2012 Hyundai Elantra Gls Automatic 4-door We Finance on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Hyundai Prius-Fighter Hybrid could preview next attack on Toyota's champion

Hyundai is no stranger to the hybrid game, selling a gas-electric version of the Sonata in the US since 2011. The 2015-model-year version gets 38 miles per gallon combined, which is certainly admirable but not quite in the same league as the hybrid champion Toyota Prius (50 mpg combined). New spy shots reveal that Hyundai might be finally ready to targeting the non-plug-in fuel economy leader. Why else would some mysterious Hyundai prototypes be cruising through the desert hills with a few Priuses in tow?
Our photographers believe these mules hint at an all-new hybrid model, which makes us think of the Blue Will concept from the 2010 Detroit Auto Show. At the time, Hyundai said the concept could be a preview of a future dedicated hybrid that would compete with the Prius.
We don't know what it all means for sure, but our spy photographers found four heavily modified Elantra GT prototypes driving around with a standard Prius and a Prius V. As if that wasn't enough of a clue, the four changed Elantras represent different approaches Hyundai might be using to go after Toyota, since there were two versions driving by our photographer's lenses, with different rear extensions indicating that both the standard Prius and the larger V might be in Hyundai's sights.

Hyundai Elantra's alleged unintended acceleration sends teen, police on a 113-mile ride

Back in December, one North Texas teenager received a quick lesson in car control at the hands of his 2011 Hyundai Elantra. Elez Lushaj called police, after he says his car accelerated to nearly 120 mph on Highway 183 unintentionally. Dispatchers urged the 16-year-old driver to try everything from turning the car off to standing on the brakes and putting the car in neutral, but Lushaj told them nothing was working. Flummoxed, police simply did their best to warn traffic away from the speeding compact with the hope that the car would eventually run out of fuel.
Before that could happen, Lushaj lost control on Interstate 30 after some 90 minutes as he attempted to avoid a semi truck. The Elantra rolled four times, leaving the driver conscious but with several broken bones. Police commended Lushaj for keeping the car on the road and away from population centers for as long as he did.
Hyundai, meanwhile, said that it hasn't heard anything on the case. Spokesperson Jim Trainor reported to WFAA that it was "extremely unlikely for simultaneous and spontaneous total system failures for the brakes, accelerator and transmission to occur at the same time" and notes that Hyundai would like to investigate, but this is the first they've heard of Lushaj's wild ride. You can watch a local news report on the incident below for more information.

Business booming for Hyundai in 'Bama, new production record set

Although it may be a distinction of mild importance on a global scale, Hyundai announced that last month it set an all-time sales record for the month of April. Digging a little deeper, Hyundai-Blog - an enthusiast site not affiliated with the South Korean automaker - is reporting that another record was set: to go along with 63,315 total sales in April, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama assembled a record 37,372 Elantra and Sonata sedans.
This doesn't mean that half of Hyundai's April sales came from the Montgomery, AL plant, but it's still a telling sign of just how important this new factory is. The Elantra and Sonata are by far Hyundai's most popular models, accounting for almost 63 percent of all Hyundai sales so far in 2013. Congrats on the achievement, Hyundai.