generation. Just a practical truck.
I8 because I’ve been wanting a PHEV and the 3 pot in my Mini is superb.
Indonesian here, the Stargazer was priced the same as the Mitsubishi Xpander, the Market Leader for LMPVs from 2018 to 2020, the Hyundai got a Boatload of features like ADAS, Leather Seats, Captain Chairs for the 2nd row and a slightly more powerful engine, i could bet, that this will absolutely wipe the market segment like what the Creta did to the Honda HRV.
Just ask any questions about Indonesian Automobiles, ill answer as much as i could. 🙂
That Hyundai actually looks pretty sweet, especially for the money. It’s too bad vehicles at that price point are fading so quickly from here in the US.
Speaking of price, since it’s unlimited, I’m going with the 1934 Cadillac 452D V-16 Fleetwood Aerodynamic Coupe for the greater-than-8 cruiser, and a 1966 DKW GT Malzoni GT com três cilindros.
An 86 Purple Gembella Cyrrus with a white interior with 2 fidget spinners and 2 turbos errr 2 Rotary Engines teamed with 2 Turbos.
And a 70 Olds VistaCruiser with a Viper Engine made by Lingenfelter!
Hyundai needs to sell their cool vans over here. The Stargazer and the Staria belong in the US lineup
8 cylinders: Gordon Murray T.50
The comment formatting screwed up my reply.
Less than 4 cylinders: McMurtry Speirling
Greater than 8 cylinders: Gordon Murray T.50
Like some have said. more than 8 brought me to SRT 10 Dodge RAM.
Less than 4, throws dart at Google, BMW 118i M Sport.
The Flush:
>8 Cylinders: A Tatra 813 with the Air Cooled Diesel V12 or an 815 with either an air cooled diesel V10 or air cooled diesel V12.
4> Cylinders: Suzuki LJ-10 Jimny or Citroen Mehari 4×4 (Its hard to chose between them)
Rimac Nevera and an SRT 10 Dodge RAM.
re: “Are ‘non-life threatening injuries’ the same as ‘allegedly minor injuries’?”
It is possible that the one passenger hit their head hard enough to black out for a moment so they were sent to the hospital as a concussion protocol without otherwise being seriously injured.
Is this the accident where the Prius went straight from a turn-only lane? If so, I still don’t think it’s clear that this was Cruise’s fault. The benefit of the doubt goes to the car that didn’t do something illegal.
(I will also take this opportunity to mention again that links to the things you reference would be helpful and appreciated)
My first reaction to the two car question is Lucid Air and a V12 Lambo. I suspect in reality I might not go that way, but hey it’s all imaginary money anyway. 😉
I may be too drunk, I am, but too many comments seem to be irrelevant to the story. First that hyundai star gazer story has way to many nouns and pronouns and doesn’t make a link of sense.
Then the Cruise AV crash blah blah blah. Can we get a story that just gives us information? The autopian story writes one thing lining up a copy/paste of another story from another site. For God’s sake write your store credit your source. But for God’s sake don’t try to credit a source while trying to avoid crediting the source you quoted. Man that is crazy
Ok genie, hit me up with a Lamborghini LM002 and a Koenigsegg Gemera.
I’ve lived in Illinois my whole life and have bought and sold so many cars I can’t count. Since SoS White has been in office (like forever now), I’ve never had any problems doing plates, titles, DLs, etc. Easy peasy 5 minutes, in and out.
I wonder why Carvana is having such trouble?
Probably because they buy and sell cars in so many different states. Like, if you sold your GTI in Washington state to Carvana and then they turn around and sell it in Illinois, there’s a bunch of “work” to turn that title (even more sticky if the GTI had a lien on it) from Washington to Illinois, even more “work” if the person buying the GTI in Illinois took out a loan.
When you essentially just employ a bunch of car wranglers and tech dorks, there’s more than likely not a lot of effort put into non revenue producing jobs like title transfer and follow up.
Selling cars is a state regulated business and if you eff around, you’re going to find out.
That’s an easy one, and they’re both Italian. Ferrari Testarossa and Fiat Abarth 695SS.
My first thought was Yaris GR and V12 Toyota Century, just utter extremes in dignity (yes, of course I’m getting cloth seats in the Century).
I’m not a BMW guy by any means, but I’m choosing a V12 850 and an I-3… i3
I believe a guy named Bob has a V12 850 he would sell you…
Cizeta Moroder V16T, for the more than eight and a
Panhard PL 17 Break, because I really really would like one.
88 Chevy Sprint w/ G10T
88 Jaguar XJ12
Because 1988 was peak automotive.
What’s the hypercar/supercar with a 600HP 3-cyl? Koenigsegg something?
And since its the magical genie man doing the work, lets go with a ’76 F150 with a V12 made of two 300ci I6s grafted together topped with LS heads and big honkin turbos.
Can’t decide on the transmission, but it would need to be beefy.
I like the cut of your Jib.
Hmm, twin I-6 V12? thats an amazing thing to think about. I’d probably put a built PowerGlide or an A-727 behind it.
Ok, so hear me out. I was thinking about the BMW V12 that used 2 engime management systems and treated it like 2 inline sixes. This would be a great thing for cylinder deactivation. You could turn either bank of 6 on or off and perhaps allow 3 or 9 cylinder configurations if you are clever enough.
Hmmm
8 = Ferrari GTB4 Daytona or Testarossa or 575M Maranello or F12 Berlinetta or 812 Superfast
I have it on good authority that Captain Picard does not approve of this Stargazer. Also, Staria sounds like it should be a Mitsubishi, just sayin.
Wow, putting a less than sign in there really nuked my post; need edit.
Less than 4 = GR Corolla or Lucid Air (That’s o cylinders, right?)
The 8 was greater than symbol + 8
What saddens me about looking at that Hyundai is that good packaging in a small footprint is possible, but just impossible to buy in North America. I get it, I get it, the largest market being the US is convinced aggressive penis extension is the only way to be safe, but for a while, us boring little shrinky dinks in Canada were able to buy sensible vehicles like the Mazda5, MB B Class and even the Hyundai’s cousin Kia Rhondo. Despite these vehicles being really popular up here, it just seams the smaller market volume couldn’t support the business case.
Unfortunately (and I guess a bit ironically) the otherwise sensible shift to EVs is de-incentivizing smaller footprint vehicles, especially when it comes to width. I wonder where all these monsters will be parking when they aren’t bought by rural and suburban residents.
On the other hand I have to laugh at Porsche seeking higher margins. Really? That’s a problem for them? Why not just mark up their various options packages even more?
W12-Bentley Continental GT
0 Cylinder-F150 Lightning, top trim
Okay, I get that it probably doesn’t really count.
3 Cyl-Mini Cooper Convertible
Well I’m assuming 0 cylinder electrics are ineligible.
I wouldn’t be true to myself if my big engine didn’t have 10 cylinders, so I’m taking a Viper if older cars are eligible, and a Huracan if it has to be new.
For the small engine, it’s the i8 if I can go older, and the Corolla GR if new.
i8 is a great answer!