2013 Hyundai Veloster W/gray Int on 2040-cars

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2019 Subaru Ascent, 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe earn highest IIHS safety ratings

Two important crossovers introduced this year, the 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe and 2019 Subaru Ascent, have finally been crash tested by the IIHS, with both receiving a Top Safety Pick+ rating. Both crossovers earned the highest score of "Good" in every crash test, including the tricky passenger small overlap frontal test. Each comes with forward collision prevention technology that adequately warns the driver, and can bring the car to a complete stop before hitting an object at speeds up to 25 mph. View 72 Photos One of the other key tests to merit the Top Safety Pick+ award is headlight performance. In this case, each gets a "Good" rating to earn the award, but there's a caveat. Only high-end versions of each vehicle have highly rated lights. On the Subaru Ascent, the "Good" headlights are LED units on the Limited and Touring trims, and the Hyundai's are LED units that come with the Limited and Ultimate trims. The lower trim levels of both vehicles come with halogen headlights. The Ascent's halogens were rated "Poor" for not providing enough illumination while also causing glare for oncoming drivers, while the Santa Fe's lights were rated "Marginal," the next highest rating from bottom, for simply not illuminating enough, but they didn't cause glare. View 65 Photos While this doesn't apply to a Top Safety Pick+ rating, the Subaru Ascent has one additional commendation. The IIHS also evaluates how easy it is to access LATCH anchors for mounting child seats in a car, as well as how many there are. In this case, the three-row, family-friendly Subaru received the "Good" rating and a "+" for having extra anchors for more placement flexibility. The two-row Santa Fe just received an "Acceptable" rating in this regard, the second highest rating from IIHS. Related Video:

Hyundai's Super Bowl ads score on Ad Meter

Pepsi and Anheuser-Busch have often dominated USA Today's influential Super Bowl Ad Meter, but this year Hyundai broke through as the first car company to capture the top spot. Hyundai's First Date spot shown during the first quarter earned a 6.90 rating to edge out Heinz's Weiner Stampede (6.63) and two Doritos' commercials, Utrasound (6.60) and Doritos Dogs (6.48). Two more Hyundai spots, Ryanville (6.27) and The Chase (6.19) gave the automaker three of the top six commercials during the Super Bowl. USA Today's Ad Meter has been a barometer that measures the success of ads during the Big Game since 1989. More than 19,000 panelists participated this year. They ranked each ad on a scale from zero to 10. Anheuser-Busch ads won the last three years. First Date stars comedian Kevin Hart as an overprotective dad in who uses Hyundai's Blue Link car finder feature in the Genesis to spy on his daughter during a first date. Ryanville showcases Ryan Reynolds to illustrate how the Elantra can help with the perils of distracted driving. The Chase also stars the Elantra and its Blue Link voice-activated auto start system, which are successfully used to evade bears. Related Video: Hyundai Dominates with Three of the Top Six Ads First Automaker to Take the USA TODAY Ad Meter Crown FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Feb. 8, 2016 – Hyundai became the first automotive company to win USA TODAY's coveted Ad Meter when its spot "First Date" beat out 63 other Super Bowl 50 commercials. Hyundai's impressive performance also included a fifth and sixth place finish for "Ryanville" and "The Chase" respectively, meaning Hyundai finished with three of the top six highest rated ads. Creative was developed by Hyundai's agency of record, INNOCEAN Worldwide. "On the biggest advertising day of the year, we wanted to entertain Super Bowl fans with creative storytelling and relevant, popular celebrities, while showcasing the innovative technology features of our vehicles. Our formula clearly resonated with the thousands of Ad Meter voters," said Dean Evans, chief marketing officer, Hyundai Motor America. "Kevin Hart's comedic chops coupled with a human truth people could connect with was a standout combination that put us over the top. It's an incredible conclusion to our first year as an official NFL sponsor that we won the Ad Meter for Super Bowl 50." "First Date," a 60-second spot featuring Kevin Hart, highlights one of the incredible technology features of Hyundai's premium Genesis sedan.

Hyundai keeps building mid-engine Velosters for some reason

Hyundai returned to the Busan Motor Show in South Korea this past weekend with the RM16 concept, a mid-engined prototype that takes the Veloster into even more radical territory. If the idea sounds familiar to you, that's because this is the concept's third iteration. Sadly, it doesn't seem any closer to reaching production. The project was first presented at the same show two years ago as the Veloster RM, packing a 2.0-liter turbo four behind the two-seat cockpit. The concept resurfaced last year in Seoul as the RM15 with even more extreme bodywork. And now it's back again. The engine stays right where it was, helping give the test bed 43/57 front-rear weight distribution. This time, however, the conventional turbocharger is replaced by an electric compressor, similar to the ones you might find in the Audi SQ7 TDI or Bugatti Chiron, and there's an electronic differential to channel its 296 horsepower to the road. The RM16 uses a six-speed manual transmission. The RM16 also features a new front end to put a fresh face on the carbon-fiber bodywork, an active rear wing, and an electronically variable exhaust. All of which is well and fine, but while the prototype is supposed to inform the forthcoming N-badged performance models, we wouldn't hold our collective breath waiting for a mid-engined hot hatch like this in Hyundai showrooms. Related Video: Hyundai Motor Demonstrates its Passion for High-Performance at the 2016 Busan International Motor Show • Hyundai Motor builds anticipation of high-performance 'N' models with RM16 concept • RM16 hints at future Hyundai 'N' model characteristics June 2, 2016 - Hyundai Motor today reinforced its high-performance aspirations with the world premiere of RM16, its latest 'N' model concept, at the 2016 Busan International Motor Show in South Korea. Hyundai Motor's performance-focused exhibits, which included the Hyundai N 2025 Vision Gran Turismo, hint at future N model characteristics. Hyundai Motor's high performance sub-brand 'N' was launched in September 2015, demonstrating the company's commitment to manufacture responsive, intuitive performance vehicles that bring 'Fun to Drive' to a broad range of customers.