2014 Hyundai Sonata Gls on 2040-cars

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Is Hyundai's conservative new Sonata struggling out of the gate?

"But so far, Sonata sales are up compared with last year even while we're still ramping up to full speed," - Jim Trainor
According to Reuters, the redesigned-for-2015 Hyundai Sonata is not enjoying the same degree of success in the early going as the previous sixth-gen model, which proved to be one of the most important models in the company's history and ushered in the company's so-called "Fluidic Sculpture" design language that we still see today. Citing a recent review from The New York Times that called the car's more conservative styling "bland" and "boring," Reuters also points to analysts who claim the higher price of the new Sonata, as well as smaller rebates and incentives, are hurting sales. Honda and Toyota both offered anywhere from $600 to $800 more on the hoods of their Accord and Camry sedans last month.

Hyundai shows Walking Dead Veloster Zombie Survival Machine at Comic-Con

The Walking Dead, the hit zombie apocalypse show on AMC, has enjoyed a marketing tie-in with Hyundai for two seasons now. If you've watched the show, you'd no doubt seen Rick Grimes, his sociopath-in-training son Carl and emerging hero Glenn Rhee avoiding the dead behind the wheel of a light-green Hyundai Tucson. That relationship expanded beyond the show when Hyundai brought an Elantra Coupe-based Zombie Survival Machine to last year's San Diego Comic-Con.
For this year's Comic-Con, the new Zombie Survival Machine is just a touch faster, funkier and deadlier. Based on a Hyundai Veloster Turbo and built by Galpin Auto Sports to decapitate as many Walkers as possible, this four-door hatch has been heavily modified. The headlights, taillights and windows are all protected with a combination of wrought iron and chainlink fencing. There's also plenty of armor on the body panels.
Passive zombie killing features abound, like the "horde plow" on the front bumper and sawblade grille. But by and large, the majority of the Veloster Turbo Zombie Survival Machine's offensive power comes from a combination of firearms and chainsaws. A .50-caliber machine gun is mounted on the roof, along with a pair of assault rifles on the hood. Each door features blades along the base and a machine gun. Melee weapons can be found in the back, including a spiked baseball bat or katana.

Toyota tops Consumer Reports best, worst used car values

We often mock Toyota for building boring, soulless cars, but a new study by Consumer Reports suggests that regardless of whether that's true, the company has some of the best used cars on the market. In its report on used cars from 2004-2013, the Japanese automaker had 11 vehicles among its brands on the list - more than any other automaker.
CR breaks the list down by cost and vehicle size, and Toyota has at least one entry at every price point and in nearly every segment. To score a recommendation, a vehicle had to perform well in the magazine's initial tests and score above-average reliability results. It also tried to only suggest cars with electronic stability control. Of the 28 recommended vehicles, Honda/Acura had the second most mentions at six, and Ford, Hyundai and Subaru managed two each.
The Detroit brands also made it to the list, but not in a positive way. Consumer Reports compiled a list of 22 vehicles it wouldn't recommend because "they have multiple years of much-worse-than-average overall reliability." General Motors had the most unrecommended models on the list at six, but Chrysler and Ford weren't far behind, with five cars each from their brands not making the grade. The full list of recommendations is available on CR's website.