2015 Hyundai Sonata Se on 2040-cars

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Are old airbags killers?

Takata airbags may not be the only ones with some very serious problems. A new report from TheDetroitBureau.com claims that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened its second investigation into bad airbag inflators, and this time, they aren't from Takata. The focus of this latest case is on the airbag inflators in some 500,000 older Chrysler Town and Country minivans and Kia Optima sedans, all of which come from ARC Automotive. While the Takata case looks at problems stemming from the engineering and production process, the ARC investigation focuses on the age of the inflators. As TDB explains, airbag inflators are essentially what the military refers to as shaped charges, sort of like Claymores (for fans of the Call of Duty series). In combat, they blow up in a specific direction, protecting those behind the explosion, although in the case of airbags, the explosion "[creates] a precise rush of hot gases" that inflate the bags. NHTSA's worry is that with the increased average age of today's vehicles, years and years of being bounced, jolted, and shaken about and exposed to often-radical temperature changes have altered the nature of the explosives in these vehicles, causing too big of an explosion. "It may be a reasonable assumption that as these things age they deteriorate." – Analyst George Peterson "It may be a reasonable assumption that as these things age they deteriorate," analyst George Peterson told TheDetroitBureau.com. NHTSA boss Mark Rosekind backed up aging angle. "Cars are lasting on the road a lot longer than ever before," Rosekind told TDB, adding that seals could start breaking down. "Is aging now an issue? That's part of the investigation going on." NHTSA has only identified two "incidents" so far, although according to Center for Auto Safety Director Clarence Ditlow, there's genuine concern that there could be additional unidentified cases. "Could we have missed more? That could be the case," Ditlow told TDB, citing the misidentified deaths in the Takata investigation. Ditlow was quick to point out that, even in older vehicles, airbags are much more likely to protect than harm. "No one is saying you should disable your airbags," the safety advocate told TDB. "You're far more likely to be helped than hurt by one if they go off." At least one automaker, meanwhile, has already been advised of the investigation by NHTSA and is checking its airbags.

Hyundai says, maybe driverless cars won't be so bad

The allure of autonomous driving for many people is the tech's ability to free up their time behind the wheel from paying attention to the road. However, the driverless future might also increase the mobility of folks all over the world. Toyota's recent billion-dollar research investment aims to tackle both of these questions, and Hyundai now has a moving commercial that offers a glimpse at some of these possibilities. Hyundai also used a clever approach to show off its driver assistance systems in an ad last year, but this time it took a more emotional style to demonstrate the future. We don't want to spoil the optimistic spot's hook, but the video stars a little boy who just wants to drive. The way that he does it is heartwarming and beautifully shot. The commercial is in Korean, but like any good piece of marketing, the visuals break down the language barrier.

2015 Hyundai Genesis revealed in renderings

We're currently in Seoul, South Korea, checking in on the 2015 Hyundai Genesis at the automaker's headquarters. We can't yet offer any driving impressions, but at least we can share a few renderings of what the new sedan will look like.
As you can see, practically everything above the beltline has been carried over almost untouched from the HCD-14 Genesis Concept we saw earlier this year. The front-end styling, on the other hand, is a complete departure from current Hyundai design language. Note the large, upright grille and the more dynamic headlights and fascia.
There's still no word as to when Hyundai will officially debut the 2015 Genesis, but it won't be a long wait.