*mega Deal* 2014 Hyundai Sonata Limited *hybrid* - Navigation - Panoramic Roof on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Hyundai-Kia names former Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley designer as design chief

Luc Donckerwolke, former designer for both Bentley, Audi and Lamborghini, is succeeding Peter Schreyer as the lead designer for both Hyundai and Kia. This follows a significant shuffle within the Korean automaker's upper management. Schreyer — himself a former Volkswagen Group designer — will head design management. Chung Eui-sun, the son of company chairman and CEO Chung Mong-koo, was promoted as executive vice chairman. The head of Hyundai Motor America, Kyung Soo-lee, is leaving his position after just more than a year on the job. That's a lot of moving pieces at the top of Korea's largest automaker. Donckerwolke has been with Hyundai-Kia since 2015 when he left the Volkswagen Group to take over Genesis design. Some of his most famous designs include the Lamborghini Murcielago, Lamborghini Gallardo, Bentley Flying Spur and Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6. Schreyer led the design of the original Audi TT and has helped push forward Hyundai and Kia. The pair's influence can be seen and felt throughout the company's lineup. According to Reuters, part of the shakeup within the leadership follows a company announcement that third-quarter profits have fallen, sending shares to their lowest level in nine years. Related Video:

Hyundai Sonata PHEV may be a game (and mind) changer

If you really, really want to consume volts instead of fuel on your way to work, school or shopping, you currently have just three options: pure EV, hydrogen fuel cell, or plug-in hybrid EV. Much as we love them, we all know the disadvantages of BEVs: high prices due to high battery cost (even though subsidized by their makers), limited range and long recharges. Yes, I know: six-figure (giant-battery) Teslas can deliver a couple hundred miles and Supercharge to ~80 percent in 10 minutes. But few of us can afford one of those, Tesla's high-voltage chargers are hardly as plentiful as gas stations, and even 10 minutes is a meaningful chunk out of a busy day. Also, good luck finding a Tesla dealership to fix whatever goes wrong (other than downloadable software updates) when it inevitably does. There still aren't any. Even more expensive, still rare as honest politicians, and much more challenging to refuel are FCEVs. You can lease one from Honda or Hyundai, and maybe soon Toyota, provided you live in Southern California and have ample disposable income. But you'd best limit your driving to within 100 miles or so of the small (but growing) number of hydrogen fueling stations in that state if you don't want to complete your trip on the back of a flatbed. That leaves PHEVs as the only reasonably affordable, practical choice. Yes, you can operate a conventional parallel hybrid in EV mode...for a mile or so at creep-along speeds. But if your mission is getting to work, school or the mall (and maybe back) most days without burning any fuel – while basking in the security of having a range-extender in reserve when you need it – your choices are extended-range EVs. That means the Chevrolet Volt, Cadillac ELR or a BMW i3 with the optional range-extender engine, and plug-in parallel hybrids. Regular readers know that, except for their high prices, I'm partial to EREVs. They are series hybrids whose small, fuel-efficient engines don't even start (except in certain rare, extreme conditions) until their batteries are spent. That means you can drive 30-40 (Volt, ELR) or 70-80 miles (i3) without consuming a drop of fuel. And until now, I've been fairly skeptical of plug-in versions of conventional parallel hybrids. Why?

Hyundai plans Level 4 autonomy by 2021 in a fuel-cell car

SAN FRANCISCO — Silicon Valley startup Aurora announced on Thursday partnerships with Volkswagen AG and Hyundai to develop a self-driving system within their vehicles, the latest tie-up between global automakers and Silicon Valley tech companies. Aurora was founded in 2016 by robotics expert Drew Bagnell, Chris Urmson, who came from Alphabet Inc's Google, and Sterling Anderson, who formerly worked at Tesla. For Hyundai, Aurora's technology will be incorporated into custom-developed models and tested in markets including China. Hyundai said the first model to be used in testing will be its latest generation fuel-cell vehicle, debuting at the CES technology conference in Las Vegas next week. The model name of the car, shown above, will be announced then. Under the alliance, Hyundai plans to commercialize level 4 autonomous vehicles — which can operate without human input or even human oversight under select conditions — in unidentified "pilot smart cities" by 2021. This is the first announcement on a self-driving technology partnership by the South Korean carmaker, which has traditionally shunned tie-ups in favor of developing technology in-house. The strategy has raised investor concerns that it may be left behind in the race for self-driving and electric cars. A company spokeswoman said Hyundai has "various collaborations" under way in self-driving technology and would continue to pursue cooperation. In a statement, Volkswagen said Aurora's self-driving technology can be integrated over time across the automaker's brands and in different product categories, whether self-driving pods, shuttles, delivery vans or self-driving trucks. Aurora and Volkswagen said they had been working together over the past six months to integrate Aurora's sensors, hardware and software into the German carmakers' electric vehicles to develop self-driving ride services in cities. The non-exclusive partnerships mark the first deals for the young Silicon Valley company and show how some carmakers have chosen to partner with technology companies with more experience in artificial intelligence, deep learning and robotics in order to save time and money bringing self-driving cars to market. Within the self-driving car space, Waymo — formerly Google's autonomous program headed by Urmson — is offering something similar. The tech company has been working with Fiat Chrysler since 2016 to outfit its Chrysler Pacifica minivans with autonomous technology.