William Maley

William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com July 18, 2013 Hyundai is building a competitor to the Lexus LS and Mercedes-Benz S-Class? That was my first thought when the Korean automaker announced their luxury flagship, the Equus was coming to the U.S. a few years ago. I was wondering if Hyundai was bitting off a bit more than they could chew. Going after the stalwarts of the luxury flagship was not an easy task, just ask the Volkswagen Phaeton. However the Equus has turned out to be more of a Lexus LS than Volkswagen Phaeton. Sales of the model last year are seven percent of the total luxury flagship market and is stealing customers away from the likes of Lexus and Mercedes-Benz. Why? Hyundai focused on its major strength on offering a whole lot car of for the money with the Equus, a formula employed by both Lexus and Volkswagen with different results. With a base price of $61,900, the Equus undercuts many of its competitors by an average of around $15,000. Now entering its third year in the U.S. marketplace, Hyundai is doing a mid-cycle refresh to keep the Equus fresh in light of new and refreshed models on the marketplace. How does it fare? I recently found out this past week at Hyundai's Technical Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan as Hyundai invited us to take a first drive in the 2014 Equus. The 2014 Equus mostly looks the same as the model that was introduced back in 2011; a conservative, yet handsome luxury sedan. The most obvious change in the design is up front where Hyundai designers changed the grille and bumper, added a set of fog lamps, and dropped the chrome accents on the bumper. The other change of note is a set of nineteen-inch turbine wheels that add a touch of class. The Equus' interior also saw a number of changes for 2014. Starting up front, the 2014 Equus gets a redesigned dashboard and center stack that gives off a more premium feel. There is a larger 9.2 inch screen for the infotainment system and new seven-inch screen in the instrument cluster. Equus Ultimate models get a 12.3 TFT screen in the instrument cluster, a heads-up display system, and a haptic feedback dial on the steering wheel. Moving to the back seat, Hyundai dropped the reclining back seat with the footrest and is just offering reclining for both back seats. There is also a new rear console that folds down and provides controls for the rear climate control and audio system. Seated in the back, I found myself being very comfortable and having more than enough head and legroom, even with the seat reclined. Those looking for more backseat luxuries should look at the Equus Ultimate, since it adds dual 9.2 inch screens and power door closure. Taking off from the technical center to begin the drive, I found the Equus to be very spritely. Leaving a stoplight, the Equus moves with authority like any luxury car should. Making a pass or merging onto a freeway was no sweat. This is thanks to the Equus' 5.0L Tau V8 with 429 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque. An eight-speed transmission is paired with V8 and sends the power to the rear wheels. The eight-speed is very smooth and seamless, what you expect in a big sedan. The shift logic worked brilliantly. Whether I buried my foot into the throttle or lightly touched it, the transmission went about its way with no sweat. The ride is up to par in the luxury flagship class. A revised air suspension system and bushings help make you and your passengers feel like you're driving on glass. Also, the Equus is eerily quiet at speed. Those who are hoping for a sporty drive with those revisions will be disappointed. The Equus leans when cornered and the steering really isn't set up for it. If handling is at the top of your priorities, you should be looking at the Germans. As for safety, the Equus has the usual assortment of features; nine airbags, stability control, traction control, brake assist, lane departure warning, and pre-collision warning. The Equus also comes with blind-spot warning with rear-cross traffic alert as standard equipment. Hyundai says the Equus is the only car in its class with this feature standard. Also standard in the Equus only is Smart Cruise Control with Stop/Start. The system uses radar to monitor what is in front and bring it to a full stop if it detects the vehicle in front is coming to a stop. Once the vehicle is moving, the system will accelerate the Equus back to its set speed. I can attest this system works very well as the Equus was able to stop to start back up with no problems at all. The price? Much lower than you think. $61,920 will get you into the base Equus Signature and $68,920 for the upper level Equus Ultimate. Those prices include three years of no-cost maintenance with someone picking up the Equus and leaving you with a loaner till your vehicle is done, and three years of Hyundai's BlueLink Assurance Connected Care. At first, you might have laughed at the notion of a Hyundai luxury vehicle. But after driving the 2014 Equus, I can say it's the real deal. While it might not be most distinctive nor the sportiest luxury sedan, Hyundai nailed the basics; smooth ride, powerful engine, number of luxury appointments and features, and value for money. The big question remains: Will the Equus take a place in history along side the Lexus LS by moving the barometer of what a flagship luxury sedan can be or will it suffer the same fate as the Volkswagen Phaeton; a capable entry into the marketplace but ignored due to it not having the brand equity needed to command the premium price? Disclaimer: Cheers & Gears was invited to a first drive event by Hyundai Motor America and provided the vehicles, breakfast, and lunch for the event. Year - 2014 Make – Hyundai Model – Equus Engine – 5.0L GDI DOHC D-CVVT Tau V8 Driveline – Rear-Wheel Drive, Eight-Speed Automatic Horsepower @ RPM – 429 HP (Premium Fuel)/421 HP (Regular Fuel) (@ 6,400 RPM) Torque @ RPM – 376 lb-ft (Premium Fuel)/365 lb-ft (Regular Fuel) (@ 5,000 RPM) Fuel Economy: City/Highway/Combined - 15/23/18 Curb Weight – N/A 2014 Equus Pricing: Equus Signature - $61,920 Equus Ultimate - $68,920 Includes $920 Destination Charge William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster. View full article

