2006 Hyundai Sonata Lx Sedan 4-door 3.3l on 2040-cars

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Hyundai and Kia settle lawsuit over hybrid technology

Hyundai and Kia will end Paice's patent infringement lawsuit by signing a licensing agreement to use the firm's hybrid technology for their vehicles, according to Bloomberg. A statement by Paice says that this new contract ends any legal disputes between the companies, but doesn't disclose the cost of the settlement. A Hyundai spokesperson declined to comment about the case's resolution to Autoblog. Paice and the Abell Foundation, an investor, brought the case against Hyundai and Kia in 2012 over the tech in the Sonata and Optima Hybrids, and the court sided in the patent holder's favor in October 2015. The jury ordered the automakers to pay at least $28.9 million, but the judge could have tripled that amount because the infringement was allegedly intentional. Hyundai pledged to appeal the ruling. Paice's patents come from the work of Alex Severinsky and cover ways to make engines and electric motors work together. The company has a history of defending its tech, including settlements with Toyota and Ford. It also filed another case against the Blue Oval in 2014 over the hybrid or plug-in systems in the C-Max, Fusion, and Lincoln MKZ. Hyundai and Kia sign licensing agreement with Paice Paice, a pioneer in hybrid electric vehicle technology, has reached an agreement to license all of its hybrid vehicle technology to Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. Paice has now licensed all or part of its hybrid vehicle technology portfolio to Toyota, Hyundai/Kia, and Ford – three of the world's six largest automakers. These three companies currently account for 90% of all hybrid vehicle sales in the United States. "We are gratified to reach a licensing agreement with Hyundai and Kia, who are among the undisputed leaders in the hybrid industry. This agreement further validates the importance of our technology, and we hope to reach additional agreements with other major automakers," said Frances Keenan, chairman of the Paice Board of Directors. The confidential licensing agreement with Hyundai and Kia brings an end to all litigation between the companies. Paice and the Abell Foundation, a Baltimore-based non-profit organization that invested in Paice, filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Hyundai and Kia in U.S. District Court in 2012. After an eight-day jury trial earlier this year, the jury sided with Paice and Abell, awarding $28,915,600. Hyundai and Kia currently rank third in U.S. hybrid car sales.

Hyundai's green vehicle line might be called AE

When we got spy shots back in June of Hyundai's challenger for the Toyota Prius, intel suggested Hyundai would name it AE HEV, an acronym that possibly meant Advanced Experimental or Alternative Energy Hybrid Electric Vehicle. The Korea Herald reports that AE is indeed the tentative project name, and that it could be applied to an entire model line of green-only models with hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric variants. We're told the hybrid's launch is slated for January 2016, the first configuration being a five-door hatchback based around the company's 1.6-liter direct-injected Cappa engine. The size of the battery pack and capability of the electric motor are still unknown. It aims to outdo the Prius in at least two ways, one of them being to exceed the Prius' rating of 21 kilometers per liter of combined fuel economy. The other would concern model range instead of on-road range: if the other powertrain options follow, the AE could be the world's first model with three different green drive configurations (if Honda doesn't get there first). The Korea Herald said Kia will be rolling out a hybrid-only vehicle of its own called the DE. We're not sure what the specs and timeline are for that car, nor if it is included in the "22 green cars" that a Hyundai spokesman told the paper the automaker plans to release by 2020. Right now we're awaiting the initial response to Hyundai's full dive into green waters with the Sonata PHEV that just went on sale. Featured Gallery Hyundai Prius-Fighter Spy Shots View 14 Photos News Source: The Korea HeraldImage Credit: Chris Doane Automotive Green Rumormill Spy Photos Hyundai Alternative Fuels Hatchback Electric Hybrid

New Hyundai Veloster N sports a big wing under its camouflage

Hyundai is deep into development of the second-gen Veloster, the follow-up to the odd asymmetric hot hatch. The first car was good, but it wasn't quite great, missing the mark on a number of details. In the intervening years, Hyundai products have improved across the board and no longer require any hedging or justification as a value proposition. Hopefully the same is true with the new car. The spy photos we have hear appear to show the Veloster N, the high performance version of the hatch. N is Hyundai's new in-house tuner. The group is working on a more powerful version of the i30, known in the US as the Elantra GT. Despite the camouflage, we can see that the Veloster in these photos has a number of upgrades that give away the N tuning. This includes large wheels, big brakes with red calipers, big exhaust outlets, and what appears to be a large Civic Type R-style wing. There are few other details we can make out, but the most obvious and notable is the asymmetric door setup. The car will have two doors on the passenger side and just one on the driver's side, just like the first model. We don't know how much power the car will make, but expect somewhere close to 250 horsepower from a turbocharged four-cylinder. Look for a full reveal sometime in the next year. Related Video: Featured Gallery Hyundai Veloster N spy shots View 16 Photos Spy Photos Hyundai Hatchback Performance hyundai veloster n