Hyundai Veloster Will Have Four Doors, Not Three

Potential Honda CR-Z rival switches things up a bit, not too sure what to think.... is it now just a hatchback?!? Either way, I'm looking forward to seeing what Hyundai has planned.... Looking at the pic, it looks like they did just add a 2nd door on the passenger side....
Hyundai will be debuting its all-new Veloster at the Detroit Auto Show next Monday. Long expected to be a three-door hatch in the vein of the Honda CR-Z, the Veloster has a trick up its sleeve: an extra door. Hyundai released a new teaser photo of the hatch today, and as you can clearly see there are two passenger-side doors instead of one. Look across the rear seats and you’ll notice there’s no rear door on the other side. So the Veloster will feature an unconventional three door + hatch configuration.

Hyundai hasn’t given us much information on the Veloster, but it dropped a few select details when it released the first teaser photo. We’ll get the rest beginning January 10 at 2:55 p.m. Eastern. [via CNET]

Source;
http://motorcrave.com/hyundai-veloster-will-have-four-doors-not-three/9982/

Another proposed Toyota MR2 Hybrid Article

Tell us if this sounds familiar: Hybrids will kill the driver-oriented sportscar. It's the line taken by no small share of enthusiasts, and some of them are among us here at Autoblog. But the skeptics were silenced – or temporarily hushed, at least – when Honda took the wraps off of its CR-Z coup concept. After all, anything that could bring back the CRX hatchback with added oomph at no extra cost at the fuel pumps has to sound good to anyone's ears, right? But you didn't think Toyota would let Honda have the fun all to itself now, did you?

It's far from official, but reports out of Japan suggest that Toyota may be working on a reborn hybrid sportscar of its own. The company once known for its sports-coupes recently unveiled the FT-86 concept, and could be set to follow up with a gasoline-electric resurrection of the cult classic MR2. The budget-friendly mid-engine/rear-drive sportscar had a big following who led the legions of the disappointed when the third-generation model was discontinued two years ago. But if the latest reports are to be believed, Mr. Two could be back – in hybrid form.

Details are scarce, but according to Japan's Best Car, we're looking at a two-seat two-door coupe with a gasoline engine mounted amidships behind the cabin, coupled to an electric motor in a more performance-oriented version of the Toyota Synergy Drive popularized by the Prius. Reports suggest it could adopt the MR-S nameplate, which is what the last MR2 was known as in Japan, so there's just as good a chance that it could wear the MR2 nameplate on this side of the Pacific. That's about all we've got for now, but if we all (Toyota included) play our cards just right, Japan's beloved budget mid-engined car could be coming back...with a charge.

Source;
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/26/rumormill-toyota-mr2-to-be-reborn-with-hybrid-power/

Toyota to Revive MR2 as Hybrid Competitor to Honda CR-Z? Japanese Magazine Believes So

Ever since Honda announced the CR-Z hybrid sports coupe, there have been rumors going around about the possibility of a corresponding Toyota model. Just to make it clear, we haven't heard anything official, but Japan's Best Car magazine is reporting/speculating/imagining (take your pick) that Toyota may revive the MR2 as a hybrid model called the MR-S to compete with Honda's CR-Z coupe that will go on sale in 2010.

We'll have to wait until some of our Japanese-fluent readers give us all the details from the article, but from what we gather, the MR-S would probably use a specially developed version of the Toyota Prius' hybrid powertrain.

The magazine's article is accompanied by an artist's impression on how the MR-S could like. Judging by the air-inlets at the back, the proposed MR-S most likely features a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout.

If true, this would make the MR-S a sportier proposal than the front-wheel drive CR-Z.

As we said before, there's nothing official about the existence of such a model, but we can't say that it sounds improbable for Toyota to develop a second sports car after the FT-86, especially if it's a smaller, lightweight hybrid.

Source: Best Car
http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2009/11/toyota-to-revive-mr2-as-hybrid.html