2017 Hyundai Elantra Se on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Hyundai And Kia Penalized $350 Million For Overstated MPG Claims

Nearly two years after Hyundai and Kia announced they exaggerated fuel economy numbers for several of their most popular models, the two Korean automakers have paid a heavy penalty for the transgressions. The Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement Monday that will cost the two car companies approximately $350 million. The financial sum includes a $100 million fine, the largest ever levied under the Clean Air Act, and about $200 million in forfeited greenhouse-gas emissions credits. At a time when car buyers rank fuel economy as a top concern when they head to dealerships and the federal government has mandated increased efficiency, Attorney General Eric Holder said the settlement should serve as a warning to automakers not to fudge their numbers. "This will send a strong message that cheating is not profitable," he said. The settlement ends a federal lawsuit filed against the automakers in U.S. District Court, but it's important to note that it doesn't end a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of consumers. A preliminary settlement in that case, based in Los Angeles, was approved last month, but final approval isn't expected until July 2015. Officials with the EPA said the $100 million figure roughly equals the economic benefits the two companies received from exaggerating the mileage claims on the window stickers of new cars. Fuel-efficient boasts helped Hyundai and Kia establish a strong foothold in the U.S. marketplace. Advertisements for the Hyundai Elantra stated the vehicle achieved 40 miles per gallon in highway driving, and helped the car win the prestigious North American Car Of The Year honors at the Detroit Auto Show for its 2012 model. In July 2011, the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog began receiving complaints from consumers that the Elantra and other Hyundai models fell short of their stated mileage claims in real-world driving. The group wrote to the EPA and Hyundai, asking both to investigate. Government officials said Kia had overstated the mileage on its popular Kia Soul crossover by 6 miles per gallon, and more than a dozen overall models were affected. On Monday, EPA administrator Gina McCarthy said the violations were "egregious." Based on the exaggerations, the EPA calculated that Hyundai and Kia had underreported the greenhouse gas emissions of their fleets by about 4.75 metric tons over the estimated lifetime of the vehicles. That figure aided in the $200 million credit forfeiture.

Chrysler and Hyundai join Pepsi and Coke as top Super Bowl spenders [w/ video]

Super Bowl XLVIII is barely a week away, and some of the early ads are already leaking out. It's timely then that The Street has released rankings of the top five Super Bowl advertisers since 2009, showing Chrysler and Hyundai/Kia taking two of the spots with $131.7 million in cumulative spending.
Since 2010, the cost to air a 30-second Super Bowl ad has risen from $3 million in 2009 to about $4 million in 2014, and about a fifth of advertisers opt for a one-minute ad, which doubles costs. Last year, the ads brought in $292 million, and they have brought in roughly $2 billion since 2010.
Chrysler has spent $64.3 million since 2009 to make it the fourth highest spending company in the last five years. In that time, the company has rebranded itself as it emerged from bankruptcy with the Imported from Detroit ad campaign that premiered in 2011 and last year's God Made a Farmer Ram Trucks ad. Its 2012 Halftime in America sparked national debate about whether it was also a reference to the upcoming presidential election.

Hyundai, Kia, Genesis will get chip maker NVIDIA's infotainment in deal

Chip maker NVIDIA Corp on Monday announced that Hyundai Motor Group will use the NVIDIA DRIVE in-vehicle information and entertainment system for all its Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis models from 2022. NVIDIA said the luxury vehicle division of Hyundai, Genesis, already uses NVIDIA DRIVE for its GV80 and G80 models. (You can read a bit about the Genesis infotainment systems in Autoblog's recent driving reviews of the G80 sedan and the GV80 SUV, and our buying guide for the latter.)  NVIDIA declined to say how many vehicles NVIDIA DRIVE would be installed in, but said it is a large number and pointed to the fact that in 2019 Hyundai Motor Group shipped over 7 million vehicles. Hyundai Motor Co is the flagship company of Hyundai Motor Group, and Kia Motors Corp is its sister company. NVIDIA DRIVE includes hardware and software components and uses artificial intelligence to improve the user's experience. The software can be "perpetually" updated, giving vehicles the latest AI cockpit features, said NVIDIA. NVIDIA said it has also been working with Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Honda on in-car entertainment and information systems. Related Video: