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Hyundai closes the books on fuel economy litigation

Hyundai-Kia ended up with a lot of kimchi on its face in 2012 when it admitted it had mistakenly exaggerated fuel economy estimates on several 2012 and 2013 model-year offerings like the Hyundai Accent, Veloster and Elantra and Kia Soul. Before the admission a lawsuit had been filed by an entity called Consumer Watchdog, afterward there were "approximately 53" lawsuits filed in federal court that were eventually consolidated into one case in a California Central District court.
The companies apologized profusely and gave customers prepaid gas cards that they could refill with funds for as long as they own their vehicle, as well as perks like free car washes and routine maintenance services. The company has just announced that it has reached a preliminary settlement of the case by adding another method of reimbursement, a lump sum payment that would free drivers from having to go back to the dealership to have their mileage verified for debit card refills.
Assuming the preliminary agreement is approved by the judge, customers could choose the lump sum or the cards. The settlement's value could be as much as $210 million, but the exact number depends on which program plaintiffs choose. On average, affected customers will receive $353. Approval could come in "early 2014," after which Hyundai will notify customers. You'll find more particulars on the potential settlement in the press release below.

How feasible is Hyundai's HCD-15 Santa Cruz pickup?

When the silk finally slipped off Hyundai's HCD-15 Santa Cruz concept at the Detroit Auto Show on Monday, it was tangible, four-wheeled confirmation following years of rumors that the Korean automaker has been investigating the pickup market. Yet despite strong early critical and online reception, the likelihood of a production Hyundai pickup remains muddy at best. To be clear, Hyundai officials tell Autoblog there's nothing remotely production-ready lurking below the Santa Cruz's skin – it's a what-if concept designed to gauge customer reaction. But company officials say Hyundai is seriously investigating the possibility of a production pickup, and the company firmly believes that there's a market for a small, efficient unibody truck. According to John Krsteski, Manager at Hyundai Design North America, who spearheaded the project, Hyundai "is spending a lot of time right now still going through some studies on which types of platforms – whether it's a unique platform. It could be based on something like a Tucson ... we've looked at several different options." While Krsteski indicated that a platform hadn't been arrived at – and would likely need modifications – he says "it's definitely feasible." The Santa Cruz concept has a number of eye-catching features that would seem tough to produce – namely the slide-out rear bed extender that Krsteski says was influenced by the drawer-style ovens and dishwashers increasingly found in high-end kitchens. "We've had a couple of engineers in the studio and we did some study models on it, and we do think it's feasible – especially based on how we could package that inside there." With the extension in place, the small bed is large enough for a motocross bike to fit in on an angle. So what's next for the Santa Cruz? Hyundai has some internal studies it has completed and others that remain ongoing, and the company will work to gauge consumer response to the vehicle at auto shows and other events. Hyundai Motor America is clearly excited about the California-born project, but the toughest hurdle to a production pickup will likely be getting approval from headquarters in Korea. To that end, we've been led to understand that it was both telling and strategic that the Hyundai press conference was packed with Korean executives, who were on-hand in part to gauge media reaction to the Santa Cruz.

US Congress lets $8,000 hydrogen vehicle tax credit expire

When Toyota introduced the 2016 Mirai last month in preparation for a launch late next year, it said that the hydrogen car will have a $57,500 MSRP and that there will be a federal tax credit available worth up to $8,000. The problem, as we noted at the time, is that that federal credit was set to expire at the end of 2014. The technical language of the current rule says that someone who buys a fuel cell vehicle, "may claim a credit for the certified amount for a fuel cell vehicle if it is placed in service by the taxpayer after Dec. 31, 2005, and is purchased on or before Dec. 31, 2014." With the 113th Congress now finished up for the year and legislators headed home for the holidays, we know one thing for certain: the federal tax credit for hydrogen vehicles was not updated and will end as we're all singing Auld Lang Syne next week. All of this isn't to say that Mirai buyers won't be able to take $8,000 off the price of the car 12 months from now. For proof of that, we only need to look at other alternative fuel tax incentives and realize that this Congress simply isn't moving fast enough to deal with things that are expiring right now. One of the last things that the 113th Congress did in December was to take up the tax credits that expired at the end of 2013 and renew some of them. Jay Friedland, Plug In America's senior policy advisor, told AutoblogGreen that PIA and other likeminded organizations worked with Congress to extended the electronic vehicle charging station (technically: EVSE) tax credit that was part of the Alternative Refueling Tax Credit in IRS Section 30(C) through the end of 2014. "Individuals can deduct 30 percent of the cost of purchasing and installing an EVSE up to $1,000; businesses, 30 percent up to $30,000," he said. "This tax credit is applied to any system placed into service by 12/31/14 and is retroactive to the beginning of the year. So go out and buy your favorite EV driver an EVSE for the holidays," he said. An electric motorcycle credit was killed at the last minute as Congress was getting ready to leave, but H.R. 5771 did extend the Alternative Fuels Excise Tax Credits for liquefied hydrogen and other alternative fuels. These sorts of tax credit battles happen all year long. In July, Blumenthal introduced the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Infrastructure Act of 2014, which never got out of the Finance Committee. Back to the hydrogen vehicle situation.