2014 Hyundai Veloster Turbo on 2040-cars

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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.

Hyundai twin-charged 1.8L GDCI gas engine expected to be more efficient than 2.0L diesel

Despite the growing trend of automakers offering diesel-powered or electrified powertrains, there's still a whole lot that can be done with the good-old gasoline internal combustion engine. And at Hyundai, that's exactly what's being worked on - new gasoline engine technologies that improve both performance and efficiency. During an event at the automaker's technical center in Superior Township, MI on Friday, Hyundai gave Autoblog a glimpse into the future, offering up preliminary details on its new GDCI (Gasoline Direct-Injection Compression) engine - something that will be heading to production soon.
Hyundai's main goal with this GDCI engine is to "achieve diesel levels of fuel efficiency with conventional gasoline," according to Nayan Engineer (yes, his last name is Engineer), one of Hyundai's powertrain gurus. What's more, Engineer says the GDCI engine will offer "equal to better performance than conventional gasoline engines" and will have a "lower system cost [than] diesel engines."
Hyundai expects a 1.8-liter GDCI engine to be more efficient than a comparable 2.0-liter diesel engine with similar performance.

Hyundai-Kia forecasts slowest sales growth in 8 years

Even with the arrival of the new Hyundai Genesis Sedan (above) and the expected introduction of at least two other new vehicles in 2014, Hyundai-Kia is estimating its sales will only increase by about 4.1 percent this year. Bloomberg has found that figure, which works out to a total of 7.86 million vehicles worldwide, to be lower than average analyst estimates of eight million vehicles. If the automaker is correct, that figure will represent the most sluggish growth for the Korean brands since 2006.
Based on an exchange rate of 1,050 won to the dollar - right now it's trading at anywhere from 1,050 to 1,052 depending on where you look - Hyundai is predicting a 3.8-percent uptick for sales of 4.9 million units, while Kia is expecting a 4.7-percent uptick for sales of 2.96 million units. That exchange rate is predicted to be part of what will hamper sales this year, with a stronger South Korean won making Japanese cars more price-competitive when cross-shopped. It's unclear how Hyundai derived its exchange rate, but 1,050 won to the dollar almost matches the 52-week high for all of 2013.
The company chairman mentioned a "low growth era" in the world economy, and weaker US sales are rumored to at least part of the reason John Krafcik recently vacated the post of Hyundai Motor America CEO, a post that has been filled by executive vice president of sales, David Zuchowski. That unexpected news capped a year in which two top execs resigned over quality issues and recalls and Hyundai agreed to settle a consolidated lawsuit over inflated fuel economy ratings for $395 million.