Official: Hyundai shows Walking Dead Veloster Zombie Survival Machine at Comic-Con

Filed under: Aftermarket, Marketing/Advertising, Hatchback, Hyundai, TV/Movies

Hyundai Veloster Turbo made up for The Walking Dead tv show - front three-quarter view

The Walking Dead, the hit zombie apocalypse show on AMC, has enjoyed a marketing tie-in with Hyundai for two seasons now. If you’ve watched the show, you’d no doubt seen Rick Grimes, his sociopath-in-training son Carl and emerging hero Glenn Rhee avoiding the dead behind the wheel of a light-green Hyundai Tucson. That relationship expanded beyond the show when Hyundai brought an Elantra Coupe-based Zombie Survival Machine to last year’s San Diego Comic-Con.

For this year’s Comic-Con, the new Zombie Survival Machine is just a touch faster, funkier and deadlier. Based on a Hyundai Veloster Turbo and built by Galpin Auto Sports to decapitate as many Walkers as possible, this four-door hatch has been heavily modified. The headlights, taillights and windows are all protected with a combination of wrought iron and chainlink fencing. There’s also plenty of armor on the body panels.

Passive zombie killing features abound, like the “horde plow” on the front bumper and sawblade grille. But by and large, the majority of the Veloster Turbo Zombie Survival Machine’s offensive power comes from a combination of firearms and chainsaws. A .50-caliber machine gun is mounted on the roof, along with a pair of assault rifles on the hood. Each door features blades along the base and a machine gun. Melee weapons can be found in the back, including a spiked baseball bat or katana.

We see a few issues with the Veloster Turbo ZSM. Clearly, the creators have never read Max Brooks’ excellent book, World War Z, otherwise they’d know that flame throwers (of which we counted three) are ineffective against the dead, as are rapid-fire weapons. Our nerdy minds aside, this is a pretty cool one-off concept from one of the very best shows on television. But if you think you can do better, Hyundai has set up an app for fans to design their own Zombie Survival Machines. The winning entry will get their car built and put on display at New York Comic-Con in October. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we need to see if we can retrofit our long-term Veloster Turbo into a Zombie Survival Machine.

Continue reading Hyundai shows Walking Dead Veloster Zombie Survival Machine at Comic-Con

Hyundai shows Walking Dead Veloster Zombie Survival Machine at Comic-Con originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Jul 2013 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Deja-Vu: Saab’s chances of survival depend on… General Motors?

Filed under: Europe, Government/Legal, Saab, Earnings/Financials

Saab logo

The Saab Shutdown of 2011 grinds on, with uncertain finances threatening to silence the operation for good. Even though Spyker took on the ailing brand, former owner General Motors is still the key to Saab surviving, The New York Times reports. Saab’s Trollhättan plant ground to a halt in early April, and part of owner Spyker’s plan to infuse working capital includes selling the plant and other real estate holdings to Vladimir A. Antonov and then leasing the property back from him. Antonov is a controversial figure in this triangle, and the Swedish government and the European Investment Bank need to sign off on his becoming a shareholder of Saab.

The European Investment Bank told the Times that it has provided an answer on the matter, so it now all hinges on General Motors. For its part, GM is keeping mum about whether or not it will sign off on the deal, with spokesman Klaus-Peter Martin offering up a “no comment.” That statement has been directly echoed to Autoblog by GM spokesman Jim Cain, so it looks like we’re all playing the same waiting game to see if Saab makes it.

[Source: The New York Times | Image: Chris Paukert/AOL]

Deja-Vu: Saab’s chances of survival depend on… General Motors? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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