Hyundai moves up with Santa Fe

No longer a second-rate brand, Hyundai is now a capital "H." It's all grown up.

The evolution of Hyundai from economy car to a premium auto vying for the top of category leader boards continues as the South Korean automaker introduces the revamped and highly stylized 2014 Santa Fe SUV. This car finalizes the lineup remake the European auto designers envisioned when they took over the drafting boards in 2011.

A quick glance at the crisp four-louver grille, the slicing angles of the body and a panoramic sunroof begs the question: Is this a Mercedes? So is this a successful business plan? Once billed as inexpensive, low tech but with a extensive 10-year warranty, Hyundais appealed to folks who needed basic dependable transportation and got a nice array of standard gear thrown in.

Now the loaded all-wheel-drive Limited tips the price scales at a lusty $41,290, a far cry from the $15,000 the 2001 inaugural model cost. The MSRP for a base Santa Fe is a touch more than $28,000 and the Limiteds start at $35,400, so with a huge variety of packages available there's quite a price range to snag a Santa Fe.

But has Hyundai created enough buzz to convince buyers that its cars matter? It's all-in for the automaker as it pushes to be a player mixing it up with the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Subaru Forester and Outback, Toyota RAV4 and the Jeep Cherokee in the saturated mid-sized SUV/CUV field. With its tech features, sleek styling, and saddle leather and polished interior, the Limited says it wants more: to be the head of the class.

The three-row, six-
seater has a nicely compliant ride that is quiet and quite comfortable. The all-wheel-drive provides a firm footprint and performed nicely in a snowstorm. BlueLink Technology integrates your smartphone to the car, providing a full array of features such as locking and unlocking the doors, remote ignition, and Google map functionality.

The truck also features a boatload of standard safety technologies, including downhill brake control and hill assist, traction control and blind-spot detection. With the $4,850 Tech package upgrade you get additional goodies that include a nice parking assist and a back-up camera that plays out on the 8-inch touchscreen; the panoramic sunroof; an Infinity sound system; and navigation.

Powered by a 3.3-liter V6, the Santa Fe cranks out 290 horsepower and manages just over 20 miles per gallon on average — it rates at 24 mpg on the highway. The six-speed transmission coupled with the engine provides plenty of pop and easily competes in all traffic. The 5,000-pound tow capacity will manage most weekend camping trips and with either all the seats filled or the rear ones down for a nice deck area, you and the crew will be very comfortable.

Only time and sales results will tell if the public has the appetite for another competitor, but not satisfied with having the most robust warranty in the industry, Hyundai has struck a new path.

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Wilmington tops for buying home

Considering buying a home in Massachusetts but unsure where to look? How does Wilmington, Franklin or Reading strike you?

They're the top three of the 20 best places to own a home in the Bay State, according to consumer finance website NerdWallet, which based its recommendations on U.S. Census data for the 77 communities with more than 15,000 residents. The website chose that as the cutoff because not all of the data for smaller communities were available and even when it was, the smaller the population, the greater the possibility that the data could be skewed, said Jaime Ortiz, senior analyst for strategy.

For each municipality, NerdWallet looked at three main criteria: whether homes were available, how affordable it was to live there, and whether the area was growing — a signal of a robust economy, Ortiz said.

"A lot of these places — 13 of the top 20 — were clustered around Boston," she said. "That definitely tells me they benefit from their proximity to Boston, including its jobs, its universities, its arts and entertainment."

Wilmington also had a homeownership rate of 89.8 percent — the highest in the state — as well as monthly costs that took up only 27 percent of the median monthly household income.

Franklin had a homeownership rate of 79.3 percent and monthly costs that took up 29.2 percent of the median monthly household income, while Reading's 
homeownership rate was 82.2 percent and monthly costs were 30.9 percent.

NerdWallet's other top places were, in order, Burlington, Hudson, Wakefield, Randolph, Lexington, Methuen, Longmeadow, Winchester, Braintree, Saugus, Abington, Danvers, Dedham, Milton, Somerset, Wellesley and Milford.

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MFA director Rogers retiring after 20 years

Malcolm Rogers, director of the Museum of Fine Arts, announced his plans to retire yesterday after nearly 20 years with the museum.

