For the past few car shows, Hyundai has been displaying mock-ups of a future Tuscon light-SUV. Boring enough one might say, except that the concepts have been so swoopy/gorgeous that even my SUV-hating girlfriend gets wanna-have pangs for what she calls the J-Lomobile. Here in Geneva, Hyundai is showing what they now call the ix-onic, a lower-case technical whiz kid. It has a 1.6L turbo gasoline engine, 170 hp, but emmissions of only 149 g CO2, a DSG transmission and all kinds of other technical gobbledygookery. We can expect it for 2010 with few changes to the highly atractive concept except for the usual smaller wheels and lower chrome content. But what about the name? A Hyundai spokeman said all future 4WD models will use the ix-nomenclature, as in “ix-1”, “ix-2”, etc. That’s a relief—I was almost expecting something along the line of an upcoming Hyundai ix-otic, Hyundai er-otic and Hyundai ex-tatic (the latter being a sports car, of course). Tu-tonic plays with words, I know . . . .
So, Hyundai redevelops the Isuzu VehiCross.
Looks a lot like Ford Kuga but that is not a bad thing. Derivative styling or not, Hyundai is bringing the fight.
For some reason, Europeans consistantly misspell this car as Tuscon. It’s Tucson, like the city in Arizona. I wonder why?
Excerpt from The Hitchhikers Guide To TTAC
It is important to note that while you may be tempted to improve the aesthetics of your Pontiac Aztec by cooking it in an large microwave oven, no attempt should be made to do so.
Umm, make that “consistently” misspell. I need to keep my mouth shut, or make sure I’m using Mozilla.
Great looking concept.
Oops Paul, you got me there. Actually, I had one of those semi-dyslexic moments where I noticed that something on my mobile phone’s screen (with which I sent the piece) was not quite right, but I just couldn’t tell just what it was. I should send my pieces to the TTAC’S faithful copy editor, first.
I’d buy one if it came with lockers and a winch…
I’d buy one if it was a wench with knockers.
For some reason, Europeans consistantly [sic] misspell this car as Tuscon. It’s Tucson, like the city in Arizona.
To make things more confusing, TusCon is an annual science fiction convention in Tucson.
As for the ix-onic, any word on its dimensions?
Martin; Auto, Motor und Sport spelled it Tuscon for years! Maybe it left a subconscious impression on you.
Oh, no! Not Hyundai, too!
Good God, it’s discouraging to see yet another car company (and one which makes good product that I generally even like) getting ready to use damned letters and numbers as “model types”.
It’s just an awful lack of imagination to not actually name cars.
All you car guys & gals / B&B – I ask you…. does anybody even remember which the hell Lincolns are what, or Acura? I am a dedicated car guy and I could not care less about trying to remember which letters go with which car.
Exception: BMW, which has consistently used numerical nomenclature since building real cars in the 1930’s (as opposed to Austin-based microcar Dixie thingies). But there is at least some German logic and decades of consistency there…
Please, if anyone from Hyundai of America is reading this… when this gorgeous vehicle comes to our shores, please please please just call it the Tucson.
Why on earth would you throw away a well recognized and appreciated name? Brand recognition is finally getting to be “good” for Hyundai, and so is “model line” recognition.
I have a colleague at work who raves about her Tucson (she humorously and intentionally mis-pronounces it as her “tuc-son” – maybe it’s just a northern sense of humor, I dunno)… Yes she does know the proper pronunciation. She’s on her 2nd or 3rd one…
Sorry Hyundai, find your own damn two letters to rub together, BMW already uses “ix” on awd cars.
I too prefer “real” names for cars, but you’ve got to admit that this thing just doesn’t look like a “Tucson” or any other dusty southwestern town.
It looks more like a Hyundai Krypton, Vulcan or possibly Rigel Seven, which upon reflection makes “ix-3” not so bad after all.
tankd0g :
Sorry Hyundai, find your own damn two letters to rub together, BMW already uses “ix” on awd cars.
Actually, BMW doesn’t use it anymore. They used “ix” back in the 1980s. In the past few years they used “xi” as the suffix for AWD. Then they dropped it altogether.
For the sedans and coupes, the back of the car has no indication it’s awd — BMW 328i. Side of the vehicle near the front wheel will say “xDrive.” Only the SUVs will have an “x” on the back, like the X6 which says ‘xDrive35i”.