2022 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy on 2040-cars

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We visit Hyundai's Nurburgring test center

Understanding the achievement and the message of Hyundai Motor Group having a European Technical Center at the Nurburgring might be easier if we look at what Hyundai has done in the US. In 1985 Hyundai Motor America set up shop in California. The first car sold here was the 1986 Excel, a rebodied Mitsubishi Mirage with a Hyundai interior treatment. This was the first Mirage, which also served as the Chrysler Colt in hatchback form and circled back as the Mitsubishi Precis so Mitsu could get around Japanese automakers' voluntary export quotas of the time. The Excel made such an impression on reviewers and buyers that in Car and Driver's 1986 review they wrote that "'astounding' is not too strong word" to describe the company's progress, and said, "Our guess is that Hyundai will be a major force in the US car market almost from the moment it opens its doors." Hyundai sold 168,882 Excels in the US in its first year, back when the Ford F-Series led all comers with 544,969 sales. That's what happened. The company sold 168,882 Excels in the US in its first year, back when the Ford F-Series led all comers with 544,969 sales, the Chevrolet Celebrity came second of all vehicles with 408,946 sales, the Honda Accord seventh with 325,004 sales. The Excel sold even better the following year, and the year after that. Three years on, buyers began to discover that one of the things the Excel did best was disintegrate. It's been called "fantastically crappy," Popular Mechanics would later say the Excel "deserved to fail," and they decomposed so thoroughly that you'll have a hard time finding one in any junkyard. Buyers got so allergic to the Flying H badge that sales declined for ten consecutive years. By 1999, when Hyundai's model range was four times larger than it had been in 1986 – Accent, Elantra, Sonata, Tiburon – the brand sold just 90,217 cars in the US. Two important things happened around that nadir. In 1998, as a way of reassuring potential customers, Hyundai became the first automaker to introduce a 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty. In 1999, Mong-Koo Chung became the CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, promoted from 11 years as CEO of Hyundai Motor Service, a role that put him in charge of global warranty claims. Having spent all those years of his life wading through that carnage, he swore when he took the top spot that he'd get the situation fixed. In 2014 the JD Power Initial Quality Survey ranked Hyundai the leading non-premium brand.

Hyundai files patent for smartphone feature disabler in proximity to steering wheel

Combatting driver distraction continues to be a hot topic in automotive safety, especially when it comes to young motorists. While simply not using a smartphone behind the wheel would fix much of the problem, automakers are trying to work out complicated ways to make people safer. For example, GM is experimenting with head and eye tracking to make sure folks are paying attention to the road. Now, Hyundai might have come up with a technology that offers a very simple fix: disable the phones. The Korean automaker explains the idea in explicit detail in a recently published patent. The tech specifically "limits or disables the use of some of mobile device features which could cause distraction to the user," according to the abstract. Depending on variables like the vehicle's speed, the system determines what smartphone functions are safe to use, including texting or voice calls. Based on a plethora of permutations in the document, these restrictions could only be for the area around the driver's seat or for the whole vehicle. The key to the patent is placing antennas around the vehicle and monitoring for cellular signals. When the system detects them, it can begin selectively deciding what features to allow on the device. The tech isn't a simple on/off switch either, and can possibly detect the time of day or importance of the caller to let messages though. The major downside to all of this is the phone would need to run a specific program or firmware for all of this to work. With such a recently published patent, it might be years before the tech arrives in Hyundai vehicles, if at all. Still, this is an interesting solution. Of course, it would be far simpler if people just put down their phones. You can read the full description of the automaker's concept, here. News Source: Free Patens Online via US Patent and Trademark Office Auto News Hyundai Technology Emerging Technologies Smartphone distracted driving patent cell phone driver distraction

Hyundai Veloster Turbo BTR Edition goes demonic at SEMA

Just a few days after Halloween, Blood Type Racing's custom Hyundai Veloster Turbo R-Spec is bringing a demonic look to the SEMA Show in Las Vegas on Nov. 3. This mean little hatchback sports some sinister carbon black paint with crimson accents all around, and a set of red projector headlights top off the devilish details. What's happening under the hood is pretty fiendish, too. The BTR Edition Veloster starts with Hyundai's 1.6-liter four-cylinder, but it's strengthened with parts like forged connecting rods and pistons. The company then adds a high-boost Garrett turbo and retuned ECU. The result is over 500 horsepower to go like a bat out of hell. Beyond the wicked black-and-red aesthetic, Blood Type Racing also fits a carbon-fiber wide body kit, complete with crimson canards at the front corners. Inside, the interior is replaced with a four-point roll cage and racing bucket. The driver can still enjoy some music thanks to a suite of Rockford Fosgate speakers. The Veloster BTR Edition joins a growing slate of custom Hyundais at SEMA this year. In addition to this hellacious hot hatch, there's also a 500-hp Genesis Coupe and a 700-horsepower Tucson. BLOOD TYPE RACING RETURNS TO SEMA, BRINGING ALONG A SINISTER VELOSTER TURBO FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Oct. 7, 2015 – Blood Type Racing Inc., the renowned Chicago-based tuner known for his extreme take on Korean vehicles, has revealed its Veloster Turbo R-Spec built for SEMA. The BTR Edition Veloster has an evil twist, designed to look as though it just switched over to the dark side. The car will be revealed at Hyundai's SEMA press conference on November 3 at 11:30 a.m. PT, in Las Vegas. The vehicle's evil appearance began with a "Carbon Black" paint job, accented with a red racing stripe running from the front splitter up onto the hood. A carbon fiber wide-body kit gives the car a muscular, more aggressive stance, and front-mounted aero canards, front splitter and a rear deck spoiler provide down force at speed. Red accents on the custom SSR three-piece wheels, along with red projector "demon eye" headlamps add a final demonic touch to the vehicle's exterior. Using the Veloster's 1.6-liter "Gamma" four-cylinder as a starting block, BTR added new cylinder sleeves, a high-boost turbocharger from Garrett, and custom connecting rods and pistons.