2014 Hyundai Elantra Limited on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Autoblog Minute: Toyota factories closed after explosions in China

Fallout from explosions at the port city of Tianjin halt Toyota production in two of its nearby Chinese factories. Autoblog's Adam Morath reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] Fallout from explosions at the port of Tianjin halt Toyota production in two of its Northern Chinese plants. I'm Adam Morath and this is your Autoblog Minute. Two of Toyota's plants are closed following the deadly explosions that hit the busy port city of Tianjin, China. The Associated Press reports over 100 people dead, hundreds injured and many still missing. According to the Japanese automaker 50 Toyota employees were injured in last weeks [00:00:30] event and they plan to shut down production in their Chinese plants until Wednesday. Various automakers were also affected, including Renault and Hyundai who claim a significant loss of vehicles. As the Chinese government works to investigate the cause and fallout of this tragedy our thoughts are with the victims and their families. For Autoblog, I'm Adam Morath. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals.

Hyundai, Los Angeles Times and Consumer Reports in fuel economy skirmish?

On Wednesday, Consumer Reports issued a story taking umbrage with the auto industry's move toward smaller, turbocharged engines, noting its own testing revealed that many such powerplants fail to deliver their promised fuel economy numbers. The story covered a variety of domestic and foreign automakers, with Ford and Chevrolet featuring prominently in the discussion. Hyundai was also mentioned for its Sonata Turbo, but the Korean automaker's family sedan came within one observed mile per gallon of its EPA ratings in CR's test, and its normally aspirated 2.4-liter counterpart actually beat its combined EPA ratings, 27 mpg to 26.
Good news for Hyundai, right? The automaker was so pleased with its report card that it sent out a small statement to a handful of news outlets including Autoblog, reading in part:
"We at Hyundai believe that Consumer Reports real-world average fuel economy testing results and EPA combined fuel economy results should correlate, and in fact do correlate nicely for some brands. Among all brands, Hyundai does particularly well in this correlation, with no high-volume brand having a better correlation between EPA combined and Consumer Reports real-world fuel economy."

No N performance models for Genesis, but Hyundai might get a Tucson N

Although Hyundai still hasn't fully revealed its first N product, the i30 N that we will see with an Elantra badge, the company is apparently hard at work at various N-branded follow-ups. The head of the N performance division, Albert Biermann, spoke with Australia's Drive, and revealed some unexpected details about the future of the division. Among the surprises was the revelation that there are no plans for Genesis N models. This is a bit of a shock considering that just last year, Biermann told us that there was a five-year plan in place for N products, and that Genesis vehicles were part of that plan. Among the vehicles that are coming, Biermann said the division is developing a B-segment vehicle and an SUV. The B-segment car is likely the European i20 hatchback. Hyundai uses the i20 for World Rally Championship, so it would only make sense to capitalize on that association. As for the SUV, Drive believes it is the Tucson, since Biermann mentioned the little crossover quite a bit when speaking to the publication. The Tucson would also be the most logical candidate for an N variant, since it's currently the smallest crossover in the Hyundai line-up. As such, it should be the easiest to make sporty, since it's inherently lighter and more maneuverable than other crossovers in the lineup. Biermann also seemingly revealed that the next N-badged car after the i30 N hatchback will be a "fastback" version of the same car, which Drive describes as a coupe. We don't expect this to be a traditional compact coupe, though. Last year, AutoEvolution reported that Hyundai would release a coupe-like five-door version of the i30 in the vein of the Audi A7 and A5 Sportbacks. This also seems more likely than a traditional coupe since Hyundai ceded the segment to the Civic with the death of the previous Elantra coupe in 2015, and its Kia Forte Koup cousin this year. Related Video: