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Well, I stopped by the Hyundai dealer earlier this evening to see what they had in their Elantra inventory.
Selection was very sparse, as I expected, because the Elantra is one of the hottest selling C-segment cars on the market.

But what I spotted as they were rolling it in the side door of the showroom amazed me.
And to my surprise, I was able to get a deal I couldn't refuse.

So goodbye Maxx, and hello to my new fuel sipper!

By the time I got home, it was too dark to get pictures outside, but I snapped a photo of the window sticker.

Looking forward to racking up some serious MPG numbers!

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/658/medium/SDsticker_501.jpg

Hi Chris:

;)

Wayne

Chris is the lucky beneficiary of the environmental and health standard reciprocity clause in the US trade agreement with Korea.

They've been keeping their new diesel and dog meat imports quiet, figuring that as long as they don't make it obvious the media won't notice and thus US citizens won't get upset and force the politicians to change the agreement.

Chris, you need to update your profile for your new car.

Ooooh! Very nice! I didn't know those were coming so soon.

With the Japanese makers having delays, I guess they're bumping up the schedule to grab the market opportunity. I can't wait until they hit the floor in my area!

:D

Wow- look at that!. They don't even have this car on their website yet (at least that I can find). It comes within 1 mpg of the hybrid model (34 vs 35) and wildly beats it on the highway (45 vs 40). 6 speed MT....

Can't wait to see pics and see what you can do with it. I'm going to make an early prediction of ~50 in all city driving and 60-65 on the highway. :-)

I drove one of these today. Unsure on purchase. They didn't have them yesterday and I'm sure they'll be gone by tomorrow.

It's raining like crazy here today, but I managed to get a photo of the engine.

The rest of the engine bay is about the same as the GDI, and only the engine cover design (and idle clatter) give it away.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/658/sonata_diesel_engine.jpg

Nice, but what is the green fur border in the pic? ;)

Nice, but what is the green fur border in the pic? ;)

This car just oozes the essence of fuel economy, greatness, and a better world from every seal in that engine bay... or it's the leeching of diesel #2... ;)

It must some remainder of the protective coating used on the intake to guard against corrosion during the trip over here. I thought I smelled something odd when everything got to operating temperature. When the weather dries out, I will have to power wash a little and get some better photos in the sunlight.

Truly a 'special edition";);)

It's good to see some more diesels being brought to America.

Hi All:

After seeing Chris’ post last night, I made some calls to “Deep Throat” deep within Hyundai’s corporate HQ in Fountain Valley, CA. It was arranged to have a special secret reveal of the Hyundai BlueDrive 2.0… I am typing from a secret “Hyundai Skunk Works" location in Ann Arbor, MI while sitting behind the wheel of a 1.7L turbo diesel Elantra with a special upgrade. Ahh… It was hybridized :eek: The Hyundai i-Flow concept has nothing on this baby! In a slower speed P&G routine, it offered 143 mpg with a steady state highway FE at 55 mph of 76 mpgUS!!! Glide Baby Glide and to hell with needing to drill for more oil ;)

They took my camera, cell phone and ScanGauge so I have to rely on the OEM i and aFCD instrumentation. If it is like the 11 Sonata Hybrid, these readouts should be dead on! What a great way to begin the month of April!

Wayne

Hi All:I am typing from a secret “Hyundai Skunk Works" location in Ann Arbor, MI while sitting behind the wheel of a 1.7L turbo diesel Elantra with a special upgrade.
Wayne

I logged in the back door of the skunkworks server and checked the image of the body scan taken on the way in. No cell phone or camera, but I think I found the cause of the shooting pains in the lower back and right knee and the recurring stabbing pain in the left thigh...

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/tsa-body-scanner.jpg

Hi Chris:

:D :D :D

Wayne

That should keep you occupied for some time. Expensive little suckers, aren't they? Enjoy H

You messed up, the diesel hybrid cant be too far behind.. I hope you enjoy the unholy stench of diesel on your hands!*

*actually some people like it.

Hi Herm:

Every April 1st I make sure to have a good ole Pint of "Blarney Bio-Diesel". It is non-alcoholic, bio-degradable, lubes the pipes and tastes good too :D

Wayne

You messed up, the diesel hybrid cant be too far behind.. I hope you enjoy the unholy stench of diesel on your hands!*

*actually some people like it.

I plan on trading up and getting the diesel hybrid station wagon version of the Sonata, probably taking delivery on 04/01/2012. ;)

I wouldn't be surprised if it had options like:
- EV-mode
- B20 capablility
- P185/70R17 80psi LRR tires on forged aluminum flush wheels
- A/C delete option
- Full underbody panels and grille shutters
- The optional 2.56:1 final drive
- A speed reminder that assumes road rage when indicated speed exceeds 60mph, at which point the radio blasts Zamfir pan flute music read from an internal memory chip, hopefully soothing the driver's nerves, until speed falls below the preset limit. Come to think of it, every pickup and SUV sold today should have a similar feature, where flooring the accelerator or driving more than 70mph causes all windows to roll down and show tunes to blast from the radio. The BCM should detect that music chip and refuse to start the engine if it's missing, so no radio upgrade can silence the serenade. It's hard to appear macho in your diesel duallie as you street race from light to light to the very best of Rogers & Hammerstein. And if the cop hiding behind the billboard hears "Juuuuune is busting out all over!" approaching fast, he knows it's an automatic citation for unsafe driving.

Oh, and my future diesel hybrid Sonata wagon will probably have a tach that sweeps from Off to Autostop (0) to 3. If the engine revs beyond 3000rpm, the needle hangs at the top of the scale and a large warning light resembling a dead dinosaur (perhaps a pterodactyl with little tiny dimes taped over its eyes) will illuminate in the gage cluster to remind the driver that they're wasting irreplaceable petroleum.

ooh I like those specs, but I want the AC.. perhaps a micro 200w AC keeping the fluids in my vest cool?

You forgot the inflatable boat-tail and automatic height lowering shocks!

The electric compressor in the Sonata hybrid is small and lightweight, so ok, we can throw in the A/C if it only adds 30 or 40 pounds to the curb weight.

Height adjustable suspensions require heavy and costly air (or oil) springs - the juice isn't worth the squeeze. Lowered ride height, in production cars, is used to reduce lift, since lift is a component of the total drag number. Assuming careful shaping of the upper surface, lift would be minimal unless speeds exceed typical interstate speed limits.

The inflatable boat tail would be another costly and complex add-on that wouldn't offer any benefit if the rear section of the body were to be shaped correctly. Inflatable or fixed, it creates excessive lift on the rear axle and introduces crosswind instability. I am a student of the great Wunibald Kamm, so I am sure any diesel hybrid wagon available at the start of April would have the proper cross sectional taper to keep the actual (as opposed to advertised) drag number as low as the best of what's in production today.

Ok, Chris. April Fools Day is over. Great Photoshop job, and trick. You fooled the rest of them, but not me. ;)

Ok, Chris. April Fools Day is over. Great Photoshop job, and trick. You fooled the rest of them, but not me. ;)

That was a good one. Hyundai liked it when I tweeted the article @Hyundai.

I really should stop coming here on April 1st. You guys really got me with a few of them this year. Although the 2012 did strike me as odd.:o