Hyundai bringing Curb concept to Detroit Auto Show

Hyundai has announced that it is bringing a new crossover concept – the Curb – to the 2011 Detroit Auto Show next week. We only have two teaser shots of the new CUV, and while the big wheels and overly swoopy lines are concept car-spec through and through, we won’t rule out the possibility of a sub-Tucsoncrossover coming down the pipeline in the next few years. The interior has been given the typical not-gonna-happen future-tech layout, but it is indeed eye-catching and definitely draws our interest.

The Curb concept will be rolled out on Monday, January 10, and we’ll be on hand to bring you the full suite of details and photos live from Cobo Hall. In the meantime, you can check out both teaser images in high-resolution glory in the gallery below.

Hypermiler Wayne Gerdes: After 2,269 miles and 59 mpg, Hyundai Sonata Hybrid “kicks ass"

Last fall, hypermiler Wayne Gerdes proposed to Hyundai that he drive a 2011 Sonata Hybrid across the country to help the automaker get the vehicle from the media launch location in California to Ann Arbor, MI, saying he thought he could do it with fewer than two tanks of gas. Of course, he proposed it on October, when the temperatures were still pretty warm and before he knew what the Sonata Hybrids’s fuel tank capacity is. Back then, he told AutoblogGreen today, he thought, the car was “worth 65 [miles per gallon] in the summer. In the winter, with the mountains, that’s a crapshoot.”

Gerdes recently finished the drive, which totaled 2,269.3 miles and squeezed out 59.58 mpg. Along the way, Gerdes learned that the car can hold at least 20.6 gallons, because that’s how much he managed to put in at the first fill up. The Hybrid’s official stated capacity is 17.2 gallons (the standard Sonata holds 18.5 gallons), but official numbers are not something that concerns Gerdes too much. The EPA rates the Sonata Hybrid at 40 mpg on the highway, and he would need much more than that to make the drive without filling up three times.

In the end, Gerdes learned that, “This thing, on the highway, will eat up anything. In fact, it came damn near the Prius, but it’s a heavier car. And I’m a big Prius fan.” The Sonata Hybrid is not a great city car, Gerdes said, but he did have plenty more praise for the vehicle that took him coast to coast (he first drove to Georgia before coming north to Michigan), and you can find that after the jump.

Behind the scenes of Hyundai’s Pomplamoose holiday commercials

Have you been digging the fun takes on classic Christmas songs in the “Hyundai Holidays” commercials? Meet Pomplamoose, the musical duo that stars in a series of Hyundai commercials alongside some of the company’s vehicles.

This isn’t the first time Pomplamoose’s unique vocal stacks and arrangements have been used in a car ad, their version of “Mr. Sandman” was used in a Toyota Avalon spot, but the Hyundai commercials are unusual for featuring Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn as prominently as the cars. In fact, the Hyundai commercials are consistent in style with the “regular” videos Pomplamoose has done. The coolest thing (besides the fun instrumentation) is that the ads were shot in the band’s garage. Young Yngwie Malmsteens practicing their minor pentatonic scales now have hope of being discovered without ever leaving the house! Check out the story behind the commercials and see the spots after the jump.

Hyundai Sonata edges Volt in Autoblog’s informal Car of the Year poll

The finalists for this year’s North American Car and Truck of the Year awards may have been no big surprise, but the vehicle that our readers think will win Car of the Year honors came as something of a shock.

The NACTOY judges have picked the Chevrolet Volt, Hyundai Sonata and Nissan Leaf as finalists for Car of the Year. While the Leaf saw a little bit of love with 2,820 votes in our unofficial poll, as well as being named European Car of the Year, the final tally came down to a bare-knuckled fight between the Volt and Sonata. Surprisingly, the Hyundai eked out a win with 8,058 votes and 42.7-percent of the total votes cast, which just barely bested the 7,985 votes cast for the Volt and its 42.3 percent of the total vote.

That’s not a huge margin of victory by any means (a statistical dead heat, as they say), but considering that the Volt has whirred away with honors like the Green Car of the Year, Automobile Magazine‘s Automobile of the Year and Motor Trend‘s Car of the Year awards, we fully expected the Bowtiie to handily walk away with our impromptu poll.

We were pretty smitten with both the 2.0T and the hybrid variants of the Sonata when we hopped behind their wheels earlier this year, and buyers have been no less taken with the base model. The 2011 Sonata has enjoyed a huge year in terms of sales with 183,102 units sold by early December, a year-over-year increase of 65 percent.

Meanwhile, the 2011 Ford Explorer handily beat the 2011 Dodge Durango and 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee in our informal North American Truck of the Year poll. You can check out the results from both surveys here, and the stay tuned for when the real winners are announced at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show in early January.

