# Saturday Auto Brief: Hyundai Midsize Pickup Tease, Honda’s EV Mules, Movie-Car Mania, WRC Drama, and a Proper Pub-Style Debate > Saturday Auto Brief: Hyundai Midsize Pickup Tease, Honda’s EV Mules, Movie-Car Mania, WRC Drama, and a Proper Pub-Style Debate I’ve got a lukewarm coffee, a notebook full of tire-squeal doodles, and a leaf blower screaming somewhere down the block—perfect ambiance... > Published 2025-11-08 by Thomas Nismenth. 7 min read (1535 words). > Blog: News at AutoWin (https://www.autowin.com). ## Details - Canonical URL: https://www.autowin.com/en/blogs/news/hyundai-midsize-pickup-teased-as-mind-blowing-daily-car-news-2025-11-08 - Author: Thomas Nismenth - Published: 2025-11-08 - Updated: 2026-01-23 - Reading time: 7 minutes - Word count: 1535 - Topics: Automotive, Car News, Daily, Electric Sports, Ford Ranger, Honda, Hyundai, Midsize Pickup, Movie Cars, News, Rally Japan, Santa Cruz, Tacoma, WRC - Featured image: https://www.a1win.de/cdn/shop/articles/daily-car-news-2025-11-08.png?v=1762583729&width=1200 ## Summary Saturday Auto Brief: Hyundai Midsize Pickup Tease, Honda’s EV Mules, Movie-Car Mania, WRC Drama, and a Proper Pub-Style DebateI’ve got a lukewarm coffee, a notebook full of tire-squeal doodles, and a leaf blower screaming somewhere down the block—perfect ambiance for a brisk lap of today’s headlines. The star? A Hyundai midsize pickup that’s allegedly “mind-blowing.” We’ll also poke at Honda’s electric sports car prototypes, a wild movie-car auction, WRC tension in Japan, and an Autocar argument I could happily lose an afternoon to.Hyundai Midsize Pickup: “Mind-Blowing” Tease Meets Real-Wor... ## Full Article Saturday Auto Brief: Hyundai Midsize Pickup Tease, Honda’s EV Mules, Movie-Car Mania, WRC Drama, and a Proper Pub-Style DebateI’ve got a lukewarm coffee, a notebook full of tire-squeal doodles, and a leaf blower screaming somewhere down the block—perfect ambiance for a brisk lap of today’s headlines. The star? A Hyundai midsize pickup that’s allegedly “mind-blowing.” We’ll also poke at Honda’s electric sports car prototypes, a wild movie-car auction, WRC tension in Japan, and an Autocar argument I could happily lose an afternoon to.Hyundai Midsize Pickup: “Mind-Blowing” Tease Meets Real-World Truck MathHyundai’s top brass has teased a new midsize truck with a promise bold enough to warrant an eyebrow: “mind-blowing.” I’ve spent time with the Santa Cruz (city-slicker charm, quick with the 2.5T, surprisingly handy on dusty fire roads) and rotated through a Ranger and Ridgeline on the same weekend for kicks. So yes, I’ve been itching to see Hyundai step into the full midsize arena rather than hover at the lifestyle edge.Read between the lines and you’re picturing a Tacoma/Ranger-sized machine, not a stretched Santa Cruz. The architecture is the million-dollar mystery. Body-on-frame would appease traditionalists and tow ratings; a unibody, Ridgeline-style, could keep ride quality high and the daily grind easy. Either way, midsize buyers expect numbers that matter at the Home Depot curb: payload you don’t have to baby, 6,000–7,500 lb of towing, and suspension that doesn’t fold when you drop in pavers. If Hyundai mixes its smart packaging—lockable storage, trick bed solutions—with honest-to-goodness truck bones, that’s when “mind-blowing” stops sounding like marketing. What I’d love to see: a punchy turbo-hybrid with instant low-end torque. Tow the jet ski, sip fuel in traffic, don’t sweat the heat soak. What I noticed living with Santa Cruz: short bed, yes—but the lockable underfloor trunk is city-life gold. Groceries, camera gear, muddy trail shoes, out of sight. What will decide the story: price against Ranger/Tacoma, standard safety kit, and whether dealers can keep markups in check. Did you know? Hyundai’s Santa Cruz rides on a unibody platform and is built in Alabama. That local production agility could help if a Hyundai midsize pickup takes off and demand spikes.Hyundai Midsize Pickup: What “Mind-Blowing” Could Actually Mean Bed smarts beyond gimmicks: factory bed power, low step-in height, tie-downs where you actually need them. Trail mode with brains: real-time camera views, hill-descent that doesn’t sound like a dying fax machine, and tires that aren’t allergic to rocks. Cabin that’s work-glove friendly: big physical knobs, wireless CarPlay/Android Auto that reconnects without pleading, and washable mats that don’t curl. Side tip: If the Hyundai midsize pickup launches with a turbo-four, budget for premium fuel when towing. You’ll thank yourself on long grades.Hyundai Midsize Pickup vs Rivals: Snapshot Model Layout Max Towing (approx.) Why It Matters Hyundai Midsize Pickup (teased) TBA TBA Hyundai’s chance to jump from lifestyle pickup to core midsize truck contender. Hyundai Santa Cruz Unibody Up to ~5,000 lb City-friendly size, clever storage, surprisingly quick with the 2.5T. Ford Ranger Body-on-frame Up to ~7,500 