2009 Hyundai Elantra Se - Red, Excellent Condition on 2040-cars

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Hyundai reveals flying car among other wacky concepts [w/video]

Hyundai has held an IDEA festival for the past three years that gives its engineers a break from seat belts, and electrical harnesses and wheel arch moldings. Each festival serves up a theme for personal mobility, after that there's no limit - competing teams can come up with anything that serves the theme and are encouraged to get creative.
That's how you get concepts like the E4U 'egg car' (pictured); a single-stander mode of transportation that channels Mork from Ork. The oddest thing about the egg is not the yellow shell but the helmet the 'driver' wears. Other ideas included a flying car with 16 (!) rotors, a bicycle that could serve as a spare tire and a car with five joints. Although most appeared totally impractical, all were totally cool.
This year's festival is in the works, the theme being the rather ambiguous "R&D for customers," the point is apparently to come up with concepts that Hyundai customers might actually use. There's a video with scenes of last year's festival and a press release below (our vote goes to the Pandora).

Recharge Wrap-up: Hyundai visually explains fuel cells, BYD T5 electric truck

Are you still unclear about how exactly a hydrogen fuel cell works to power a car? Hyundai is offering a great visual on how its fuel cells operate in cars like the Tucson fuel Cell. Basically, the anode splits the hydrogen molecule into a positive and negative ion. The negative ions are used for electricity, while the positive ions are pushed through a membrane to the cathode, where both ions are combined with oxygen to create the byproduct of water. There's a little more to it than that to make it work in a vehicle, so see for yourself in the infographic below. BYD is launching its T5 electric light truck in China. The truck has a maximum speed of 31 miles per hour, making it mostly suitable for in-city and campus duty. It has a range of almost 250 miles, though, and with its size, the T5 could make a pretty adept delivery truck. The battery is situated under the load bay between the axles, keeping the center of gravity low. Price could be an issue, but government subsidies might help convince some companies to make the switch to BYD's electric truck. See more over at Car News China. The Mahindra Reva e2o electric vehicle will offer a fast charging feature, called Quick2Charge. Normally, the e2o takes five hours to fully charge, but that time gets cut to just one hour with the new option. Choosing the Quick2Charge option adds 45,000 rupees (about $735) to the price of the e2o. The new e2o is supposed to get electric power steering, and, later, a four-door variant. Mahindra Reva is also making an export-only version with Quick2Charge, longer range, electric steering, airbags, and ABS. Read more over at Indian Cars Bikes. The Quebec-Vermont Electric Charging Corridor is set to expand with 14 new charging stations. Melanie Dufresne of the area's tourism board announced that the 240-volt chargers would be installed in Le Haut-Richelieu Regional County Municipality. Drivers will use a special access card to charge at the stations in the region for $2.50. The stations will be installed by the end of the year. To see all the locations and learn more about the announcement, head over to Hybrid Cars.

Hyundai Vision G Coupe Concept debuts ahead of Pebble Beach

This is the Hyundai HCD-16 Vision G Coupe Concept, and it previews the automaker's future upmarket offerings. At an intimate gathering at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Hyundai offered us an early sneak peek of its Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance concept car, one that takes a deliberately scaled-back approach to premium, luxurious design. Peter Schreyer, Hyundai-Kia design chief, says the Vision G reflects "a DNA that balances design and performance with the idea that you don't need to be over the top in terms of glitz and stereotypical luxury cues." The coupe sends a decidedly different message than the last luxury concept that came from Hyundai's California Design center, the HCD-14. While that model was striking – albeit a little gaudy with suicide rear doors and oversized carbon-fiber wheels – the Vision G aims to be understated, despite its grand size and dramatic lines. The end result is an attractive package, with an alluring, sleek style. The HCD-16's design is characterized by a long hood, high beltline, and cabin that presents a "slingshot-like" appearance. Christopher Chapman, head of Hyundai's US design center, says the styling is meant to speak to the owner, rather than "the spectators" that might see the car on the road. Hyundai says the idea of respectful luxury carries through to the interior, where elegant lines and finishes are meant to set the mood, rather than stand out as over-the-top elegance. At the heart of the Vision G Coupe Concept is Hyundai's 5.0-liter Tau V8 – the same engine found in the Equus and Genesis – with 420 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 383 pound-feet of torque at 5,000 rpm. That said, the Vision G solely represents Hyundai's upscale inspiration moving forward. It might seem like good inspiration for a next-generation Genesis Coupe, but that isn't necessarily the case. One particularly neat feature is the "valet door," that opens when the driver approaches, as if by a valet. Perhaps this is something that could work its way into the next-generation Equus as an upscale option? The HCD-16 derives its nomenclature from the studio in which it was designed, with "HCD" being an acronym for Hyundai California Design, and the number 16 representing the 16th concept to come out of that center.