Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Right now, you can get The Works for $42.95!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Hyundai Santa Fe replaces V6, adds turbo power for 2013
The five-passenger version is powered by one of two four-cylinder engines. The old 2.4-liter continues with an increased output of 190 hp, up from 175 hp. Fuel economy for the Santa Fe Sport measures 22 mpg in the city and 33 on the highway, besting the new Toyota RAV4, 2012 Chevy Equinox and the 2013 Ford Escape.
The Santa Fe Sport also offers a high-output 2.0-liter turbo version of the engine, making 264 hp. Highway fuel economy is rated at 31 mpg.
In the long-wheelbase Santa Fe, the former 3.5-liter V6 is replaced with a 3.3-liter version producing 290 hp and 252 lb-ft of torque.
Six-speed transmissions are standard on all models.
The styling is radically different from the outgoing model. Hyundai says its fluidic sculpture design language “invokes the impression of irrepressible motion through a new concept called Storm Edge.” Basically, it looks a little meaner and a little more angular than last year's model. The hexagonal grille is accented by lighting at the corners, similar to the Genesis coupe. The rear looks a bit cleaner, with the side character lines swooping over the taillights. A small roof spoiler sits on the rear hatch.
The base Santa Fe with the 2.4-liter engine costs $25,275, including $825 in destination charges. The upgraded 2.0-liter turbocharged vehicle goes for $28,525. All-wheel drive adds about $1,800 to each price.
The Santa Fe Sport is on sale now, while the long-wheelbase version will go on sale in January. Pricing for that car will be announced closer to launch.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Hyundai Possibly Contemplating a 3-Series Fighter for 2015
But while the Genesis and Equus are competent enough, they trade on pricing and features more than dynamics, and lack the polish and harmonious engineering of the segment-leading rear-drive cars from Cadillac, Lexus, and the German automakers. We’d expect a Hyundai that played in the same arena as the 3-series to do largely the same thing—offer compelling content at a bargain price, but lag behind in handling and overall refinement—but it’s possible that such a car could surprise us. The Equus did win a comparison test against the Lexus LS, although that was largely because it cost a boatload less.
If this whole thing isn’t speculative enough, allow us to hypothesize about hardware. The 3-series competitor—said to debut in 2015 at the earliest—would use the version of the rear-drive platform set to underpin the second-generation Genesis sedan. That car likely will arrive next year, and it will feature all-wheel drive as an option; there’s no reason to think that a smaller sedan wouldn’t offer AWD as well. With some more refinement, the turbocharged 2.0-liter four from the Genesis coupe would make sense as the base powerplant, offering more muscle at 274 hp than equivalent (current) starter-kit engines in the segment, and we could see the step-up 3.8-liter V-6 from the Genesis coupe and sedan serving in the top-of-the-line model offering 348 hp.
While we’re spitballing, let’s go ahead and ponder an M3 analogue created by stuffing the Tau V-8—it makes up to 429 hp—into this phantom entry-luxury sedan. If anything, the lunacy and mere existence of a Hyundai M3 might make tolerable the pile of groan-worthy kimchi-referencing headlines it would inspire.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Protect your vehicle by ensuring the engine cooling system is working efficiently.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Hyundai posts biggest gas-mileage gains
Based on vehicles sold in July compared with a year earlier, new vehicles are 1.5 miles per gallon more efficient, according to TrueCar.com, which tracks new-vehicle sales.
It's not just that vehicles are being made more efficient. Rather, it's that customers are demanding better gas mileage and seek out particular models that have made the biggest gains -- which helps explain the fuel-mileage gains.
"Manufacturers have been responding by offering a larger mix of smaller vehicles and improving efficiencies on their existing larger vehicle engines, as evidenced by the significant improvement in TrueMPG in the recent years," said Jesse Toprak, a TrueCar vice president.
But gas mileage gains, it turns out, vary by maker.
The gas mileage for Fords sold last month averaged 22 miles per gallon, compared with 20.5 mpg a year ago. Ford's 1.5 mpg gain was almost twice the 0.7 mpg gain at Chrysler and 0.6 mpg gain at General Motors, based on vehicles sold last month compared to the year before, TrueCar.com says.
The biggest gain was Hyundai, at 2.5 mpg. It's also the brand with the highest overall gas mileage of 27.8 mpg. Toyota rose 1.4 mpg to 24.2 mpg and Honda was up 1.8 mpg to 25 mpg.
Monday, August 13, 2012
6 common tire myths debunked
- Our Cars
The truth: TPMS isn't required to issue a warning until pressure is 25 percent below the vehicle manufacturer's recommendation. That's "well below the pressure required for safe driving," according to AAA and "barely adequate to carry the vehicle's maximum load," says the Rubber Manufacturers' Association. TPMS is intended as a last-minute warning before imminent tire failure, not as a monitor to make sure your tires are properly inflated.
