2017 Hyundai Santa Fe 2.0l Turbo Ultimate on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2018 Hyundai Sonata lineup gets ‘+’ treatment at no extra charge

Hyundai is looking to jump-start sales of its struggling 2018 Sonata midsize sedan by introducing new "+" editions on several trim levels, adding features like the silver mesh grille cribbed from the Sport 2.0T, panoramic sunroof and safety technology for no extra charge — or for even lower prices, in some cases. The mid-model year enhancement package broadens availability of Hyundai's Advanced Driver Assist Systems, the Sport front fascia and mesh grille and other interior amenities. For example, the Sonata SEL+ and Sport+ editions now come equipped with the Sport's front fascia upgrades, dual automatic temperature control, wireless phone charging, heated steering wheel and other features at no extra charge, representing $580 and $950 in value to the respective models. Adding the Tech Package to the SEL+ gets you automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assist, smart cruise control with stop-start and other features for $25,185, including destination charge, a $980 value improvement, Hyundai says. Buyers can add the Tech Package to the Limited model for no extra charge over the previous model. On the high-end Sonata Limited model, adding the Ultimate+ package drops the price of the previous Ultimate package by $600 while adding the Sport mesh grille and fascia combo, plus the panoramic sunroof. The Korean automaker redesigned the Sonata for 2018 with a new "cascading grille" borrowed from the Elantra and other changes to the front, a redesigned back, some handling upgrades and a redesigned interior. But it hasn't helped move the metal. Sales of the Sonata fell a whopping 41 percent in April to 9,616; year-to-date, they were down 38 percent to 33,441 units. The company saw its combined Hyundai and Genesis sales decline by 11 percent in April. The "+" packages are available at dealerships now. Related Video: Image Credit: Hyundai Auto News Marketing/Advertising Hyundai Sedan sales package trim

Hyundai announces pricing for Ioniq Electric subscription service

When we first drove the Hyundai Ioniq Electric, we learned about a unique subscription program that would be available for Hyundai Ioniq Electric buyers in California. Instead of a traditional purchase or lease, it would be a no-haggle program with unlimited mileage and service and wear items covered. At the time, though, Hyundai didn't have pricing set for the program. Now it does. It also has a name. It's called Ioniq Unlimited+. The way it works is that after a consumer has their credit approved, they put down an initial $2,500 payment, and then pay a set monthly fee for the 36-month term. Pricing varies depending on the trim level of Ioniq Electric. The base model has a monthly fee of $275, the Limited goes for $305, and the Limited with the "Ultimate" package costs $365 per month. All of those prices are before tax. The advantages to this program over a typical lease are in all the included goodies. The initial tax, title, license and fees are covered with the down payment, drivers have no mileage caps, and charging, service, and wear items are all covered for 50,000 miles. If you're interested, hopefully you live in California, since that's the only state in which the program is offered. But, if the program is successful, there may be a chance it expands to other models and regions. Related Video:

Ford fights back against patent trolls

Some people are just awful. Some organizations are just as awful. And when those people join those organizations, we get stories like this one, where Ford has spent the past several years combatting so-called patent trolls. According to Automotive News, these malicious organizations have filed over a dozen lawsuits against the company since 2012. They work by purchasing patents, only to later accuse companies of misusing intellectual property, despite the fact that the so-called patent assertion companies never actually, you know, do anything with said intellectual property. AN reports that both Hyundai and Toyota have been victimized by these companies, with the former forced to pay $11.5 million to a company called Clear With Computers. Toyota, meanwhile, settled with Paice LLC, over its hybrid tech. The world's largest automaker agreed to pay $5 million, on top of $98 for every hybrid it sold (if the terms of the deal included each of the roughly 1.5 million hybrids Toyota sold since 2000, the company would have owed $147 million). Including the previous couple of examples, AN reports 107 suits were filed against automakers last year alone. But Ford is taking action to prevent further troubles... kind of. The company has signed on with a firm called RPX, in what sounds strangely like a protection racket. Automakers like Ford pay RPX around $1.5 million each year for access to its catalog of patents, which it spent nearly $1 billion building. "We take the protection and licensing of patented innovations very seriously," Ford told AN via email. "And as many smart businesses are doing, we are taking proactive steps to protect against those seeking patent infringement litigation." What are your thoughts on this? Should this patent business be better managed? Is it reasonable that companies purchase patents only to file suit against the companies that build actual products? Have your say in Comments.