Appointed in 1994, Rogers helped to open the Art of the Americas Wing in 2010, which features 53 galleries and the glass-enclosed Shapiro Family Courtyard. He was also focused on "opening doors" to communities around Boston, eliminating admission fees for children and extending the museum's hours, the museum said in a statement.

In May, Rogers became the longest-
serving director in the MFA's 144-year history, bringing "innovative exhibitions," and expanding the museum's "encyclopedic collection," as well as expanding arts education and community outreach programs, and renovating the landmark building, the museum said.

"Malcolm's accomplishments over two decades have touched every aspect of the MFA — he has transformed the museum. He will forever be a part of the foundation of this museum and of an arts and culture renaissance in Boston," said MFA trustees chairwoman Grace Fey. "As we prepare to search for his successor, we will strive to build upon his legacy of community enrichment and global engagement — cultivating the future growth and evolution of this world-class museum and its collections."

The museum will celebrate Rogers' 20th anniversary this fall with a series of events. He will remain as director until a successor is chosen.

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Expert: Decision bodes well for Suffolk

The state Gaming Commission's decision to offer a slots parlor license to Plainridge Racecourse shows that some members place a premium on preserving endangered racetrack jobs — a dynamic some say bodes well for struggling Suffolk Downs as it seeks a casino license, but others say sets no precedent.

Commissioners Enrique Zuniga, Gayle Cameron and Bruce Stebbins voted yesterday to endorse Penn National's plan to acquire Plainridge in Plainville and put 1,250 slots there, with James McHugh and Chairman Stephen Crosby dissenting. Zuniga and Cameron said saving 100-plus track jobs gave Penn the edge over projects in Leominster and Raynham.

"That was added value," Cameron said. "I think it's well within our right and our responsibility to look at all the added value that comes with an applicant. I just looked at this as a process as, 'Which applicant brought more value?' And part of that value is preserving existing jobs."

Asked if his vote translates to an advantage for Suffolk Downs in Revere over a Wynn Resorts proposal on an Everett industrial site, Zuniga said, "Perhaps. I think perhaps, in the context of the preservation of jobs. I think that's very important."

Crosby railed against the idea that the slots decision revealed how commissioners will decide the pitched license battle between Wynn and Suffolk's proposed operator, Mohegan Sun.

"I think it would be a mistake to take very much away from this," Crosby said. "It may not even be relevant. It may be that somebody's so far ahead that it doesn't matter ... In this particular circumstance, I didn't think that should be the criteria that pushed it over the top."

Boston College professor and gaming expert Richard McGowan said the commission's slots decision "bodes very well for Suffolk Downs."

"If you think about it, there are a lot of jobs involved in the horse racing industry, and I think there's a lot of political pressure," McGowan said. "The unions are 100 percent behind Suffolk Downs; they're not behind Wynn."

Wynn spokesman Michael Weaver said the company isn't worried commissioners showed a bias toward applicants with tracks.

"We were impressed with the deliberate and serious nature of the decision, and I think they took a lot of factors into consideration," Weaver said.

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Danish firm lending $600M to Cape Wind

A Danish export credit agency has agreed to loan $600 million to the Cape Wind offshore energy project, bringing its total financing to $900 million, roughly one-third of its overall projected cost.

"We're in this to support Siemens (Wind Power)," said Sorren Moller, EKF's deputy CEO, referring to the Danish company that will supply the 130 turbines in Nantucket Sound. "To us, this is very much proven technology ... Slightly more than 50 percent of our business is involved in wind, both on and offshore."

Cape Wind last year secured a $200 million investment from a Danish pension fund, said project spokesman Mark Rodgers, and Siemens plans a $100 million equity investment. Cape Wind also has applied for a $500 million U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee.

"We expect to be making more (financing) announcements in the coming weeks," Rodgers wrote in an email. "We will finalize project financing in the third quarter of this year. Project construction will begin shortly thereafter."

If the turbines begin operating in 2016 as planned, it would be after a long and often acrimonious battle.

"Cape Wind is an outdated project that would cost ratepayers three times the cost of other readily available renewable energy, adding billions of dollars in unnecessary electricity costs for Massachusetts ratepayers to create jobs overseas," said Audra Parker, president of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound.

