2003 Hyundai Santa Fe Base Sport Utility 5-door 2.4l on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Nissan UK battery plant, Hyundai EV/FCEV station

Hyundai has opened a joint hydrogen fueling/EV charging station in South Korea. Called a "Fusion" station, it allows customers to take advantage of both types of alternative energy Hyundai uses for its vehicles. The station in Gwangju began as a hydrogen station, and EV charging capability was added recently. While users will have in common the use of green energy to power their vehicles, it will be interesting to see if spontaneous debates erupt between drivers over the merits of the two alternative powertrains. Hyundai will now use the hydrogen fueling part of the station to study fuel usage. Read more at Inside EVs. EV charging company EverCharge is teaming up with Schneider Electric to provide charging infrastructure to multi-tenant buildings. Because of the limited electricity for buildings like apartments, condominiums and offices – as well as the fact that multiple occupants often share power – installing charging at such locations has been challenging. EverCharge's SmartPower technology senses excess or limited power supply, and uses it to charge multiple vehicles accordingly. The groups will use this technology along with Schneider Electric's EVlink Home EV Charger to provide charging services at these otherwise difficult locations. Read more at Green Car Congress, or at the EverCharge blog. Nissan will build fourth-generation lithium-ion batteries for the Leaf at its plant in Sunderland, England. The announcement comes amidst rumors of the automaker outsourcing battery production. The decision means that Nissan's $37.5 million investment will preserve 300 jobs at the plant. The factory currently manufactures second-generation, 24-kW Leaf and e-NV200 batteries, and imports the third-generation, 30-kW Leaf battery from Nissan's plant in Smyrna, Tennessee. "Today's announcement reflects Nissan's intention to remain EV leaders for many years to come, with our European operations at the heart of our future innovations," says Nissan Europe Chairman Paul Willcox. Read more at Automotive News Europe, and in the press release below.

More than a half-million Hyundai, Kia compacts recalled for brake light problem

Hyundai and Kia will recall more than a half-million compact cars in the U.S. starting next year because of a brake-light problem. The recall covers more than 390,000 Hyundai Elantras from the 2013 and 2014 model years, and more than 134,000 Kia Forte cars from 2012 through 2014. The Associated Press, citing documents the companies filed with the federal government, reports that a polymer stopper pad between the brake pedal arm and the light switch can deteriorate and keep the brake lights on when the brakes aren't actually engaged. The problem also means a driver can shift out of park without stepping on the brake pedal. Neither automaker reported any crashes or injuries stemming from the issue. Dealers will replace the stopped pads starting Jan. 30 for Kia and Feb. 8 for Hyundai.Related Video:

Strange, unfunny Hyundai N Performance commercials badly miss the mark

Take a minute and watch the video above. After, you might have questions. I will try to help you with these. But first, here are some questions for you: No matter whether you thought the ad was good or not, does it get you excited about the N Performance subbrand? Do you want to find out more about it? I suspect the answer is "no" for most of you reading. Unfortunately, reading what Hyundai and the ad agency said about these ads isn't going to help much. Intended to skewer traditional luxury advertising tropes, the agency says, these ads are a "tongue-(stuck firmly)-in-cheek poke at automotive and luxury brands taking themselves too seriously." R/GA is the ad agency behind these ads, and its chief creative officer, James Temple, told AdAge, "We want people to rethink their views of Hyundai as a practical, compromise choice, to a brand which shows people through the power of 'N' that they make cars that are fun to drive and which aren't like anything else out there." OK. So, poke fun at luxury and automotive advertising that takes itself too seriously. And to be fair, this sort of thing has been done before to great success and general acclaim. Remember Volkswagen's "Unpimp The Auto" campaign? It cleverly took aim at a then-trendy aspect of the tuner culture and literally crushed it with a new GTI. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The message was clear: Your over-tuned Ford Focus is both gaudy and inferior. Step up to a GTI, which by the logic of the ad, you don't need to throw tuner parts at to have fun. It built excitement for the hot hatch while earning some automotive credibility by throwing shade at MTV's over-the-top " Pimp My Ride," at that point rapidly losing its halo of tuner coolness. "Pimp My Ride" was a big, easy target to mock. And the relationship to automotive performance (or lack thereof (most were plays on the "Yo dawg I heard you like ..." theme, anyways) made the analogy work. Where the Hyundai ads step off is the target for ridicule. R/GA claims it's roasting automotive brands, and they can say that all they want — I don't see it. I see a childlike understanding of how to dismantle the tropes of a classic Calvin Klein ad — monotone, lots of black, shirtless models, personal beauty products — over which the lightest veneer of automotive reference is applied. So the perfume smells like burning tires. That's still a humorous ad about perfume.