Buy a quality tire gauge and set your tire pressure to at least the vehicle manufacturer's recommendation, which is found on the driver's door jamb. I'd rather you set your tires 3 or even 5 psi high rather than 1 low. Tire-pressure gauges can be inaccurate, and tires leak as much as 1 psi per month. Higher pressure improves hydroplaning resistance and, if you're like many folks, you may not bother to check your tires again for six months. 2. When replacing only two tires, the new ones go on the front. The truth: Rear tires provide stability, and without stability, steering or braking on a wet or even damp surface might cause a spin. If you have new tires up front, they will easily disperse water while the half-worn rears will go surfing: The water will literally lift the worn rear tires off the road. If you're in a slight corner or on a crowned road, the car will spin out so fast you won't be able to say, "Oh, fudge!" There is no "even if" to this one. Whether you own a front-, rear- or all-wheel-drive car, truck, or SUV, the tires with the most tread go on the rear. Don't believe it? Watch this. 3. A tire is in danger of bursting if pressure exceeds the "max press" number on the sidewall. The truth: The "max press" number has nothing to do with a tire's burst pressure. The "max press" and "max load" numbers indicate the pressure at which the tire will carry the maximum amount of weight. A new, quality tire will not pop at an even multiple of the "max press." I'm sworn to secrecy about the exact burst pressure, but I wouldn't hesitate to double the "max press" of any new passenger-vehicle tire on a new wheel. But hitting a big pothole at super-high pressures may cause a failure. 4. The "max press" is where the tire offers its maximum cornering grip. The truth: If you didn't read the previous point, do so now. Many law enforcement officers cling rigidly to the misconception that the "max press" is secret code for maximum at-the-limit traction. It's a coincidence that many low-bidder tires offer increased grip at 40 or more psi. But that's all it is: a coincidence. If I were going to race a stock ex-cop Ford Crown Victoria on street tires on a road-racing circuit, 45 psi front, 35 psi rear wouldn't be a bad place to start. (The tail would be, in Nascar lingo, too loose for safe street driving.) 5. Low-profile tires fitted on large-diameter wheels improve handling. The truth: The short sidewalls of low-profile tires enhance the tires' response when the driver first turns the steering wheel. That gives the driver the (often false) feeling the tire has tons of grip. But after that initial movement, it's the tread compound—the stickiness of the rubber—that determines how well the tire grips the road. Also, the combination of a large-diameter wheel and low-profile tire is usually heavier than the original equipment. This means the suspension may not be able to keep the tire in touch with the pavement. 6. All tires with the same designation are exactly the same size. The truth: Think all 225/35R19s (or whatever tire size) are exactly 225 millimeters wide and their sidewalls are exactly 35 percent as tall as the tire is wide? Not exactly. And unlike what's commonly believe, these designations are not about production tolerances. All the tires of a specific part number or stock keeping unit (SKU) can be can be slightly wider or narrower than the nominal width and their profile can be slightly taller or shorter than the stated percentage. Why? A wider, taller tire puts more rubber on the ground, which is good for a performance tire. A shorter, narrower tire uses less material, thus reducing costs in a business where profit margins almost never break into double digits. So tiremakers might scrimp a bit here and there. It's a bit like how a 2 x 4 is not, in fact, 2 by 4.Wednesday, August 8, 2012
In honor of celebrating Fuel Efficenicy Month, Inver Grove Hyundai would like to present to you this amazing deal!
Untitled
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Hyundai's July U.S. Sales Up 4.1% as Elantra Sales Rise
Broadly, U.S. new-auto sales for July are expected to jump 10% from a year earlier, according to car-shopping website Edmunds.com.
Hyundai has capitalized on a lineup of vehicles that are fuel efficient and relatively low-priced compared with models offered by Hyundai's peers. Hyundai has seen its market share jump as it draws more customers from Japan's top auto companies, helping Hyundai to post record monthly sales in recent periods.
Last week, Hyundai reported its second-quarter profit rose 10% from a year earlier as it saw robust overseas sales and favorable exchange rates.
"July was another solid month for Hyundai with surging consumer demand dampened a bit by ongoing shortages of core products like Accent, Elantra, and Sonata," said Dave Zuchowski, executive vice president of sales. "Our 27 day supply of vehicles is lowest of all brands and less than half of industry average inventory levels."
Hyundai reported it sold 62,021 vehicles in July, up from 59,561 a year earlier and 2.8% below June's total.
July had 24 sales days, while the year-ago month had 26 sales days.
Sales of the Sonata-Hyundai's most-popular vehicle in the U.S.- edged up 0.5%. Sales of the Elantra, its second-most popular vehicle in the U.S., climbed 22%, helped by sales of the newly launched Elantra GT and Elantra Coupe. Azera sales soared to 977 units, while Tucson sales were up 17%.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Thanks to this wonderful author for writing up a great review!
