2021 Hyundai Venue Sel on 2040-cars

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Buick Regal, Hyundai Sonata

Toyota is ramping up production of an all-new 2018 Camry and spending over $1 billion – with a "b" – at its Georgetown, Ky., plant. That investment speaks to the popularity of midsize sedans, despite sales inroads made by crossovers. While Accord and Camry are givens in the segment, less attention is paid to Buick's Regal and Hyundai's Sonata. And if shopping for a midsize sedan with a $30,000 budget, you should pay attention. Both offer a compelling combination of attributes and can be well equipped for that price point. Finally, both are due for either a major redesign (Regal) or aggressive freshening (Sonata) in the 2018 model year. Both Buick and Hyundai will be offering incentives 2017s, but Hyundai's program is more aggressive, with up to $6,000 in savings (as this is written). BUICK REGAL: For those seeking exclusivity at well below an "exclusive" price, there is the Regal. Designed by GM's Opel as the Insignia, the version sold stateside keeps most of its Eurocentric nature. It doesn't pretend to be an Audi or BMW, but it provides something more German than Volkswagen's Germany-by-way-of-Tennessee Passat. A Regal, in all-wheel-drive 'Regal' trim, supplies you with a turbocharged 2.0 liter and 6-speed automatic transmission. Its 259 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque propel the 3,600-pound Regal with authority and respectable efficiency. Despite its relatively low curb weight, the Regal feels substantial, with a heavy feel behind the wheel and a quiet authority going down the road. Inside, you'll find an interesting mix of Old World and New Detroit, with informative gauges, a center stack that dominates the instrument panel, supportive buckets up front and a reasonably spacious rear seat. The Regal's interior volume is respectable (97 cubic feet inside, while the trunk has 14 cubic feet), but this remains a better environment for young families or empty nesters. Those with a lot of kids or stuff should shop Buick's about-to-be-redesigned Enclave or midsize Envision. For the 2017 model year, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto have been added. The Driver Confidence 1 package (optional) includes Forward Collision Alert, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Change Alert, Side Blind Zone Alert, Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, Following Distance Indicator and memory seats. Driver Confidence 2 has Collision Preparation with Collision Mitigation Braking and Full Speed Range Adaptive Cruise Control. It's all good stuff.

Hyundai-Kia claims 'greenest' title from Honda, Big Three still big losers

Let's start with the good news. On average, any new car you buy in the US today will be 43 percent cleaner than any average new car in 1998. Here's some more good news, for Korea anyway, Hyundai-Kia has been named the cleanest automaker in the latest study by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), which looked at 2013 model year vehicles sold between October 2012 and September 2013 from the top eight automakers (by volume). The bad news? The big three Detroit automakers are, on average, still making the dirtiest cars in the showroom. The big three Detroit automakers are, on average, still making the dirtiest cars in the showroom. The problem for Ford, General Motors and Chrysler lies in their trucks, which sell well but tend to have pretty bad fuel economy (compared to sedans, at least). The UCS calculates its list by averaging "the per-mile emissions for each light-duty vehicle sold by each automaker" and then factors in "the fuel economy, fuel type, and sales volume of each type of vehicle sold by each automaker" and "the upstream global warming emissions from producing and distributing the fuel used by each vehicle, as well as emissions from the vehicles themselves." That all means that, the more trucks you sell, the worse you're gonna do. Then again, the more trucks you sell with 18 mpg, the more you're helping drivers put CO2 into the air, so the UCS is doing a fair comparison of the things that this study is trying to track. More details on the methodology are available on page six of the study PDF. In case you were wondering (we were), UCS did make sure to use the revised mpg numbers for Hyundai and Kia models that were originally overstated. Hyundai has apologized for and fixed those figures and even with the new, corrected numbers, Hyundai's total emissions are dropping at a rate of about three percent a year, enough for it to take the greenest company title for the first time. In fact, this is the first time that an automaker other than Honda has come out on top in the UCS ranking, which has been released six times now, including the first one in 2000 (which looked at 1998 model year data). In 2010, Honda was almost knocked off the winner's perch by both Hyundai and Toyota, but managed to hold on. Chrysler, on the other hand, came in dead last (again) in the ranking of the top eight automakers, snagging the "dirtiest tailpipe" award once (again). Read the UCS' press release below.

Genesis bringing an EV concept and G90 to New York Auto Show

It's official, the entire Hyundai Group has plans for the New York Auto Show. During the Hyundai Sonata press launch in South Korea, design head Luc Donckerwolke told Roadshow "You'll have an electric show car for Genesis." This year will be the charm for Genesis and EVs, after showing the GV80 SUV concept and its hydrogen fuel cell powertrain in 2017, and the electric Essentia coupe concept last year. We will also see the production version of the U.S. market Genesis G90 and its mongo grille. The premium brand's debuts will join the new Sonata sedan and Venue crossover, and an as-yet-unnamed Kia show car expected to be our version of the SP Signature concept potentially called Tusker. Hyundai-Kia isn't getting its electric razzle dazzle ready for New York alone. Auto Express reports the group is working on a new electric car platform to serve the carmaker the same way Volkswagen's MEB architecture serves the German group's brands. At the moment, the only four EVs in the South Korean automaker's range are the Hyundai Kona and Ioniq, and the Kia e-Niro and Soul. They are all built on ICE platforms, the Kona and e-Niro still proving popular enough for this year's planned UK-market production to sell out already. According to a "company insider," the dedicated EV platform is around two years away and will focus on B- and C-segment cars. That's the same year that Genesis is expected to have its EV ready, but unless the luxury arm has plans to dip its grille into C-segment waters, Genesis likely has other EV platform plans. By 2025, Hyundai and Kia have said they'll have 14 EVs in the combined lineup as part of 38 electrified offerings. Whatever's on the way could prove far more radical than today's offerings. Donckerwolke told Auto Express that in order to attract the future EV buyers that aren't necessarily car people, "[You] have to ask whether you want science fiction or whether you want to conform. We can create something that doesn't appeal to someone in the traditional sense." If the head designer gets his way, 3D-printing will help whip up those attractions. Last year's Essentia concept showed off 3D-printed carbon fiber ornament, but the potential goes much further.