Seat Time is a chance for us to share our impressions of vehicles being tested in the Autoline Garage and at media previews from around the globe.

Reviewer: Chip Drake
Manufacturer: Hyundai
Make: Hyundai
Model: Tucson
Type: CUV
Competitors: Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Nissan Rouge, KIA Sportage
Price: FWD SE $22,700 up to AWD Limited Ultimate $34,050 w/ $895 Freight Charge
Made in: Ulsan, Korea
Drivetrain: SE comes w/ 2.0L GDI DOHC 16-Valve CVVT Inline 4; ECO/Sport/Limited comes with 1.6L Turbo-GDI DOHC 16-Valve CVVT Inline 4
EPA Ratings: SE (FWD) 26 combined, (AWD) 23 combined; ECO (FWD) 29 combined, (AWD) 27 combined; Sport/Limited (FWD) 27 combined, (AWD) 26 combined

Final Impression:

**In honor of Hyundai’s new NFL Sponsorship we offer the following review**

Narrator:
Welcome back to the Main Street Theater in Somewhere, U.S.A., where several automakers are unveiling a group of special vehicles; Once figments from a designer’s imagination, now products in the national spotlight. Welcome to “The Crossover Dream Draft.”  And now here is the League’s Commissioner: Baadee O. Frame

Commissioner Frame:
“With its first selection in the 2016 CD Draft, Hyundai Motor America gives us the 3rd generation Tucson.”

 — Music sting, applause from the audience —

CDD Anchor Taach Screen:
Fresh from its Ulsan, South Korean factory, Hyundai’s all new 5-passenger vehicle is athletic and sleek courtesy of the brand’s Fluidic Sculpture 2.0 design philosophy. But in addition to the catchy exterior options like 19-inch wheels and a panoramic sunroof, safety is a big play by the South Korean automaker.

CDD Analyst Blew Tooth:
That’s right. Engineers for this new Tucson more than doubled the high-strength steel in its frame; giving you 51% — that’s more than half!!  But when you’re talking safety, the real story is inside where you can blanket you & your passengers with the likes of blind-spot warning, lane-change assist, and Hyundai’s newest protection package, the Automatic Emergency Braking system.

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UP FOR DISCUSSION:
- The Apple i3: Will BMW provide the basis for the MacMobile?
- Mazda’s Delayed Diesel: Is it ever going to happen?
- Aluminum proves its mettle in IIHS F-150 test

SPECIAL GUEST: Dan Sandberg, President & CEO, Brembo NA

All that and much more with John McElroy, Autoline.tv; Gary Vasilash, Automotive Design & Production; Richard Truett, Automotive News

Thanks to our sponsors who make Autoline After Hours possible: Bridgestone, Fiat, Hyundai and Henkel.

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Thanks to our partners and friends AutoFieldGuide.com and WardsAuto.com for embedding AAH!

Join John McElroy as he visits the CAR Management Briefing Seminars 2015! Autoline is bringing you ongoing coverage of the latest in automotive industry best practices and innovations.

Keep checking Autoline.tv as we post the latest automaker interviews, hot off the conference floor. Personalities already scheduled to appear:

Driving, riding, roads and of course cars themselves have all been immortalized by writers, composers and musicians around the world. Auto Tune is our way to spotlight a unique transportation song to celebrate these “ridden” gems along with the artists or composers who crafted them. Some you may know, many we’re sure you don’t.

Taken from his second album that was as political as it was introspective, Matt Johnson, the sole member of The The, tackled diverse issues with Infected. His previous effort, though you probably don’t know it by name (Soul Mining), you’ve no doubt heard much of it thanks to its soundtrack-ready song list for mainstream American advertising the last decade or so. Infected would not be as lucky, but despite that, there were great benefits to anyone who took a spin with this disc. From start to finish, this quasi-concept album was filled with interesting and, in a way, inspiring songs.

This week’s Auto Tune is a duet from Infected called “Slow Train to Dawn” with Matt Johnson and Neneh Cherry, a terrific British singer. And obviously you don’t need a Ph.D. in Psychology to know they’re not singing about the No. 6 train from Pelham Bay Park. Hope you enjoy the song, which, despite its age, sounds if it were just produced last week.

- Chip Drake, Executive Producer, Autoline

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UP FOR DISCUSSION:
- Hacking cars: Serious Issue or Serious Exaggeration?
- Tesla Battery Swap: Is the Million-Dollar Loophole Dead?

SPECIAL GUEST: Larry Moss, Chairman, Concours d’Elegance of America at St. John’s
- What cars will be at the Concours and why were they chosen?

All that and much more with John McElroy, Autoline.tv; Gary Vasilash, Automotive Design & Production; Ed Niedermeyer, Daily Kanban

Special Thanks to The Meurer Collection for loaning its 1950 Nash Statesman Airflyte. Learn more at meurercollection.vpweb.com

Thanks to our sponsors who make Autoline After Hours possible: Bridgestone, Fiat, Hyundai and Henkel.

Subscribe to the free podcast version of Autoline After Hours:

Thanks to our partners and friends AutoFieldGuide.com and WardsAuto.com for embedding AAH!

