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Hyundai plant one of 100 factories shutting down in wake of Beijing pollution scare

Many factories and chemical plants have suspended production in Beijing in an attempt to curb dangerous pollution, according to the South China Morning Post. The air pollution is some of the worst the city has seen in years, with harmful PM2.5 particle rates hovering between 200 and 400 micrograms per cubic meter. That number is down from as high as 886 on Sunday. For contrast, the US Environmental Protection Agency regulations say PM2.5 concentration at any location be no higher than 65 micrograms per cubic meter, with average maximums not to exceed 15 micrograms per cubic meter.
China blames the pollution on vehicle emissions, industrial production and an increase in domestic coal use to heat homes during cold weather. A total of 48 work sites, including construction zones, metal refineries and chemical plants have suspended production, and 41 factories have cut back production as well. That includes Hyundai Motor Beijing, which suspended production on Sunday.
Even so, the area's children's hospitals are receiving up to 10,000 patients per day with respiratory ailments. The city's government says it is in the midst of an eight-year plan to curb pollution and that levels have dropped between 30 and 70 percent over the past 14 years thanks to its actions.

Incident between Russian driver and biker escalates rather quickly

Based on the compiled evidence, driving in Russia is a perilous, potentially deadly venture that requires complete and total suspension of one's self-preservation instincts. Considering this, you can imagine what it's like riding a motorcycle on the notoriously wild Russian roads.
The unfortunate biker that is the subject of today's video found out the hard way. It looks like he attempted to split the lanes, and another driver took offense, sandwiching the biker (is that a Goldwing?) in the process. As you can guess by our handy headline, things deteriorate rapidly from there.
Take a look below for the full scene.

Next Hyundai Genesis to get HTRAC all-wheel drive

Hyundai's Genesis sedan has been quite the sales success since it first launched in 2008 as a 2009 model, but its rear-wheel drive nature has limited its sales appeal in cold-weather states versus competitors like Audi, BMW, Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz, all of whom have offered all-wheel drive in their lineups for years now. We've been hearing that Hyundai has had plans to remedy this shortfall for some years now, and we finally have official confirmation that four-corners-driven traction is coming for the second-generation Genesis.
Dubbed "HTRAC," Hyundai isn't saying much about the new system, other than noting it will offer "select driving modes for a sophisticated and tailored driving experience" and that it will also electronically control the torque split between the car's front and rear axles. HTRAC was developed all over the world, including on the Nürburgring and on Korea's Yeongam Formula One circuit, as well as winter testing in Europe. Oh, and in case you didn't already figure it out for yourself, the "H" in the name stands for "Hyundai" and "TRAC" is short for "Traction."
No word yet on when the system will become available, but Hyundai promises that the second-generation Genesis will make its world debut in its home market later this year. Although no official images or further details have been revealed yet, an undisguised look at the 2015 sedan came to light yesterday, suggesting a reveal is imminent.