Comments by "Stephen Hendricks" (@stephenhendricks103) on "" video.

Very good review, Kirk. I've spent many hours on those roads and if you can find a time when the RVs and looky-loos aren't clogging them, they offer a great driving experience. (Try just after sunrise on a Sunday.) Some comments... () As far as backseat legroom is concerned you might want to consider the fact that only about 1 out of 7 adult males in the US is 6' tall or more. The figure for females is 1 out of 100. That means that only about 4% of all adults are six feet tall or more (i.e. 1 out of 25). I realize you might well feel cramped in the backseat of the Santa Cruz but it's unlikely to be a problem for the vast majority of "normal" adults even if the tall folks find it so. Those figures may seem especially low but that's probably because the freakishly tall six footers stand out in crowds. 😁 () The concept of an offspring resulting from a one night stand between a sedan and a pickup may seem avant-garde but it's not. Ford introduced the Ranchero in 1957 and Chevy followed suit with the El Camino in 1959. Each took a station wagon's front end ahead of the rear seat and grafted it onto a pickup bed. Neither was a strong seller but the Ranchero remained in production until 1979 and the El Camino struggled on until 1987. A major weakness of the Ranchero and El Camino was the absence of a rear seat and 4 doors. That matched the design of pickups in the early years but by the time the Ranchero and El Camino went to vehicle heaven 4 door pickups with bucket seats up front and a backseat were already becoming a thing . In 2002 Subaru tried its hand with the Baja with a backseat and 4 doors. Didn't help much. The Baja disappeared in 2006. Even today, though a four door combination of a sedan and a short bed pickup exists in some international markets. For some reason Australians find the VW Amarok appealing. It strongly resembles the Santa Cruz with a slightly longer bed (5 ft) and more off-road chops than the Santa Cruz. In view of the fact that Australia is a major market for Hyundai the Korean brand may have thought that the Santa Cruz was worth trying in America. They put their design studio in California on the case and the Santa Cruz is the result. That may have been a good choice but Hyundai should remember that surfers looking for a way to transport their boards is a tiny niche market. () All in all, combining vehicles from significantly different product categories is risky. Designed to appeal to those who want a single vehicle that meets multiple mission requirements and are willing to compromise each. Unfortunately, such vehicles often fail to satisfy those who lean heavily one way or the other. Time will tell if Hyundai has found the formula that predecessors failed to perfect. () the option of the 2.5L Turbo engine for the Santa Cruz looks like a good choice. By my count it is now standard or optional in at least 8(!) Hyundai, KIA, and Genesis models (from the Kona N to the Genesis G80) and combines strong performance and good fuel economy. In the Santa Cruz it's combined with an 8 speed DCT, a transmission that has received strong reviews, as well. The tow rating of up to 5000 lbs is impressive. Though I remain somewhat skeptical given that the Santa Fe and the Sorento with the same drivetrains top out at 3500 lbs. Probably a minor point since I doubt many Santa Cruz owners will be towing anything more challenging than a couple of motorcycles or jet skis.
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And not likely to provide anything like what Hyundai is looking for in terms of profit.
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@bikebudha01 Oddly enough, Hyundai doesn't check with Ford to determine how much profit they're entitled to make. Furthermore, Ford is literally a truck-only automaker with substantial excess capacity, especially considering their dismal sales this year. Thus, they're able to produce as many Mavericks as demand requires. And volume (especially the volume of fleet sales) means cost savings for every vehicle built. Hyundai, on the other hand has a much wider range of vehicles vying for far less production capacity than Ford, and virtually no fleet sales. No matter how much they strip a Santa Cruz to provide a base model they'll never produce nearly as many Santa Cruz vehicles as Ford builds Mavericks. And if they can build a $40,000 fully loaded model and sell it, why would Hyundai produce a $20,000 model with significantly less profit instead? One of the uncomfortable aspects of a capitalist economy is that the law of supply and demand is very difficult to repeal.
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