2014 Hyundai Elantra on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Google shows off its Android Auto system

Cars fitted with the Apple CarPlay system should be in dealerships next year, available as a delayed option on the 2015 Hyundai Sonata and eventually expected to be available on Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari vehicles. Google isn't that far behind with its Android Auto, and after Hyundai showed it off at the LA Auto Show, Google Developers used their Dev.Bytes program give us a better look at it. Any phone with Lollipop 5.0, the latest version of Android, will be able to interface with the system after being plugged into the car's USB port. The Google Now cards you're familiar with on the phone will appear on the infotainment screen, and from there you're in a mobile Android world. A report in Edmunds says that Whatsapp will be an option from the start, and nifty Google tricks like "contextual search via voice control" respond to queries based on what's being discussed. Although Bloomberg recently did a video examining the Google vs. Apple question, your choice won't be binary; in Hyundais, at least, both systems will be fitted, plugging a phone in will decide which one comes up on screen. We don't know when we'll see it dealerships, but the video will give you a glimpse into your Android future.

John Krafcik eyes Sonata, talks about his new role

As hundreds of people gathered to watch the unveiling of the 2015 Hyundai Sonata at the New York Auto Show on Wednesday, John Krafcik, a driving force behind the new vehicle, found himself in a peculiar position.
He stood far away from the car, away from the crowd. He watched from the Nissan stand as the covers were pulled off the Sonata.
If it was an awkward moment for Krafcik, whose tenure as Hyundai's chief executive officer ended on January 1, he didn't show it. He offered effusive praise of the Sonata. "It's a beautiful car," he said. "I think it's wonderful."

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.