Hyundai/Kia is one of my favorite automakers right now, probably because they used to be one of my most hated. But both brands have come a long way in terms of style and quality, and are now poised to take a bigger role on the world automotive stage.
Kia in particular seems to be branding itself the more thrilling cousin of Hyundai, as some of their recent concept cars have shown. This latest teaser of the plug-in hybrid “Ray”, as it is being called, doesn’t reveal much, but certainly makes me want to see more.
If there is any single success story of 2009 in the automotive world, it is Hyundai. They have really stepped it up a notch across their lineup, and cars like the Genesis sedan and coupe have been universally hailed for both their quality and value. Hard to believe this is even the same company. Yet for all their progress, Hyundai is a bit behind other manufacturers in the hybrid game. Their first hybrid, the Sonata, won’t hit showrooms until later this year.
But Hyundai’s engineers have been hard at work, and the fruits of their labor are quite good looking indeed. The Blue-Will plug-in hybrid concept car will make its North American debut at the Detroit International Auto Show next week. Is that a menacing grin or what?
By Nick Chambers •
November 10, 2009
I’ve got to say, this story strikes home with me; I’ve been repeatedly ignored by Twitter’s “customer service” every time I’ve tried to engage them about parked twitter handles. Now it appears that some major auto manufacturers are considering legal action to get Twitter to deal with username squatters in an attempt to protect their brand names.
By Chris Milton •
September 30, 2009
Much has been written about the launch of the Hyundai i10 concept, the company’s first foray into the electric car market. It’s an impressive car and the underlying technology trumps many other competitors.
For example, there’s the Li-Poly battery which Hyundai claim will charge almost twice as fast as the Li-Ion battery championed by Renault and other manufacturers. Of course, this assumes you have an industrial outlet with enough amps to provide the power fast enough.
However, the Hyundai i10 is more than a standalone electric car. It is part of a range which the company has obviously thought about long and hard before bringing it to market.
By Nick Chambers •
September 9, 2009
To many Americans, India is just another one of those countries with LOTS of people in the general vicinity of China where they sometimes get routed when they call customer support with questions about why the new HP they just bought won’t turn on.
And that’s a shame, really, because India has so much to offer. From excellent food to the funky movie scene, India has some pretty great stuff. And now we can add another bean to India’s basket — the country has been stealthily gaining a reputation with auto manufacturers as the place to build fuel-efficient, small cars for export to the rest of the world.
By Nick Chambers •
July 8, 2009
Coming 12 years after the introduction of the Prius in Japan, Hyundai may be extremely late to the hybrid party, but they’re hoping to play catch up quickly.
Hyundai’s new Elantra LPI will be sold only in South Korea. It runs on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and uses lithium-ion batteries. Although Hyundai has no immediate plans to export the Elantra LPI overseas, the company plans to release a gasoline electric hybrid version of the Sonata in late 2010. Presumably the hybrid Sonata would be marketed in the US to compete directly with offerings from Toyota and Honda.
It appears that companies are realizing that zero emission electric vehicles should not just be for the “rich”. In May, Nissan announced that it would begin electric cars in the U.S. to be available in 2010. This week, they announced they would mass produce a zero-emissions electric car by 2012 that would be affordable. However, during a Nissan shareholder’s call Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn refused to speculate on the sticker price.
According to an Associated Press article, Ghosn said, “If it’s not affordable, it’s not gonna work. We are not going to come with a very high price. We are gonna come with a reasonable price,” he said. “We are here to mass market them.”
What I want to know is what the company will consider affordable now that America’s economic turmoil continues to spiral downward.
It wasn’t that long ago when it seemed like I spent more time fixing my friend’s Hyundai Elantra than she spent driving it.
It was the basest of base model cars, and it would throw mechanical temper tantrums almost weekly, and I thanked the car gods when she finally splurged on a used Lancer. But the Hyundai of today is an altogether different beast, coming out with cars like the Genesis Coupe, a punky, cheap, rear-wheel drive racer that runs as good as it looks. Now Hyundai is looking to break into the American hybrid market with a California-designed concept called the Nuvis, which debuted a few weeks ago at the New York Auto Show.
