2012 Hyundai Gls on 2040-cars

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Hyundai will invest $35 billion in autonomy and emerging technologies

SEOUL — Hyundai Motor Group said it plans to invest $35 billion (41 trillion won) in mobility and other auto technologies by 2025, part of which will be directed to an ambitious effort to become more competitive in self-driving cars that has also received government backing. The plan, which Hyundai said encompasses autonomous, connected and electric cars as well as technology for ride-sharing, comes after the automaker and two of its affiliates announced an investment of $1.6 billion in a venture with U.S. self-driving tech firm Aptiv. South Korea's government is also onboard, unveiling more funding for autonomous vehicle technology with President Moon Jae-in declaring on Tuesday that he expected self-driving cars to account for half of new cars on the country's roads by 2030. "The self-driving market is a golden market to revitalize the economy and create new jobs," Moon said in a speech at Hyundai Motor's research center near Seoul. The government intends to spend 1.7 trillion won between 2021 and 2027 on self-driving technology. It expects Hyundai to launch level 4, or fully autonomous, cars for fleet customers in 2024 and for the general public by 2027, an industry ministry official told Reuters. But some experts question whether targets set by the government and the automotive group, which also includes Kia Motors, are realistic given the technological and cost challenges and the lack of home-grown technology. In a 45-page report on future automotive technology, the government acknowledged South Korea lags in some key areas necessary for self-driving cars such as artificial intelligence, sensors and logic chips. "Hyundai has to buy technology from someone else because it lacks software technology. Even though it has a lot of cash, this could become a financial burden if its earnings deteriorate," Esther Yim, an analyst at Samsung Securities, said. Other analysts noted that the prospects for self-driving cars are quite murky. General Motors' self-driving unit, Cruise, said in July it was delaying the commercial deployment of cars past its target of 2019 as tech firms and automakers acknowledge it will take more time and money than they had expected to make autonomous vehicles safe for unrestricted use on public roads. South Korea's government said it would prepare a regulatory and legal framework for autonomous cars and the safety questions they pose by 2024.

Amazon Prime will now bring you a Hyundai, but you can't keep it

We already rely on Amazon Prime to bring us necessities like food, clothing, and five-pound Hershey bars, so why not entire cars? Hyundai is going to try that, although only to quickly bring you a car to test-drive. There's no one-click ordering for Elantras yet. The program, called "Prime Now. Drive Now", is an extension of the Prime Now fast delivery service that brings certain items to people in select areas in under two hours. It's available this weekend and next, only to people in Los Angeles and Orange County. Prime members can hop online and schedule a time between 9 am and 7 pm, Saturday or Sunday, and designate a preferred location for the test drive. After that, a "trained expert" will be sent with a 2017 Hyundai Elantra for the potential customer to try out for 45 to 60 minutes. If after that they want to purchase an Elantra, the expert can then direct them to a local Hyundai dealer to complete the transaction. This is an interesting approach to reaching consumers and could have benefits for them. People who are too busy to visit a dealer for a test drive can schedule a more convenient time and place to try the car. For people who get stressed out with the dealer experience and the pressure to purchase a car (which is, like, everyone) this could also be a more comfortable way to look at one. It's also a clever way for Hyundai to sort of circumvent its dealers while still letting them handle the final sale, a sort of indirect direct-sales solution. On the flip side, this program means consumers may only try the car that arrives at their door, and there's a decent chance that it will be a high trim with options and features that they might not want or be able to afford. It might still require some shopping around at the dealer to see what the different trim levels and options are like. Though only a limited trial for now, it will be interesting to see if Hyundai continues the program, and having more test-drive options can't hurt. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Hyundai Elantra View 51 Photos Image Credit: Hyundai Hyundai Car Buying Sedan Amazon amazon prime

2015 Hyundai Genesis 5.0 First Drive [w/video]

The original Hyundai Genesis was something of a mixed bag. A great first effort, no doubt, but as with any, well, genesis, there were weak points – the infotainment system and some interior materials, for example. In creating its second-generation model, Hyundai paid plenty of attention to these shortcomings while wisely deciding to retain the most notable of the original model's strengths: its 5.0-liter V8. The 420-horsepower rocket from the former Genesis R-Spec has once again been named the top-flight engine for this updated, 2015 model. Hyundai has comprehensively overhauled its first rear-wheel drive sedan, and while it might use an older – but impressive – engine, the 5.0-liter V8 isn't nearly as big of a story this time around. That's because it's now wrapped inside a far better package, as we found during a week behind the wheel. Hyundai's stylists have matured the Genny, opting for significantly more standout sheet metal in this new iteration. The old car featured a more traditional three-box shape, while the second-gen car is more open about its rear-drive layout, featuring a long hood and a short rear deck that feeds right into an aggressively raked rear window. The upright front fascia, with its broad, crisply styled grille and almond-shaped headlamps is clean and fashionable while still coming off as sort of conservative. Around back, Hyundai maintained some semblance of its old fluidic design, with sweeping, wraparound taillamps, while the V8 model's bumper is home to sporty, staggered quad exhausts. That said, the updates to the exterior are overshadowed by the comprehensive overhaul found in the cabin. The Genesis finally has an interior befitting of its price tag, thanks in large part to the swath of natural-looking matte wood trim on the dash, complemented by aluminum accents. The upper and lower dashes are finished in plastic, but its quality is no better or worse than what you'd find in a German competitor. However, while the cabin certainly feels much better than the last-gen model, there are still a few shortcomings. The "ultra premium" leather is standard on the 5.0's wide, supportive seats, and while it feels very, very nice, we did notice that even with fewer than 8,000 miles on the clock, a regular parade of denim-clad auto journalists has already started to stain the driver's side bottom cushion – something we noted during our year-long test of Hyundai's larger Equus.