Yeah, Cadillac's touchscreens and capacitive touch buttons are fingerprint magnets. If you look in the glovebox, you'll find a microfiber cloth to clean off the smudges. Its not perfect. As for CUE, it has been getting better.. But like I said before, you had to read the manual and play around with the system to fully get it. I'm somewhat worried the dealer couldn't get it working at all.

William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com July 17, 2013 MINI had a unique entrant in the small cargo van area. Taking their Clubman wagon,MINI removed the backseat and blacked out the windows to create the Clubvan. MINI said the model would go on sale in the U.S. sometime this year. The Clubvan did go on sale and then left. Wait, what? According to MINI USA Communications Manager Nathalie Bauters said the MINI Clubvan was sold in the U.S. for short time. Sales totaled 50 Clubvans. So why did MINI pull the Clubvan from the U.S.? Blame the 25 percent Chicken Tax on commercial vehicles. Source: Green Car Reports William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster. View full article

The buttons are actually not that small.. only in the picture. The system was very responsive (actually one the fastest systems I have used). They do lock down the imputing of an address, but everything else is ok.

Its pretty good. The seat held me in when I pushed it pretty good.

William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com July 17, 2013 The current Mazdaspeed3 is a bit of a wild and crazy car thanks to its turbocharged, 2.3L four-cylinder with 263 horsepower. With the next-generation Mazda3 coming around the corner, the talk about the next-generation Mazdaspeed3 is heating up. Auto Express reports that the next-generation Mazdaspeed3 could forgo the turbocharger and go with a naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine. This comes from a senior engineer who said the Mazda 3 MPS (what Mazda calls the Mazdaspeed3 in Europe) is likely to return “but not as you would expect”. He then went onto say the 2.0L SKYACTIV-G engine could be modified to produce 200 horsepower and have a 7,000 RPM redline. Now this seems like a very odd move. Most of the sport compacts on the marketplace aside from the Honda Civic Si use turbocharging to provide the kick. If Mazda does go down this route, they would be down around 10 to 50 horsepower to the current crop of sport compacts. However Mazda's ace up its sleeve is the weight loss program it has been putting many of its vehicles through. That might be enough to keep the it in contention. We'll be keeping an eye on this and let you know if anything changes. Source: Auto Express William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster. View full article

The new Colorado has only been on sale since 2012.

William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com July 16, 2013 Its been awhile since we got any new information or spy shots on General Motor's next-generation midsize trucks. However that changed this week as new spy shots came in of the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon doing some hot weather testing. We knew that our version of the Colorado and Canyon's exterior design would differ from the version sold in the rest of the world. The shots show the front ends of the two trucks taking cues from their bigger brothers with similar grilles and headlight setup. The spy shots also revealed that one of engines that GM is currently testing is a V6 VVT engine. That means we could be seeing the 3.6L DI V6 under the hood of these trucks. Also on the table are a four-cylinder engine and turbodiesel. Source: Automobile Magazine William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster. View full article