2007 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited on 2040-cars

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Auto sales in March and first quarter down nearly across the board

Nearly every major automaker reported weak U.S. sales for March and the first quarter of 2019, citing a rough start to the year, but said a robust economy and strong labor market should encourage consumers to buy more vehicles as 2019 rolls on. GM, which no longer releases monthly sales figures, saw first-quarter sales fall 7 percent, with declines across all brands. Sales of Silverado pickup trucks fell nearly 16 percent and the high-margin Chevy Suburban large SUV dropped 25 percent. Ford also no longer releases monthly sales numbers, but is due to release its first-quarter sales figures on Thursday. According to industry data, Ford's sales fell 2 percent in the quarter and 5 percent in March. Ford representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. FCA reported a 7 percent fall in U.S. sales in March and a 3 percent drop for the first quarter. All of FCA's brands dropped in March, except for Ram, which saw a 15 percent increase in pickup truck sales. "The industry had a tough first quarter, but with spring finally starting to show its face and continued strong economic indicators ... we are confident that new vehicle sales demand will strengthen going forward," FCA's U.S. head of sales, Reid Bigland, said in a statement. Toyota reported a 3.5 percent fall in U.S. sales in March and 5 percent for the first quarter, hurt by declining demand for its Corolla sedans and Camry vehicles. "While some of our competitors are abandoning sedans, we remain optimistic about the future of the segment," Toyota said in a statement. Nissan posted a 5.3 percent drop in sales in March, and its first-quarter sales were down 11.6 percent. Honda and Hyundai bucked the trend. Honda's U.S. sales rose 4.3 percent in March and 2 percent in the quarter, while Hyundai's were up 1.7 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively. Passenger-car sales suffered throughout the January-March quarter compared with the same period in 2018 as Americans continued to abandon them in favor of larger, more comfortable pickup trucks and SUVs, which are far more profitable for automakers. The battle for market share in the particularly lucrative large-pickup truck market intensified in the quarter, as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Ram brand outsold the U.S.' No. 1 automaker General Motors' Chevrolet-brand trucks. The two automakers have both launched redesigned pickup trucks.

Does this Hyundai Intrado concept preview the next Tucson?

The second generation of Hyundai's Fluidic Sculpture design language has arrived a bit early, thanks to these leaked images of the Korean automaker's Intrado Concept. Set to make its big debut at next month's Geneva Motor Show, the three-door crossover is based on a next-generation version of the hydrogen powertrain used in Europe's ix35 Fuel Cell (that'd be a hydrogen Tucson, for anyone who's wondering).
We can see some 2015 Genesis Sedan in the grille, but the sharp, narrow LED headlights are something different. The c-shaped LED taillights also look good, although we're less sure about the odd fairings around the wheel wells. Overall, it's not a terrible design in our minds, but it probably won't be the pretties vehicle to debut in Geneva.
But instead of focusing on the design, let's talk about what impact the Intrado may have on Hyundai. Aside from the hydrogen powertrain, it seems as if the Intrado's design is too conservative to be a pure concept. Instead, and as you may have guessed from our headline, we're thinking this could be a preview of the next-generation Tucson. Considering the Tucson and its cousin the ix35 are the oldest vehicles in Hyundai's lineup (not counting the Sonata, which is getting replaced at the New York show) and it's a vehicle sold worldwide, previewing its replacement on a stage as big as Geneva doesn't strike us as a bad idea.

Google poised to release Apple CarPlay rival this month

Apple and Google. They're the Michigan and Ohio State of the tech world. They're New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, Real Madrid and Barcelona, or whatever sports-based rivalry you want to cook up. Bottom line, if one company expands into a segment, it's only a matter of time before the other follows suit. And now, that rivalry is about to carry over to your car's dashboard.
Unnamed sources are reporting to Automotive News that Google will unveil its very own challenger to Apple's new CarPlay in-car operating system later this month at the Mountain View, CA company's annual developer conference. The system, allegedly called Google Auto Link, will be the first product to come from the Open Automotive Alliance, a partnership between Google, General Motors, Hyundai, Audi, Honda and hardware manufacturer NVIDIA.
The official announcement is expected to be made on either June 25 or 26, at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco. Expect to hear a lot more about Google Auto Link then.