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Hyundai, Kia, Genesis and Subaru clean up in IIHS 2018 safety ratings

Hyundai, its partner Kia and its Genesis division are the big winners in the latest vehicle safety ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, accounting for six of the 15 models that earned the Top Safety Pick+ awards for 2018. Subaru was right behind with four, Mercedes-Benz had two, and Toyota, BMW and Ford each had one. Another 47 vehicles earned the Top Safety Pick designation, where Toyota had 10 vehicle models, with Hyundai recognized for nine models. All but one of the seven vehicles in Subaru's lineup, the BRZ, qualified for one of the awards. IIHS strengthened the criteria for the Top Safety Pick+ award for 2018 to require headlights to earn a "good" rating — an "acceptable" rating was previously enough to notch the "plus" award — and good or acceptable passenger-side protection in the small overlap front crash, which replicates a crash involving just the front corner of a vehicle. It also required vehicles to have acceptable or good headlights for the first time to earn a Top Safety Pick award. Most of winners for both awards qualified on the basis of optional upgrades. IIHS in October began evaluating the passenger side of vehicles in its small overlap front crash test after it said it became clear that automakers were neglecting that side of the vehicle as they focused on improving driver-side protections. IIHS first began conducting driver-side small overlap crashes in 2012. It began measuring both how well low and high beams illuminated the road and the amount of glare they produce for oncoming vehicles as part of its ratings in 2016. The Top Safety Pick+ winners are listed below. The list doesn't include any minivans, pickups or minicars, which don't appear on either list of awardees. Small cars Kia Forte Kia Soul Subaru Impreza (sedan and wagon) Subaru WRX Midsize cars Subaru Legacy Subaru Outback Toyota Camry Large luxury cars BMW 5 series Genesis G80 Genesis G90 Lincoln Continental Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan Midsize SUVs Hyundai Santa Fe Hyundai Santa Fe Sport Midsize luxury SUV Mercedes-Benz GLC The full list of Top Safety Pick winners is available here.Related Video: Image Credit: IIHS BMW Genesis Hyundai Kia Lincoln Subaru Toyota Safety Crossover SUV Wagon Sedan crash test

2015 Hyundai Tuscon Fuel Cell will lease for $499/month, comes with free hydrogen

If nothing else, Hyundai wants to make it as easy as pie for you to check out its upcoming hydrogen-powered 2015 Tucson Fuel Cell vehicle. Given that the Korean automaker will be the first to offer a mass-produced fuel cell vehicle in the US (sorry, Honda, the FCX Clarity just doesn't cut it for this category) and that the hydrogen-powered Tuscon is coming next spring, there's no time like the present to lower hurdles.
Here's how Hyundai is trying to remove your worries. First, if you want to have an extended test drive, you can go rent a fuel cell Tuscon at participating Enterprise locations, starting next spring. Nothing was said about buying one of these SUVs outright, but after putting $2,999 down, you will be able to lease the H2 Tuscon for $499 a month for 36 months, and that includes "unlimited free hydrogen refueling" and a hydrogen version of the "At Your Service Valet Maintenance." Since there are only ten public hydrogen refueling stations in the US, and nine of them are in California, it makes sense that the Tuscon will be available only in the Golden State, specifically at just four dealerships. Hyundai said in a statement that, "Availability of the Tucson Fuel Cell will expand to other regions of the country consistent with the accelerating deployment of hydrogen refueling stations." In other words, don't hold your breath.
Speaking at the unveiling, Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik praised the hydrogen work that Honda and Toyota are doing here at the show and said, "We think fuel cell technology will increase the adoption rate of zero-emission vehicles, and we'll all share the environmental benefits." In the Tuscon, that means an estimated 300-mile range and a refill time of under 10 minutes along with the instant torque of an electric motor. We'll be most interested to see how that plays out in the marketplace. Feel free to read more in the press release below.

Judge reduces damages in fatal Hyundai crash to $81M

Hyundai no longer has to pay $248 million as part of a court ruling from a fatal accident in Montana that killed two cousins in a 2005 Tiburon. The judge hearing the appeal revised the amount down to a total of about $81 million. She upheld the original $8.1 million in actual damages but reduced the punitive damages to $73 million from the previous $240 million.
According to Bloomberg, the judge refused Hyundai's desire to reduce the amount even further. She said in her court order that the company showed "an indifference to or reckless disregard of the health and safety of the motoring public."
In the original case, the families' attorneys alleged that the cracking of a faulty steering knuckle caused the fatal accident. Hyundai argued that fireworks had been let off inside the vehicle, which caused the driver to swerve and crash. In a statement released after the ruling, the automaker claimed that evidence supporting its defense was barred from the trial. According to Bloomberg, had the original amount of damages been upheld, it would have been the sixth-highest amount awarded by a jury in the US this year.