2014 Hyundai Elantra on 2040-cars

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Hyundai Veloster Turbos strut their SEMA stuff

Hyundai brought a pair of very yellow Velosters to this year's SEMA Show. The first is the car you see above - the Veloster Hylighter. Built in a partnership with aftermarket accessory supplier EGR Group, it's based on a Veloster Turbo, but has been extensively modified for its trip to Vegas.
The paint, a custom color called Yellowcake, a type of uranium powder used to prepare fuel for nuclear reactors, certainly catches the eye. And if for some reason it doesn't, black graphics and a LED light bar on the roof most certainly will. An EGR widebody kit has been fitted for an even bigger visual impact, while the DPE three-piece wheels add some flair. The cabin sports a pair of Takata racing seats and harnesses, as well as a roll cage from Creations n' Chrome.
The engine is an uprated version of the turbocharged, 1.6-liter engine found in the standard Veloster Turbo, but it's been fitted with an AEM intake and a MagnaFlow exhaust, for a bit of extra oomph. A coil-over suspension from ARK, an AEM strut-tower bar and Toyo Proxes R888 tires afford a bit more handling potential for the VT, while a Brembo brake package can bring things to a rapid halt.

Hyundai fined $17.35 million for late Genesis recall

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has slapped Hyundai with a $17.35 million fine for delaying a recall on the 2009 to 2012 Hyundai Genesis sedan back in 2013. The recall grew from the original figure of 27,500 units to 43,500 sedans in November of last year, and focused on brake fluid that wouldn't prevent corrosion of the hydraulic control unit.
"Hyundai remains committed to making safety our top priority, and is dedicated to ensuring immediate action in response to potential safety concerns including the prompt reporting of safety defects," David Zuchowski, Hyundai's president and CEO, said in a statement.
Hyundai originally issued a technical service bulletin warning dealers to replace brake fluid. This was expanded to a full recall following NHTSA's involvement.

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla battery degradation graphed, Hyundai plans fuel cell hub in Korea

A man has created a graph of Tesla Model S battery degradation over time. Merijn Coumans of Holland is tracking the owner data gathered on from Model S owners in a single file and graphing it visually. Coumans continually updates the graph of drivers' maximum ranges to give a look at battery degradation over the life of the car. Coumans tracks mileage and even number of visits to Superchargers in his data. Tesla provides an eight-year battery guarantee regardless of mileage. Read more at the Steinbuch blog. US plug-in vehicle sales are expected to surpass 300,000 when the data is tallied at the end of this month. That is 30 percent of President Obama's goal of 1 million battery electric cars and plug-in hybrids by the end of 2015. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz admitted the US won't reach the goal, saying, "We're going to be a few years after the president's aspirational goal of the end of 2015, but I think that we are within a few years of reaching that goal." Green car analyst Alan Baum projects the 1 million EV milestone will be met in 2018. Read more at Hybrid Cars. Hyundai and the South Korean government plan to create a hub for fuel cell technologies. Hyundai and Kia will give up unused patents to automotive startups focused on fuel cells at a recently launched innovation center in Gwangju. "Hyundai Motor will offer substantial assistance in the whole process of corporate growth ranging from the development of ideas to industrialization to making inroads into global markets," says South Korea's President Park Geun-hye. Hyundai hopes this will make the city a center for hydrogen technology. Read more at Just Auto. Mayor Boris Johnson has approved a cycling superhighway for the city of London. Set to be built along the Thames embankment, the system of cycling lanes could help encourage more people to ride their bikes, reducing automotive traffic congestion and relieving pressure on other transit networks. Opponents are upset that the cycling highway will increase driving time across the city, and call cyclists a "loud minority," whose numbers doesn't justify the new lanes. Read more at Treehugger. Kansas and Nebraska are joining the challenge against the EPA's new ethanol emissions rules. The EPA's Moves2014 regulations seek to reduce automotive sulfur emissions by 60 percent, but, says Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the ethanol emissions measurement model is faulty and was adopted without public comment or review.