A study conducted by Charles River Associates and paid for by Cape Wind concluded that over the life of the project, it would reduce wholesale electric prices in New England by more than $4 billion dollars.

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Medford dials into Smart911

Calling 911 with an emergency is getting smarter, thanks to Framingham-based Rave Mobile Safety's Smart911.

Launching in Medford today, Smart911 allows residents to fill out profiles in advance, giving first responders valuable information before they get on scene.

"When you call from a mobile phone, there's very little information provided," said Todd Miller, an executive at Rave Mobile Safety. With Smart911, "all of that critical safety profile information is shared."

Smart911, which is in more than 450 cities and towns nationwide, can tell first responders about medical conditions, or a caller's apartment number if they live in a large apartment complex. That supplemental information helps dispatchers to send an appropriate response as soon as they receive the call, Miller said.

"It's going to help develop a better quality of life as it relates to emergency services," said Medford Mayor Michael J. McGlynn. "You know if they have a boa constrictor or a pit bull, you know what their medications are."

Medford is the first Bay State city to sign on with Smart911, but the service is already live in towns including Milford and Framingham. More towns will be announced in the coming weeks, Miller said.

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Broke church gets court’s blessing

Dorchester's Greater Love Tabernacle Church won bankruptcy court approval yesterday for a fundraising campaign to help refinance its mortgage.

Donations raised will be protected from the church's creditors, including its Texas mortgage holder, VFC Partners 18 LLC. They'll be held in escrow and must be returned to donors if the church fails to refinance or restructure its approximately $700,000 loan.

Greater Love, which held a January interfaith service to raise community awareness about its troubles, already has raised nearly $61,000, according to its pro bono attorney, John Morrier. It has not set a fundraising goal, he said.

"My heart was overwhelmed when I saw the amount of support and people that came to our interfaith service," Pastor William E. Dickerson II said. "It's refreshing to know the work and labor of this church has not gone in vain."

Another fundraiser/service is set for March 30, and Dickerson said he's confident the financial issues will be resolved.

The 24-year-old church filed for bankruptcy protection in December with about $803,000 in debt after being threatened with foreclosure. It fell into financial trouble after signing a 2010 lease for a nearby site on which it hoped to build a community center. But the church was unable to raise needed funds for the project, and the monthly lease payments — which ran as high as $4,800 — caused it to fall behind on mortgage payments for the church, court documents state.

Phoenix Management Services is working pro bono to stabilize the church's financial management, Morrier said. The lease for the undeveloped land expired at the beginning of the year, and is "no longer an issue," he said.

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Bitcoin crash may hurt Hub biz prospects

The crash of one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges this week has sent Boston Bitcoin entrepreneurs scrambling to defend the digital currency's reputation and increase its stability.

Mt. Gox, a Tokyo-based Bitcoin exchange, halted trading this week and went offline, and a document reportedly leaked from the exchange said $365 million in bitcoins are missing. Bitcoin, an online currency that is not backed by a central authority, has gained momentum in recent months. Overstock.com and the Sacramento Kings both began accepting the digital currency recently.

The price of one Bitcoin on Mt. Gox fell from $330 on Sunday evening to $131.71 when transactions were halted. The average price of one Bitcoin across all exchanges has fallen by nearly $100 since the weekend to about $500.

"Despite the promise of digital currency, and Bitcoin in particular, we cannot ask consumers to foot the bill while the technology and the industry endures inevitable growing pains," said Jeremy Allaire, founder and CEO of Circle, a Boston startup building a payment system for Bitcoin.

Alex Peterson, CEO and co-founder of Vis Nova Ventures, said there will be fallout that will hamper Bitcoin's acceptance for consumers.

"It's a PR issue," he said. "Right now it's going to hurt what we're doing."

Vis Nova plans to install a Bitcoin ATM in Cambridge in the coming weeks.

Chris Yim, co-founder of Liberty Teller, a Bitcoin ATM company, said about 20 percent of customers asked about the Mt. Gox news at Liberty Teller's ATM in South Station.

"People are already interested in Bitcoin," Yim said. "We can help correct their perceptions of it."

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