Hyundai completes Course of The Force light saber relay

Hyundai was the official vehicle sponsor of the Course of the Force charity relay completed yesterday in Costa Mesa California. The event was to benefit the Make a Wish foundation. Leading up to the Comic-Con Convention, the event was supported by Lucas Film Ltd., Octagon, and Nerdist Industries. Hyundai generously lent the event 10 Veracruz, Santa Fe, and Tucson vehicles.

Light Saber Relay
Similar in style to the Olympic torch passing where each stage is handled by a different runner, this event passed a light saber down the beautiful California coast. For safety reasons the Jedi running the race handed the saber off to the next runner, rather than use the force to convey the weapon. Steve Shannon, vice president, marketing, Hyundai Motor America was quoted in a press statement as saying “Hyundai is excited to be a part of Course of the Force, helping to raise money for Make-A-Wish Foundation. We are proud to be a part of the Southern California community helping to celebrate Star Wars and build momentum leading up to Comic-Con International, all while raising money to make children’s wishes come true.”

Han Shot First
Torque News reached out close to publication time to Hyundai regarding its position on the recent Star Wars controversy. Many Star Wars fans are upset that George Lucas seems to be re-writing history in the new DVD version of the original three movies. In the new version the famous bar scene in which Han first meets Luke and Obi Wan is redone in a PC way. Han is cornered by Greeto, a bounty hunter working of course for Jabba. Greeto is pointing a dainty looking gun at Han and meanwhile our favorite bad boy is readying his blaster under the table. Before Greeto can fire Han lets him have it under the table then coolly walks out of the bar leaving a tip for the mess. In the new revised edition Greeto shoots, Han dodges the shot(?) and then fires back. We asked Hyundai which version they support, but in all fairness we gave the company only a few hours to answer.

Hyundai has been no stranger to charity and community support. This recent event is just one small example.