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NHTSA closes investigations into Ford Taurus, Hyundai Santa Fe

Ford and Hyundai are out from under the scrutinizing eyes of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after the government agency said it was closing investigations against both automakers over vehicle safety concerns.
Ford was being investigated for reported damaged speed control cables on Ford Taurus (shown above) and Mercury Sable models, both built between 2000 and 2003. Vehicles with the company's Duratec engines allegedly failed to allow owners to brake as expected. Owners lodged 100 complaints and were involved in five accidents, according to NHTSA records. The American automaker responded to the reports, and on June 21 of this year, said that it would inspect and repair all affected vehicles, regardless of the mileage.
Hyundai was under investigation for a reported loose fastener on the steering shaft of its 2011 Santa Fe (shown in the gallery below). After NHTSA launched its inquiry, the Korean automaker responded with its own investigation that yielded four affected vehicles. Following the inspection of 680 vehicles at its assembly plant, Hyundai said the issue was due to employee error and that no further defects have been found.

40+ cars that barely avoid the gas guzzler tax

The Gas Guzzler schedule, with mpg ratings and charges that haven't changed since 1991, lays out which fuel-swillers owe what to Uncle Sam.
I started thinking about the "Gas Guzzler Tax" - considerably less well known as The Energy Tax Act of 1978 - when I was driving Dodge's new Challenger SRT Hellcat last week. Unsurprisingly for a car that can burn 1.5 gallons of gas per minute at max tilt, theoretically able to empty a full tank of premium in about 13 minutes, the Hellcat will be subject to the Gas Guzzler Tax schedule when it goes on sale.

Hyundai partners with tech startup Smartcar to expand mobility apps

A new technology partnership between Hyundai and a Silicon Valley startup will expand the automaker's connected-car service offerings on its 2018 model-year vehicles, making it possible for owners to do everything from getting their car washed and detailed to fueling up, all without having to actually be there for it. Hyundai announced the partnership with technology startup Smartcar (not to be confused with the automaker) at the L.A. Auto Show to launch its Blue Link All-Access program. The platform aims to give Hyundai owners access to a broad array of new third-party connected-car applications, similar to how users download apps for mobile devices, by giving Smartcar access to its API. That means the automaker can offer new services more quickly, since it won't have to do a separate new integration for every new connected-car service, said Manish Mehrotra, Hyundai Motor America's director of digital business planning and connected operations. "We will develop Blue Link not as standalone system, but as an open platform that can seamlessly integrate the best ideas from inside and outside the company," Mehrotra said. App developers will work with Smartcar, based in Mountain View, Calif., as the single point of integration. Hyundai's Blue Link platform already had allowed owners to do things like sync addresses from their phones to their in-vehicle navigation systems via voice command, start and warm up the car remotely, and locate the vehicle when the driver forgets where he parked it. The new service will be offered on every 2018 model-year Hyundai free of charge for the first three years of ownership. Hyundai also announced a new pilot program in Southern California with an Orange County startup called Washos, which offers mobile car washing and detailing. Other time-saving existing or future applications include being able to get your dry cleaning or groceries delivered to your car while at work. Because the future is going to be BUSY. As further evidence of what he called "our deepening relationships with the technology community," Mehrotra also discussed the recent launch of Cradle, Hyundai's new venture-capital arm.