Driving, riding, roads and of course cars themselves have all been immortalized by writers, composers and musicians around the world. Auto Tune is our way to spotlight a unique transportation song to celebrate these “ridden” gems along with the artists or composers who crafted them. Some you may know, many we’re sure you don’t.

From the moment I first heard the line in that deep Mississippi drawl, “her Daddy bought a baby blue Duster when she turned 17,” I was a Webb Wilder fan for life.

The Wilder persona was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi as part of a film project but then grew into a band and a rather successful one at that. No one is ever going to confuse Webb and U2, but with a portfolio of over ten albums, many of them devoted to original songs about cars or travel, how can you argue with a guy who bills himself as “The Last of the Full Grown Men.”

“How Long Can She Last” comes from Webb’s very first album in the late ‘80s called “It Came From Nashville,” but don’t let that title confuse you. This music is full-throttle rock n’ roll with maybe a little southern seasoning. You just might want to “pick up on it” as Webb says. Then again after a few listens you just may want to memorize the Webb Wilder Credo yourself.

“Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard, grow big, wear glasses if you need ‘em.”

- Chip Drake, Executive Producer, Autoline

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UP FOR DISCUSSION:
- Silverado/Sierra: New faces for ’16. How clever is this?
- Sergio Shows His Elbows: The start of UAW negotiations
- Magna Gets Getrag: “Every vehicle has and will have a transmission in the foreseeable future”

SPECIAL GUEST: John Kelly, BMW Product Manager
- Join us as we take a deep dive into the BMW i3.

All that and much more with John McElroy, Autoline.tv; Gary Vasilash, Automotive Design & Production; Gary Witzenburg, Freelance Auto Writer.

Thanks to our sponsors who make Autoline After Hours possible: Bridgestone, Fiat, Hyundai and Henkel.

Subscribe to the free podcast version of Autoline After Hours:

Thanks to our partners and friends AutoFieldGuide.com and WardsAuto.com for embedding AAH!

Driving, riding, roads and of course cars themselves have all been immortalized by writers, composers and musicians around the world. Auto Tune is our way to spotlight a unique transportation song to celebrate these “ridden” gems along with the artists or composers who crafted them. Some you may know, many we’re sure you don’t.

“One of the most important albums ever made. Ranks right up there with What’s Going On, Dark Side Of The Moon, and Pet Sounds as a flawlessly executed vision brought to life in perfect harmony. Enriches the soul and expands the mind.”
- Jim James, My Morning Jacket

“The most euphoric celebratory music that makes you want to jump around the house and explode with joy.”
- Colin Greenwood, Radiohead

“Like A Ship evokes the Beach Boys’ ’ ‘Til I Die’ and Gil Scott-Heron’s ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.’ ”
- Spin

I figured I would let the music professionals give their opinions on the importance of this work. Some have compared this album as Gospel Music’s version of “Pet Sounds.” I don’t think Brian Wilson would mind at all.

I won’t waste your time giving you a lot of background about Pastor Barrett, a complicated figure for sure — coming from the South Side of Chicago who isn’t? But in 1971, he took his love of gospel music and worked with a friend at Chicago’s classic blues label Chess Records to bring “Like A Ship” to life. I would challenge everyone to listen to this song about rebirth and not be moved.

- Chip Drake, Executive Producer, Autoline

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UP FOR DISCUSSION:
- ZF Shows Off its Coolest Tech in Germany
- Inside Edsel Ford‘s 1915 Cross-Country Road Trip

SPECIAL GUEST: Vishnu Jayamohan, Product Planner, Nissan Product Planning & Advanced Strategy
- What’s the strategy behind Nissan’s big, all-American Maxima?

All that and much more with John McElroy, Autoline.tv; Gary Vasilash, Automotive Design & Production; Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press.

Thanks to our sponsors who make Autoline After Hours possible: Bridgestone, Fiat, Hyundai and Henkel.

Subscribe to the free podcast version of Autoline After Hours:

Thanks to our partners and friends AutoFieldGuide.com and WardsAuto.com for embedding AAH!

Driving, riding, roads and of course cars themselves have all been immortalized by writers, composers and musicians around the world. Auto Tune is our way to spotlight a unique transportation song to celebrate these “ridden” gems along with the artists or composers who crafted them. Some you may know, many we’re sure you don’t.

The double album was de rigueur back in the 1970s. Whether artists had more to say then or labels were more open to longer forms after a decade of singles, either way many of them became hits. Even today Todd Rundgren’s opus “Something/Anything” still stands as a unique and incredible work.

At the close of 1971 when he recorded it, the fourth side of his double album consisted of original material recorded live in New York studios with session players with on the first three sides recorded in Los Angeles where Todd played and sang everything himself. And it’s from that part of the project, specifically Side #3, where we find this week’s Auto Tune.

“Little Red Lights” is pretty much a straight-forward fun little rock n’ roll tune. It’s not going to change the world but what does make it interesting is the way Rundgren designed and produced the song, giving it almost the chaotic qualities that you see in all those Fast & Furious movies. You feel, as the listener, that you’re capable of losing control of the car that you’re fictitiously driving.

- Chip Drake, Executive Producer, Autoline

Feedback on Auto Tunes? Send us your comments.