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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.

Hyundai expanding US plant capacity for SUV production

With cheap gasoline still driving CUV and SUV sales, three anonymous sources are reporting to Automotive News that Hyundai is looking to expand production at its Montgomery, AL factory with an eye towards production of high-riders. The Montgomery factory is currently responsible for Elantra and Sonata production, although as both sedans have faced slagging sales, Hyundai is seemingly taking a second look at its production priorities. "It's a new assembly line right next to the current Alabama line. State of Alabama is negotiating final terms," one of the sources told AN. The other two sources, meanwhile, indicated that while the company has been mulling expanded production in America, a final decision hadn't been made yet. As for what vehicle could join the Elantra and Sonata on a new line in Alabama, Korea Investment and Securities auto analyst Suh Sung-moon told AN the Santa Fe could move from its current home at the Kia facility in Georgia, although the Montgomery factory could also accommodate production of the compact Tucson (it's unclear if Suh was referencing the next-generation Tucson that debuted in Geneva or the current model) or even a pickup truck, were Hyundai to go such a route. Meanwhile, AN reports that Korea's Yonhap News Agency expects the Montgomery facility to be able to produce 300,000 vehicles, including an SUV, by 2017. While Hyundai declined Automotive News's inquiries, we have our ear to the ground for any official information from the South Korean marque.

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.