2012 Hyundai Sonata Gls on 2040-cars

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Genesis designer Luc Donckerwolke talks new sedan, 'post-SUV' phase

Luc Donckerwolke's office at the Hyundai Research and Design center outside of Seoul looks like an Apple store, all polished concrete, metal and glass and a Miesian lack of ornamentation. This makes sense in an environment in which Donckerwolke, as head of design for the Hyundai and Genesis brands, is attempting to privilege transparency: enhancing communication and accessibility. "We have to break this kind of castle syndrome that the designers are in," Donckerwolke says. "It's all about opening up." This undermining of Korea's traditional orchestrated, hierarchical and executory structure is part of what has allowed Donckerwolke to create widely admired concepts such as the GV80 SUV and Essentia electric GT in just more than two years since he arrived from the VW Group leading design at Bentley, Lamborghini and Audi. And also to design the all-new G70 sport sedan that will be introduced to the U.S. market later this summer. We drove the G70 just before arriving for an exclusive one-on-one at Donckerwolke's R&D office, the first American journalists to visit. Although our time behind the wheel was brief, and we drove only the top-of-the-line, 365-horsepower, twin-turbocharged V6 version, we were impressed with the acceleration, the balance and the material quality. We also noted that the G70 is very good looking, with a distinctive, muscular and aggressive mien that feels true to the company's mission to be at once "Audacious, Progressive and Distinctly Korean." Like much of what we saw and experienced in contemporary Seoul, the car hosts a unique blend of influences from America, Europe and Asia while offering a harmony of line and a grounded sense of self that seems endemic to the peninsula. This global-but-flavored template is intentional. "We are not going to do Korean cartoons on wheels," Donckerwolke says. "We're not going to become a patriotic Korean movement. It's only about the essence of the Korean culture that we are using as an inspiration." One thing we could not help but notice is that the G70 is a sedan, joining a pair of older, Hyundai-based sedans, the G80 and G90, to complete the Genesis lineup. This feels somewhat inauspicious in the moment, especially for the American market where two-thirds of new-vehicle purchases are trucks and SUVs. "As you probably have seen when you've been driving around, sedans are extremely demanded here in Korea. And, you know, we have a huge market penetration here.

Hyundai-Kia dealer offers $180k in gift cards to local residents

In many smaller communities, auto dealers are often major players in the local business and political world, and they interact with large portions of the population. Now, Grand West Hyundai and Grand West Kia in Grand Junction, CO, are putting their marketing dollars to work in a way to help the local economy, while also potentially generating some sales at the same time. Over the next six months, the dealers are contacting about 8,000 previous customers and offering them a gift card worth at least $50 to over 100 of the city's shops and restaurants (pictured above), according to Automotive News. All people need to do to receive the certificate is stop by the showrooms. Hopefully, the visitors would check out a new Hyundai or Kia at the same time. "We'd love to sell them a new car, but it is really a customer-appreciation gesture," said Ken Reeher, the dealers' marketing manager, to Automotive News. The two stores already bought about 3,600 cards with $181,000 going into the local economy. Paying people to come to the showroom isn't really new but generally works well. The Colorado dealers expect around half of the people they contact to visit for the gift card, which is still significantly more foot traffic than from traditional mailings. The decision to keep the cards local also means more money goes to small businesses, and the move gains goodwill in the community, too. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Aaron Hoffman Marketing/Advertising Hyundai Kia Car Buying Car Dealers colorado

Hyundai recalling 140k Sonatas over seatbelts

Hyundai is recalling about 140,000 examples of the 2015 Sonata in North America to repair a problem with the front passenger seatbelt not latching. Specifically, the problem affects 129,000 of the sedans in the US and 10,401 in Canada. On these models, if the seatbelt tongue is forcibly inserted into the buckle at a certain angle, then it can jam and not latch. Only the front passenger side is affected, and driver would be notified because a warning light would illuminate on the dashboard. The safety campaign covers 2015 Sonatas with production dates between April 25 and December 4, 2014, according to a statement to Autoblog from Hyundai, but there are no reports of injuries from this issue. Owners will receive notification by mail in about a month. To fix the problem, dealers will inspect the part and repair or replace it as necessary. Hyundai has already notified NHTSA about the recall, but the campaign hasn't been added to the agency's website yet. Transport Canada has already posted some information about it, though. Related Video: Hyundai Statement: We recently notified NHTSA of a safety recall we are initiating in the U.S. to repair or replace the front passenger seat belt buckle in approximately 129,000 2015 Sonatas that were built beginning April 25, 2014 through December 4, 2014. We are initiating this action to ensure the safety and quality of the vehicles and the continued satisfaction of our customers. In some cases, if the front passenger seat belt "tongue" is inserted into the buckle forcibly at an angle, the buckle may jam, preventing the front passenger from fastening the seat belt. The front passenger's seat belt warning lamp will illuminate if the front passenger seat belt is not buckled while the seat is occupied. This condition does not result in partial latching of the belt and does not affect the driver or rear passenger seat belt buckles. There are no reports of injuries attributed to this condition.