First Drive: 2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T brings turbo power to Main Street, America

We’ve watched with a sense of awe as Hyundai has gone from a discount also-ran brand into a genuine industry powerhouse in startlingly short order. But we’ve also long suspected that its vehicles have gained so much ground by being among the best values in their respective segments – not because they’ve necessarily been the best vehicles to drive. The addition of the Genesis Coupe may have served notice that Hyundai isn’t content to just be the industry’s value leader (see Battle of the Sixes), but the keystone draw of most of the brand’s offerings has remained their affordability. Which is not to suggest this is a bad thing – Hyundai’s steroidal growth speaks to the inherent soundness of its strategy. But as enthusiasts, we’ve been waiting for the company to not only out-value, but to categorically outsmart and outplay its rivals. With introduction of the 2011 Sonata, Hyundai appears to have done exactly that.

We admit that we weren’t sure whether the Sonata’s outré styling would play in that most milquetoast of markets: the family sedan segment. When the sheet was pulled on the 2011 model, it was as if Hyundai had strolled into a Sunday morning prayer breakfast with Kathy Griffin on its arm – we didn’t know exactly what was going to come of it, but we knew it was going to be fun to watch. Thankfully, the Sonata has proven to be far more than just a styling stunt. Packing big space, a rock-solid chassis, accomplished handling and unmatched power and fuel economy from its 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, the Sonata has gained widespread acceptance and acclaim in a historically conservative slice of the market.

Hyundai CEO reveals reason for Equus, explains why it’s no VW Phaeton

Hyundai America CEO John Krafcik is rarely one to hold back his opinions, and today’s topic of discussion is marque’s upcoming Equus luxury flagship. Hyundai has moved up in the automotive ranks so quickly over the past 15 years that many people have wondered if the brand is overreaching with the Equus.

Krafcik addresses the obvious comparison to the U.S. market failure of the Volkswagen Phaeton. The way Krafcik sees it, VW skipped a few pricing steps going straight from the Passat to its ill-fated Phaeton range-topper, noting that there was a much larger gap between the Passat and the Phaeton than there will be with Hyundai because they’ve taken the trouble of bringing the Genesis sedan and coupe to market – the former of which verified that consumers are willing to pay $40,000+ for a Hyundai.

Of course, that’s no guarantee that consumers will pay $55,000-60,000 for an Equus but it seems more plausible than $80,000+ for a Phaeton. Krafcik also addresses the fact that each Equus buyer will get an Apple iPad with the owner’s manual. As he explains it, the tablet PC is meant to provide a more useful resource for people to figure out how to use all the technology in this flagship, hopefully avoiding the pitfalls of some other luxury machines.

The iPad will also have an application that allows owners to schedule service appointments. When the appointed time arrives, Hyundai will send a driver to the Equus owner’s home or office with a loaner, and then return the Equus when the work is done. As Krafcik sees it, other luxury automakers have spent millions of dollars to gussy up their dealerships – building things like coffee bars, fancy seating areas and water features. Problem is, nobody really wants to visit their dealer even with those added niceties, so Hyundai plans to remove it from the equation with its pick-up and delivery service. In other words, the ultimate luxury is never having to take your car to the dealer at all. Fair enough.

2011 Hyundai Accent or Elantra Spied Completely Undisguised

Here we go again: as was the case with the spy photos we showed you back in February, this single picture of a small Hyundai sedan snagged without any camouflage somewhere in South Korea has us wondering if it’s the next generation Accent (marketed as the Verna in Korea) or the Elantra.

Either way, the compact-size four-door saloon looks like a mini-Sonata sharing the same “Fluidic Sculpture” design with its larger brethren. Apparently, Hyundai has learned its German lessons well – and by that we mean the “one design fits all size mantra”.

As always, you can have your say in the comments section below.

Via: Hyundai-blog

2011 Hyundai Sonata gets New 2.0 Turbo with 274HP

Along with the all-new Sonata Hybrid, Hyundai also premiered a new turbocharged version of its well-received mid size sedan at the New York International Auto Show.

The Sonata 2.0T, as the car is officially named, is powered by a new 2.0-liter Theta II twin-scroll turbocharged gasoline direct-injection (GDI) engine that produces 274 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 269 lb-ft of torque from 1800-4500 rpm with regular fuel.

The engine is linked to a six-speed automatic transmission with SHIFTRONIC manual control that drives the front wheels. No performance figures were released but Hyundai did announce that the Sonata 2.0T will deliver an estimated 22 mpg (10.7lt/100km) city and 34 mpg (6.9lt/100km) highway.

The 2.0-liter twin-scroll turbo engine will be available on the Sonata SE and Limited trim level, with the Limited getting additional upgrades, including a panoramic sunroof, 18-inch “hyper” silver alloy wheels, dual exhaust system and steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters.