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Hyundai offers a fun car with speed, power, economy in 2013 Veloster Turbo
Extracting 45.6 percent more horsepower from the same 1.6-liter, four-cylinder engine lets this car live up to its edgy looks, while still getting outstanding fuel economy.
Goosing the performance of this unusual little front-wheel-drive subcompact improves its marketability, too. It's what Hyundai calls a "reverse halo," offering a fun car at the bottom of the lineup, rather than an expensive tease at the top.
Starting at $21,950, the Veloster Turbo is $4,500 more expensive than the regular Veloster, but it comes with standard heated leather seats, a 7-inch in-dash touch screen that can play video games when the car is stopped, a 450-watt, eight-speaker audio system with satellite radio and Bluetooth compatibility for smart phone integration and audio streaming from portable devices or Pandora. It lets you verbally respond to text messages.
The Turbo edition is more expensive than a box-stock Mini Cooper S, less expensive than Volkswagen GTI, Mazdaspeed3 and Ford Focus ST, and about the same as Honda Civic Si and Fiat Abarth.
A Veloster Turbo with every available option tops out at $26,320, which is less than any fully loaded competitors.
To handle its 201 horsepower and 195-pound-feet of torque, Veloster Turbo rides on a firm, sport-turned suspension, bigger disc brakes, standard 18-inch matt-finished alloy wheels with alternating shiny chrome spokes, and performance tires rated for up to 149 mph.
Will the car go that fast? I didn't get a chance to find out while driving on back roads from Superior Township — near Hyundai's technical center — toward the rolling Irish Hills, but the Turbo Veloster is a lot more fun than the standard 138-horsepower version.
The Turbo Veloster's power compares with the Civic Si and GTI. It bests the Mini and Fiat. The 250-horsepower-plus Focus ST and Mazdaspeed3 are the performance monsters among front-wheel-drive hatchbacks. The Veloster Turbo, however, sips regular gasoline while the others burn premium.
Built for economy
The standard Veloster with its six-speed automatic transmission was introduced last year with an EPA-rated 29 mpg city and 40 highway. But the car's edgy looks appealed to enthusiasts who ordered almost a third of all Velosters with six-speed manual transmissions. Hyundai's response to this crowd is the more powerful engine.The best option with the turbocharged version is the six-speed manual transmission that gets 26 mpg city and 38 highway.
The six-speed automatic transmission costs $1,000 extra and manages to kill the sporty feel while dragging highway economy down to 25 mpg city and 34 highway.
Hyundai says the new suspension is sport-tuned, but this is not a race car. The electric power steering is light and quick. The turning radius is tight. The firm suspension and low profile tires can deliver bone-jarring pothole hits.
The torsion beam rear suspension can get loose on rough roads.
The tail end jumped sideways when I hit some chatters while accelerating through a couple of sweeping turns on the roads between Ann Arbor and Michigan International Speedway.
At the racetrack, I got to hustle the car through a parking lot gymkhana course restricted to no higher than second gear speeds. It was easy to produce both understeer and oversteer. But that's easily controlled. Just don't corner that fast. And if you do, the car can be tossed with enthusiasm. I was smiling the whole time.
The face of the turbo model got the current industry standard treatment for a "sporty" car: a giant open black maw of a grille. There are new fog lamps and projector headlights surrounded by LED markers. Aerodynamic side fairings complement Veloster's prominently flared fenders. Getting past Veloster's odd but useful asymmetrical three side doors, the Turbo model's exterior design is most interesting in the back.
A pair of chromed exhaust pipes juts through the center of what looks like a diffuser panel under the rear of the car.
Hyundai says the exhaust note is improved over the sound generated by the standard Veloster's trapezoidal exhaust ports. An interesting rear spoiler bridges the rear window.
Leather door panels
The surprising second door on the passenger side is actually pretty handy, especially if you have a young one to strap into a child seat. Watch your head, though. The roofline slopes dramatically downward for a hatchback. The rear seats provide some foot space, but little headroom. This 6-footer didn't fit. The front seat area is roomier than I expected. The wheels are pushed to the corners and the cabin is pushed to the wheel wells.
The interior features soft-touch leather-like materials on the door panels, but only hard plastic on the dash. The comfortable and well-bolstered black leather seats come with gray or bright blue panels.
Hyundai also is offering a trendy, matt-gray paint job. This kind of finish has been offered by the likes of Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. But Hyundai requires the buyer to sign a waiver after receiving extensive instructions on special methods and products needed to clean the surface. It must be hand-washed; wax will ruin the finish.
Hyundai is doing something right. The South Korean manufacturer is selling cars in the U.S. as fast as it can make them. Sales are up 13 percent, with 357,000 sold through the first half of the year.
June was a record sales month, with 63,813 cars sold, moving Hyundai ahead of Ford to place fourth in U.S. car sales behind Toyota, Honda and Chevrolet.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Are you looking to bring in your vehicle to our service team?
