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Hyundai, Kia and U of M studying 'highway hypnosis'

Next up on the hot-button list of things that can kill you behind the wheel: "highway hypnosis." That's the zombie-like, autopilot phase you get into on a long highway drive when there isn't much to distract you, like curves or traffic. Digging further into what it is and how to combat it, Hyundai-Kia engineers and the University of Michigan are commencing a study that will measure brainwave activity in order to track the body's slide into highway hypnosis.
We're not sure how much overlap this has with Mercedes-Benz's Attention Assist, which tracks more than 70 in-car parameters to determine when you're not focused on the road anymore. That system is billed as an alarm against fatigue, in our experience it does more than that - if you use your phone while driving, for instance, it will chirp.
They don't know what form a warning system will take yet, but Hyundai-Kia plans to develop a method for warning drivers when they being to zone out. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were more than three thousand deaths and nearly 400,000 injuries due to distracted driving in 2011.

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.

Pre-owned deal alert: Hyundai Genesis

Hyundai used to make really crappy cars: horrible to drive, horrible build quality, and unreliable. Any sales person that sold Hyundais in the early 2000s can regale you with a story that goes like this: "I was delivering a brand new Hyundai to a customer and _____________ broke, but I told the customer _______________ and the customer brought the car home anyway. Selling those pieces of crap required true salesmanship. Hyundai knew its products would not sell without a competitive edge, so it offered one of the best warranties in America: 5 years/60,000 miles bumper to bumper and 10 year/100,000 miles on the powertrain. At the time most consumers viewed that warranty as a necessity; they felt they would not buy a Hyundai without the best warranty in America. All of that changed in 2008 with the debut of the Hyundai Genesis sedan. Everyone thought a luxurious Hyundai was impossible until they saw and drove the vehicle. The design was subdued yet elegant, the interior was not world-class but was above average, the ride was comfortable and quiet, and its steering was acceptable. The Genesis sedan is powered by a 4.6-liter, 375-horsepower V8 or a 3.8-liter, 290-horsepower V6. Both of these engines were smooth and propelled the car to 60 in under six seconds. The Genesis was not better than a Lexus or a Mercedes. But it was a great value: The starting price was $34,000 for a V6 base and topped out well under $50,000 if you got the V8 and tech package. Even so, Hyundai knew people might not plunk down $40,000 for a Hyundai, so they leased them out at really aggressive numbers. A no-money-down lease on the Genesis was around $450 a month during the darkest days of the recession. I was told the dealers were leasing them out for around $350 a month. Which brings us to today, when the market is flooded with tons of lease returns. A used Hyundai Genesis is an even better value. There are a good number of 2013 models with under 45,000 miles on the odometer for under $20,000; the average price is at $18,500. Assuming the vehicle was leased in 2013, you would still get at least two years and 20k miles on the bumper-to-bumper and at least five years of powertrain warranty with the car. Most of these lease return models come with power everything, leather, sunroof, upgraded sound system – most of what you expect in a luxury car. Some are more aggressively priced than others.