Monday, July 30, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
The 2012 Hyundai Equus is waiting for you at Inver Grove Hyundai
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
Next Hyundai Sonata to Get Fluidic Precision Design
John Krafcik, The CEO of Hyundai North America has been busy making his press rounds and one of the more interesting things he’s had to talk about is the new design language they are using for the upcoming new Hyundai models that we should expect to see coming out within the next couple of years. Along these design changes will be a fluidic precision design for the Hyundai Sonata amongst some of the other popular Hyundai versions.
“You’ll see even more maturity with the new Santa Fe, and future cars will feature something we’re internally calling Fluidic Precision, where the forms might be a little less extroverted,” Krafcik said. “You’ll see that with the next Sonata, the design of which has just been frozen.”
Krafcik also talked about if Hyundai was planning on building a premium brand such as Honda did with Acura or Nissan did with Infiniti.
“We actually thought about launching the Genesis that way, and putting them in their own showrooms, but we’re not going to do standalone premium franchises because costs are so high. If you multiply 200 dealerships by a cost of $10-20 million per dealer to make a new space, it comes out to something like $5000 or $6000 that would have to be added to the price of the car. As far as our Equus ‘experience,’ our customers love it. If Equus were its own brand the satisfaction ratings with customer service would be number two, just behind Cadillac. But would we do it? Probably not.”
Finally and of course what everyone is curious about is wondering about was what he thinks about the Hyundai Elantra fuel economy class action lawsuit. In particular we are wondering if Hyundai will change over to combined fuel ratings to avoid future suits. His answer didn’t make a lot of sense to us, but maybe you can make heads or tails out of it:
“The lawsuit, as we see it, focuses on the fact that they thought we didn’t fully disclose that 40 mpg was highway fuel economy. If you look at the way Ford marketed the Fiesta and Focus, Chevy marketed the Cruze Eco, Dodge is advertising its Dart — we’re all doing the same thing. We screen all of our advertisements to meet FTC regulations, and we feel we met the standard. As far as combined numbers go, if you have a car with class-leading fuel economy, more product sales are arguably better for the environment, national fuel consumption, et cetera. And if you’re out there showing the okay number while the other guy is showing the excellent numbers, you’re going to lose sales, and it’s going to be detrimental to the environment, dependence on foreign oil, et cetera. I just don’t think it’s socially responsible to advertise that way. It’s a bold move, but I’m not sure it’s the right move.”
Source Automobile Magazine
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Hyundai unveils Elantra Coupe-based Zombie Survival Machine at Comic-Con
Surviving the impending zombie apocalypse just got a whole lot easier with Hyundai's The Walking Dead-inspired Zombie Survival Machine.
In that desperate moment, when your existence on this earth hangs by a thread, cornered in dark alley with all hope ripped from your very being, the zombie horde shuffling toward you with its relentless undead zeal, a moaning rabble of flesh and bone hungry for every inch of your depleted and exhausted body, know this: You probably would have survived had you been able to cruise around in Hyundai’s Zombie Survival Machine.
Thankfully that day will never come (or will it?!). But just in case it does, Hyundai has you covered. The Korean automaker recently showed off its Elantra-based Zombie Survival Machine at this year’s Comic-Con and needless to say it’s quite the impressive piece.
Designed by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, the menacing coupe sports dangerously delicious, zombie-killin’ features including a spiked-out, custom-made front-end zombie plow, armored window coverings (you’ll need to keep an eye out for strapped survivors just as much those pesky walkers), a conveniently placed roof hatch, and a trunk full of electric and pneumatic weaponry. The apocalypse-ready coupe is even outfitted with spiked all-terrain tires, front and back end floodlights, and CB radio for those lonely nights when you’re desperately searching for any remnants of humanity.
The car marks the release of the 100th issue of The Walking Dead comic and fans of the series, and gearheads alike, will surely get a kick out of it.
“Our custom Elantra Coupe Zombie Survival Machine is the ultimate car for The Walking Dead fans and anyone who wants to survive a zombie invasion,” said Steve Shannon, vice president of Marketing, Hyundai Motor America. “We are excited for fans to come and experience the Elantra Coupe and GT in a unique, post-apocalyptic way.”
On top showcasing the car at this year’s Comic-Con, event attendees were allowed to slip inside the vehicle and see for themselves all the undead-inspired features crammed in, with a limited edition “owners manual” on hand illustrating how each of the coupe’s unique features could be used to take down walkers.
The Walking Dead will kick off its third season on AMC this October.
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