2013 Hyundai Genesis 3.8 Sedan 4-door 3.8l on 2040-cars

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Tucson hydrogen fuel cell CUV will allow Hyundai to sell more dirty cars

With the first Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell Vehicle deliveries happening soon (a bit later than expected), it's time for the Korean automaker to explain why it's offering the H2 CUV here in the states. After all, there are only 10 public hydrogen stations in the US today, according to the DOE, so it can't be to take over the market. According to a Hyundai exec, the reason we are getting the Tucson Fuel Cell is to make up to $130,000 through California's ZEV credit system. "We really don't make any money out of selling the fuel cell vehicles for now" – Byung Ki Ahn According to Wards Auto, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will give the automaker up to 26 points worth of zero emission vehicle (ZEV) credits for each of the $499/month hydrogen Tucson leased through the 2017 model year. Those credits could be worth up to $130,000 to Hyundai. Byung Ki Ahn, Hyundai's director of the fuel cell group, told Wards Auto that, "We really don't make any money out of selling the fuel cell vehicles for now. ... So just by selling the fuel cell (vehicle) we could get a lot of credit points, which you could sell at a later time if you want, like Tesla does. It could be a good business model." Ahn clarified that Hyundai does not plan to cash in on those credits, but to use them to offset the rest of its vehicle lineup. Other automakers also participate in the ZEV credit system, of course, but if Anh's numbers are correct, then fuel cell vehicles earn more credits than battery electric vehicles do, so if you want to earn a lot of credits, hydrogen is a good way to go. You can find more details over at Wards Auto. *This post has been updated to mention other automakers using the ZEV scheme.

Autoblog's Editors' Picks: Our complete list of the best new vehicles

It's not easy to earn an “EditorsÂ’ Picks” at Autoblog as part of the rating and review process that every new vehicle goes through. Our editors have been at it a long time, which means weÂ’ve driven and reviewed virtually every new car you can go buy on the dealer lot. There are disagreements, of course, and all vehicles have their strengths and weaknesses, but this list features what we think are the best new vehicles chosen by Autoblog editors. We started this formal review process back in 2018, so there's quite of few of them now. So what does it mean to be an EditorsÂ’ Pick? In short, it means itÂ’s a car that we can highly recommend purchasing. There may be one, multiple, or even zero vehicles in any given segment that we give the green light to. What really matters is that itÂ’s a vehicle that weÂ’d tell a friend or family member to go buy if theyÂ’re considering it, because itÂ’s a very good car. The best way to use this list is is with the navigation links below. Click on a segment, and you'll quickly arrive at the top rated pickup truck or SUV, for example. Use the back button to return to these links and search in another segment, like sedans. If youÂ’ve been keeping up with our monthly series of the latest vehicles to earn EditorsÂ’ Pick status, youÂ’re likely going to be familiar with this list already. If not, welcome to the complete list that weÂ’ll be keeping updated as vehicles enter (and others perhaps exit) the good graces of our editorial team. We rate a new car — giving it a numerical score out of 10 — every time thereÂ’s a significant refresh or if it happens to be an all-new model. Any given vehicle may be impressive on a first drive, but we wait until itÂ’s in the hands of our editors to put it through the same type of testing as every other vehicle that rolls through our test fleet before giving it the EditorsÂ’ Pick badge. This ensures consistency and allows more voices to be heard on each individual model. And just so you donÂ’t think weÂ’ve skipped trims or variants of a model, we hand out the EditorsÂ’ Pick based on the overarching model to keep things consistent. So, when you read that the 3 Series is an EditorsÂ’ Pick, yes, that includes the 330i to the M3 and all the variants in between. If thereÂ’s a particular version of that car we vehemently disagree with, we make sure to call that out.

Hyundai Elantra's alleged unintended acceleration sends teen, police on a 113-mile ride

Back in December, one North Texas teenager received a quick lesson in car control at the hands of his 2011 Hyundai Elantra. Elez Lushaj called police, after he says his car accelerated to nearly 120 mph on Highway 183 unintentionally. Dispatchers urged the 16-year-old driver to try everything from turning the car off to standing on the brakes and putting the car in neutral, but Lushaj told them nothing was working. Flummoxed, police simply did their best to warn traffic away from the speeding compact with the hope that the car would eventually run out of fuel.
Before that could happen, Lushaj lost control on Interstate 30 after some 90 minutes as he attempted to avoid a semi truck. The Elantra rolled four times, leaving the driver conscious but with several broken bones. Police commended Lushaj for keeping the car on the road and away from population centers for as long as he did.
Hyundai, meanwhile, said that it hasn't heard anything on the case. Spokesperson Jim Trainor reported to WFAA that it was "extremely unlikely for simultaneous and spontaneous total system failures for the brakes, accelerator and transmission to occur at the same time" and notes that Hyundai would like to investigate, but this is the first they've heard of Lushaj's wild ride. You can watch a local news report on the incident below for more information.