2002 Hyundai Sonata on 2040-cars

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Autoblog Minute: VW finds CO2 'irregularities', Takata dropped by automakers, SEMA recap

Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal gets a new wrinkle, US regulators hit Takata Corporation with a substantial fine, and we head to Las Vegas for a look at tuner paradise at the 2015 SEMA show. Autoblog senior editor Greg Migliore reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal gets a new wrinkle. US regulators issue a significant fine to Takata Corporation. And we take a peek inside tuner paradise at the 2015 SEMA show. I'm senior editor Greg Migliore and this is your Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. The VW diesel emissions scandal, first brought to light in September, gets a new wrinkle, as an internal investigation by the German automaker revealed [00:00:30] irregularities in CO2 emissions that could affect approximately 800,000 vehicles. VW estimates the issue could pose a 2-billion euro economic risk. VW claims that most of the vehicles affected have diesel engines, but industry analysts say a 1.4-liter gas engine is also affected. VW says that fuel consumption figures were set too low during the CO2 certification process. During all of this, sales of some diesel-powered Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche models [00:01:00] have been halted. Takata Corporation is back in the news in connection with its deadly airbag scandal. Federal regulators fined Takata $70 million. If the parts supplier does not comply, the fine could balloon to $200 million. Takata was also dropped this week by its biggest customer, Honda. And now, Toyota and Mazda will be following Honda's lead in dropping Takata. We're also hearing that Mitsubishi and Subaru are considering a switch in air-bag inflator suppliers. SEMA 2015 [00:01:30] came and went. We saw offerings from Mopar, like the AWD Challenger concept. Honda unveiled a Ridgeline that it will race at the Baja 1000, which gives us a hint at what future production model could look like. The celebrity presence was also felt in Vegas as it always is. Kid Rock brought a Duramax Diesel Chevy Silverado, and Acura restored and presented Ludacris with his now famous 1993 Acura Legend. Those are the highlights from the week that was. Be sure to come back on Saturday for my full recap, [00:02:00] where I'll have some added insight into Hyundai's foray into the luxury sector. For Autoblog, I'm Greg Migliore. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive.

Hyundai, Kia want to improve fuel economy by 25 percent

Hyundai and sister company Kia are giving themselves a little bit of time to make up a lot of ground in the fight for better fuel economy. We wonder if a recent multi-million fine might have something to do with this public target. The connected South Korean companies are vowing to increase their fleetwide fuel economy by 25 percent by 2020, Reuters reports. This will be done by further advancing their powertrains, looking at other ways to reduce weight, upgrading diesel engines and improving transmissions. That will all take money, but Kia and Hyundai will have $300 million less to invest thanks to a recent fine of more than $300 million from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Justice and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for incorrect fuel economy numbers on around 1.2 million vehicles from the 2011-2013 model years. The civil penalties – $100 million of the total – are the largest in EPA history. In late 2012, Hyundai and Kia admitted to overstating the fuel economy of a number of models and said they'd change the official MPG figures and compensate owners. Hyundai spokesman Chris Hosford confirmed to AutoblogGreen that the company set the dramatic fuel-economy improvement targets. In the US, where Hyundai and Kia are operated as separate entities, Hyundai "remains committed to meeting the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) requirements that have been set out by the US government," Hosford said The EPA recently released a report on fuel-economy and put Hyundai fourth in overall fleetwide fuel economy in the US among vehicle makers for the 2014 model year. The top three were Mazda, Honda and Subaru.

Hyundai readying 708-hp Sonata for SEMA

For the past two years at the SEMA show, the folks at Bisimoto Engineering have taken one of Hyundai's models and tuned it up to levels of power previously unimaginable. It started in 2012 with a 600-horsepower Elantra GT, and they outdid themselves last year with a 1,000-hp Genesis Coupe. This year Bisimoto's tuners are teasing their latest wild creation by starting with a normal 2015 Sonata and turning the wick up to 708 hp thanks to a long list of engine mods. The key in this massive injection of power is taking the regular 2.4-liter Theta-II four-cylinder engine and doing everything necessary so that it can actually withstand so much additional strain. That means introducing forged pistons and connecting rods and an improved valvetrain with new cams, plus a high-boost turbocharger to really up the ante. It's all then mated to a six-speed manual to get things rolling. "After hundreds of hours of testing, failure analysis and prototyping, 18 new products will be engineered and produced in house to produce 708 horsepower from the Sonata," said Bisi Ezerioha, owner of Bisimoto Engineering in Hyundai's release. While it might be pretty cool to find a 708-hp Sonata that looked completely stock at first glance, this is for the SEMA show after all, and it's all about showing off there. So in addition to the huge increase in horsepower, the Hyundai gets a complete aero upgrade, a coil-over suspension and a roll cage inside, in addition to other improvements. At the moment, only the rear of the car is being teased ahead of the November 4 reveal. Until we get to see more, scroll down to read Bisimoto's entire parts list to turn Sonata from a commuter into a racer. HYUNDAI PARTNERS WITH BISIMOTO FOR A THIRD YEAR TO CREATE 708 HORSEPOWER FLEX-FUEL 2015 SONATA 22/09/14 Bisimoto Engineering Focuses on Strengthening and Reliability to Create Most-Powerful Sonata Ever FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Sept. 22, 2014 – For the third year in a row, Hyundai is partnering with the powertrain gurus at Bisimoto Engineering, this time to create a 708 horsepower Sonata for the 2014 SEMA show in Las Vegas. Bisimoto's team specializes in extracting huge output from Hyundai's engines, like the 1000 horsepower Bisimoto Genesis Coupe that was built for last year's SEMA show. For this year's show, the team is using Hyundai's 2.4-liter "Theta-II" 4-cylinder engine as the starting point for their build.