lb Capability benchmark with wide trim and powertrain spread. Honda Ridgeline Unibody Up to ~5,000 lb Car-like ride, under-bed trunk, easy long-haul manners. Honda Has EV Sports Car Prototypes—and That’s Not Just NoiseEvery carmaker builds quiet test mules, but Honda admitting it has electric sports prototypes is the sort of confession that perks up track rats. The brand that gave us the S2000’s clean-limbed balance and the second-gen NSX’s hybrid wizardry knows how to engineer feel. When I’m hustling light sports cars on mountain switchbacks, the magic is always the conversation—steering that talks, weight transfer you can read, pedals that dance with you instead of fighting back.EV mass is the enemy of that, but fine control is the upside. Torque vectoring that nips understeer at the bud, regen tuning that doubles as a throttle brush mid-corner—this is where Honda can shine if it resists the urge to over-battery the thing. I’m picturing a rear-drive bias, quick rack, small but fast-charging pack, and cooling that keeps lap three feeling like lap one. Chassis first, bragging rights second. That’s the Honda way when they’re on form. Range matters, but response matters more. Keep it light enough to play. Wishlist: an S2000 spirit car you can slide a bit without the nannies panicking.Screen Heroes for Sale: John Wick’s Mustang, Paul Walker’s Evo, and FriendsThere’s an auction brewing that reads like a Friday night marathon: John Wick’s fastback Mustang, Paul Walker’s Evo—cars that stop a Cars & Coffee crowd dead. Screen-used metal trades as much on story as on steel, which is why paperwork is everything. I’ve watched friends go misty-eyed and forget the basics; the repair bills usually snap them back to reality. Demand proof it’s the hero, not a background extra: studio docs, continuity shots, production notes, the lot. Know what you’re buying: stunt cars can be battered but carry cool scars—budget accordingly. Insure it right: provenance can change value and restrictions in weird ways. Plan storage and maintenance. Movie cars hate sitting more than your Miata does.Would I daily a hero Mustang? For about a week. Then I’d keep it safe and make Sunday morning dog-walkers smile… loudly.Autocar’s “Best Car of the Past 25 Years” (And a Nod to 1901–1925)Autocar tossed a hand grenade into the group chat: best car of the last 25 years. Love this stuff, because it always splits into “changed the world” versus “changed my brain chemistry.” My unscientific short list, which I’ll happily defend until the last pint: Tesla Model S: it normalized the idea that a luxury EV could be quicker than your neighbor’s supercar and updated over Wi-Fi. Porsche 997 GT3: hydraulic-steer poetry, track-day reliable, timeless grip-and-go feel. Volkswagen Golf GTI (Mk5): the reset button—balanced, usable, grin-rich daily fun. Ferrari 458 Italia: the crescendo of naturally aspirated mid-engine Ferraris. Throttle as a scalpel. Toyota GR Yaris: homologation spirit bottled for the street. Bless whoever signed that off.Autocar also zigged back to 1901–1925, reminding us the real revolution was simple livability: starters instead of hand cranks, rubber that didn’t crumble, cars that could actually finish a “tour.” Draw a straight line from that to today’s software-over-the-air everything, and the DNA looks familiar: make the machine easier to live with, then make it faster.Bonus listen: a new Autocar podcast chat with Skoda’s Klaus Zellmer. Skoda’s mastered “value without punishment”—big cabins, smart touches (hello, door umbrella), pricing that doesn’t make your eyes water. If that philosophy bites harder in EVs, family buyers win.WRC Rally Japan: Evans Pressures Ogier as Katsuta’s Home Surge FadesAutosport’s latest from Rally Japan has Elfyn Evans reeling in Sébastien Ogier, while local ace Takamoto Katsuta has slipped from the win fight. Japan’s tight, technical asphalt doesn’t leave much room for creative fixes; rhythm is everything, and one tiny lapse becomes your whole afternoon. When gaps compress like this, tire calls, nerves, and a touch of luck write the story. Evans vs. Ogier: confidence versus experience. Keep the pressure at ten-tenths without overdriving—easier typed than done. Katsuta still has points to fight for on home ground, which always counts double. Watch weather and road order late; on asphalt, they can flip the leaderboard in a loop.Quick Takes on the Hyundai Midsize Pickup (and the Rest) Hyundai midsize pickup timing? If development is hot, think concept soon and showroo... ## Related Store Context - [AutoWin Blog & News](https://www.autowin.com/blogs/news): Automotive news and fitment guides - [AutoWin Store Index](https://www.autowin.com/llms.txt): Full product catalog for AI agents - [Agent Instructions](https://www.autowin.com/agents.md): Commerce protocol and Shop skill - Reviews verified on [AutiVex](https://autivex.com/business/autowin-com): AutoWin customer ratings