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2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid gets bigger, better battery pack, lower MSRP

Just yesterday, we told you how Hyundai's 2013 Sonata Hybrid was late out of the gate (along with its mechanical twin, the Kia Optima Hybrid), with growing speculation suggesting that the company was revisiting its gas-electric sedan with an eye toward improving its efficiency.
Well, today Hyundai has released official details, and that's exactly what's happened. Sporting a larger starter generator, a higher output electric motor and a more potent 47 kW lithium polymer battery, the 2013 Sonata hybrid is more efficient than before. The revised hardware helps the sedan jump two miles per gallon combined over its 2012 predecessor. That pushes the 2013 Sonata Hybrid to 36 mpg city, 40 mpg highway and 38 mpg combined. Engineers also tweaked the machine's software, with revised driving pattern detection and engine on/off logic.

China sticking to its guns on EVs for the future

Automakers are obviously free to develop whatever next-gen, zero-emissions tech that they want. However, if a company wants to get on the good side of the Chinese government, that strategy better include some plug-in vehicles. The authorities there are lending major support to plug-ins at the moment, and its forcing the auto industry to play along. According to Bloomberg, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and BMW are all launching dedicated EV brands with their joint venture partners, and as many as 40 electric models could hit the Chinese market this year alone. However, analysts don't think the vehicles are going to sell well. Instead, the launches are essentially a way for companies to play nice with the government and help get the approval to build factories in the country. Take Toyota as an example. The company is pushing the future of hydrogen hard with promotional films for the Mirai and engineers talking down fast-charging EVs. Still, the Japanese automaker is getting ready to launch two EV brands in China with its joint venture partners, according to Bloomberg. China's push for alternative fuels has been happening for a while, but it really kicked into high gear last year. The government has set a goal to improve fleet-wide economy by 40 percent by the end of the decade in order to spend less importing oil and for the population's health. The plan has shown some success so far with hybrid and EV sales growing early in 2015. Related Video: News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Kin Cheung / AP Photo Government/Legal Green BMW Hyundai Toyota Volkswagen Green Culture Technology Electric tax incentives chinese government

2019 Subaru Ascent, 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe earn highest IIHS safety ratings

Two important crossovers introduced this year, the 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe and 2019 Subaru Ascent, have finally been crash tested by the IIHS, with both receiving a Top Safety Pick+ rating. Both crossovers earned the highest score of "Good" in every crash test, including the tricky passenger small overlap frontal test. Each comes with forward collision prevention technology that adequately warns the driver, and can bring the car to a complete stop before hitting an object at speeds up to 25 mph. View 72 Photos One of the other key tests to merit the Top Safety Pick+ award is headlight performance. In this case, each gets a "Good" rating to earn the award, but there's a caveat. Only high-end versions of each vehicle have highly rated lights. On the Subaru Ascent, the "Good" headlights are LED units on the Limited and Touring trims, and the Hyundai's are LED units that come with the Limited and Ultimate trims. The lower trim levels of both vehicles come with halogen headlights. The Ascent's halogens were rated "Poor" for not providing enough illumination while also causing glare for oncoming drivers, while the Santa Fe's lights were rated "Marginal," the next highest rating from bottom, for simply not illuminating enough, but they didn't cause glare. View 65 Photos While this doesn't apply to a Top Safety Pick+ rating, the Subaru Ascent has one additional commendation. The IIHS also evaluates how easy it is to access LATCH anchors for mounting child seats in a car, as well as how many there are. In this case, the three-row, family-friendly Subaru received the "Good" rating and a "+" for having extra anchors for more placement flexibility. The two-row Santa Fe just received an "Acceptable" rating in this regard, the second highest rating from IIHS. Related Video: