2014 Hyundai Sonata Se on 2040-cars

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South Korea firms up fuel economy regs following Hyundai/Kia debacle

According to a report from Reuters, South Korea's government has drafted strict new rules for automakers to follow when calculating fuel economy. The legislation comes after a major snafu by Hyundai and Kia that resulted in the automakers lowering the estimated fuel mileage of many popular models - some by several miles per gallon, including the Soul subcompact above - and compensating owners in the US and Canada for the reduction.
The new fuel economy rules were announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in South Korea and will see average mileage ratings drop by roughly three to five percent, according to the report. In addition, manufacturers found guilty of overstating mileage figures will be liable for fines of up to $900,000.
These sweeping new regulations will go into effect in the second half of 2013 and, while they won't have any effect on EPA estimates for Hyundai and Kia vehicles in the United States, they are expected to result in new ratings for the two automakers in their home market of South Korea, where they enjoy a whopping 70-percent market share.

BMW tops Consumer Reports 2023 Brand Report Card

Feels like we wrote about Consumer Reports' 2022 Brand Report Car and 10 Top Picks a few weeks ago, but it was last April. So the mag is back with a ranked roster of 32 brands and 10 vehicles in four categories for your debating pleasure. Starting with the brands, last year's top three were Subaru, Mazda and BMW. This year, the Munich crew climbed two spots to win the prize thanks to "Superb road test scores and solid results in CR’s reliability and owner satisfaction surveys." Subaru narrowly fell to second, maintaining its four-year run in the top three. Mini, eighth last year, jumped five spots to get the last step on the podium. The rest of the top 10 were Lexus (up one spot from last year), Honda (down one spot from last year), Toyota (up three), Genesis (up 12), Mazda (down six), Audi (down three) and Kia (up eight). The magazine and testing outfit says its Brand Report Card "[reveals] which automakers are producing the most well-performing, safe, and reliable vehicles based on CRÂ’s independent testing and member surveys," and that "Brands that rise to the top tend to have the most consistent performance across their model lineups." Last year's top 10 had six automakers from Japan, three from Germany (giving Mini credit for England), none from the U.S. or South Korea, and five luxury brands. This year's list counts five makes from Japan, two from Germany because Porsche fell out of the top ten, two from South Korea, still none from the U.S., and four luxury brands. Buick again ranked as the best domestic, dropping to 12th after being 11th last year. The big mover was Lincoln, its 10-place jump up to 16th attributed to better reliability from the Corsair and Nautilus. Tesla's improved overall reliability saw it climb six spots to 17th. Dodge climbed one spot to 15th. Jeep got out of the penalty box in last to come second-to-last. Land Rover fell three places into the penalty spot.  CR's top 10 vehicle models The 10 Top Picks list is practically a new list. Only two holdovers made it to 2023, those being the Subaru Forester and Kia Telluride.

Hyundai reveals new Creta crossover in India

It's been less than a month since Hyundai told us to start anticipating the arrival of the new Creta, and even less time since it released the first teaser sketch. Now the Korean automaker has taken the wraps off the finished product. Unveiled over the weekend in India, the new Hyundai Creta applies the company's latest design language to a smaller crossover form. Full details have still yet to be released, but those body panels are laid over a structure the manufacturer calls Hive. It makes use of a high proportion of high-strength steel to keep the chassis rigid yet lightweight. Powertrain options – for the Indian market anyway – include a 1.6-liter four with 121 horsepower or a choice of diesels with as much as 126 hp. Hardly earth-shattering stuff, but short of more potent turbocharged offerings, those engines ought to make it perfectly competitive with the company it intends to keep. Relative output and fuel choices aside, the engines channel their power through a six-speed manual or automatic transmission, though there's no mention as of yet of the availability of all-wheel drive. We'll have to wait for a release with a wider purview to find out more. At this point Hyundai isn't showing us around the interior, either, but you can scope out what images have been released thus far in the slideshow above. It'll be a while longer before anyone can determine whether it'll prove a worthwhile competitor to the likes of the Nissan Juke, Jeep Renegade, and Honda HR-V, to name just a few likely rivals. With fellow Korean automaker SsangYong eager to make its mark with the similarly compact Tivoli as well, the Creta will have quite a fight on its hands. Hyundai Showcases the Global SUV- CRETA No. 1512015-06-278 hit • Strong structural strength with adoption of Hive body structure • Stable & confident ride & handling for ultimate driving experience • Powerful engine options with first in segment Diesel Automatic Transmission Chennai, 27 June 2015- Hyundai Motor India Ltd, the country's leading premium car manufacturer and the largest passenger car exporter today, unveiled India's most awaited stylish, powerful and dynamic SUV - 'CRETA'. The CRETA marks Hyundai's entry in growing SUV segment with strong product offering boosting Hyundai's product line up to a robust 10 product portfolio.