The 2010 edition of the Hyundai Santa Fe isn't getting a full redesign, but a visual refresh does provide a few hints of the "fluidic sculpture" design language that debuted last month on the new Tucson and Sonata. The new hood features a pair of ridges extending back from the grille to the A-pillars as well as sculpted bars in the grille similar to the Sonata. The lower front fascia also gets some new forms that evoke a similar look to the Tucson.

However, the most important upgrades to the Santa Fe are under the hood and will no doubt help Hyundai maintain and advance its lead in the CAFE race. The old 2.7-liter and 3.3-liter V6 engines have been sent off to the scrap heap in favor a pair of engines that provide better performance and efficiency. The base setup is the same 175 horsepower 2.4-liter inline-four found in the new Tucson while the optional engine is a re-vamped 3.5-liter Lambda V6 now with 276 horsepower and 248 pound-feet of torque. Both engines are mated up exclusively with six-speed transmissions but only the four gets a manual option.

The four bumps the EPA numbers from the 18/24 mpg of the old 2.7-liter to 20/28 while the 3.5 improves on the 17/24 mpg values of the 3.3 to 20/26 mpg.

[Source: Hyundai]

The 2011 Detroit Auto Show is proving to be more eventful for BMW than the automaker had originally intended. As workers were preparing to load a BMW 7 Series onto a transport truck near Detroit’s Westin Book Cadillac hotel, a pair of thieves jumped in and drove off with the German luxury sedan. The car is said to be worth $140,000, and as of this writing, local police have had no luck tracking down the stolen vehicle. Thankfully, this 7 Series is equipped with BMW Assist, which locates a vehicle if it’s stolen, so it’s only a matter of time before cops close in on the BMW bandits.

If some brand new 7 Series parts wind up on Craigslist’s Detroit-area ‘for sale’ section, we’re willing to bet the sale price is too-good-to-be-true for a reason.