Hyundai Group Overtakes Ford and Becomes World's Fourth Largest Automaker

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Company that includes KIA has overtaken the Ford Group in the first half of the year to become the fourth largest carmaker in the world selling 2,153,000 units or 8,000 more vehicles than the US giant in the same period, according to figures published by the Automotive News Data Centre. Only a decade ago, the then newly unified Hyundai and Kia company was in 11th place overall.

The Korean automaker attributed the growth to its decision to create factories in several countries including Slovakia, the United States and China that built products designed and engineered specifically for local markets.

2011 Hyundai Sonata Makes N.A. Debut at LA Show, Gets 2.4L, 2.0L Turbo and Hybrid Powertrains

The much anticipated and talked about 2011 Hyundai Sonata made its North American premiere at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The all-new mid-size sedan (although EPA classifies it as a large sedan) represents a dramatic departure from the previous generation Sonata models both in terms of design and technology.

Despite the fact that the sixth-generation Sonata is aimed price-wise at the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Chevy Malibu, its so-called ‘four-door coupe’ styling with the sleek roofline and sculptured body surfaces brings it closer to the likes of the VW Passat CC.

And even if the design is not to everyone’s taste, few will disagree that it offers the Sonata what the previous models lacked: personality.

The same can be said about the interior that’s distinguished by the swoopy lines of the dashboard and the deeply set gauges of the instrument panel.

At 189.8 in (4,820mm) long, 72.2 in. (1,835mm) wide and 57.9 in. (1,470mm) tall with a wheelbase of 110 in. (2,795mm), the new Sonata is slightly longer and wider but a tad lower than the current model.

Surprisingly, 2011 Sonata is 130 pounds lighter than the existing model thanks to several weight saving measures such as the increased use of aluminum in the four-wheel independent suspension system and the ultra-high-strength steel in the body.

Furthermore, according to Hyundai, the new Sonata is 25 percent stiffer in torsion and 19 percent stiffer in bending rigidity than its predecessor.

When the 2011 Sonata goes on sale in the States in January 2010, it will be offered with Hyundai’s newly developed Theta II GDI 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine with direct injection that makes 198 horsepower at 6,300 rpm and 184 lb-ft of torque at 4,250 rpm. In the SE trim, which includes a standard dual exhaust, the engine delivers 200 horsepower.

Power is sent to the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox or a six-speed automatic transmission with SHIFTRONIC manual control.

Hyundai estimates that the automatic version will get 23mpg in the city and 35mpg on the highway, beating all of its four-cylinder competitors in the U.S.the debut of the 2.4-liter version in the States

While there are no current plans for a V6 model in the States, in the second half of 2010, Hyundai will add a 2.0-liter Theta II turbocharged GDI four-cylinder engine and a 2.4-liter Hybrid Blue Drive model featuring the firm’s lithium polymer battery pack. The Korean automaker said that more details about these powertrains will be released at the 2010 New York Auto Show in April.

Depending on the model trim, the new Sonata will be offered with various goodies including a high-end Infinity audio system with a 400-watt amplifier and a touch screen navigation system.

Detroit Show: Refreshed 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe gets New 2.4-liter Four-Cylinder and 3.5-liter V6 Engines

Oddly enough, even though the refreshed N.A.-spec 2010 Santa Fe is already available at Hyundai dealers, the Korean automaker waited for the Detroit auto show to release official information on its mid-size crossover. The big news for the 2010MY Santa Fe are the new four-cylinder and V6 engines that are paired to six-speed transmissions improving both fuel economy and vehicle performance.

Replacing the outgoing 2.7-liter V6 with 185HP and 183 lb-ft of torque is Hyundai’s second generation 2.4-liter DOHC Theta II inline four-cylinder engine that makes 175 horsepower and 169 lb.-ft. of torque.

Despite the fact that it’s less powerful, Hyundai says that the four-cylinder engine delivers quicker zero-to-60 miles-per-hour acceleration (no numbers were released) and better fuel economy than its predecessor.

The Korean maker announces a 20 mpg city/28 mpg highway fuel economy rating with front wheel drive and the new six-speed automatic transmission with SHIFTRONIC (’09 2.7 V6 FWD five-speed manual: 17mpg / 24mpg)

The 2009 Santa Fe’s Lambda 3.3-liter V6 engine has also been replaced by a new Lambda II 3.5-liter V6 engine that churns out 34 more horsepower and 22 more pound-feet of torque for an overall output of 276HP and 248 lb.-ft.

The mileage figures for the 3.5 V6-powered Santa Fe are 20 mpg city and 26 mpg highway (FWD/AT). 

Along with the new powertrains, the 2010 Santa Fe also received a mild exterior makeover with new bumper fascias, foglights, bodyside moldings, wheels and grille.

Also new for 2010 is the fuel economy indicator on automatic transmission models, rollover sensors for the side curtain airbags and a new touch screen navigation system.