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Hyundai analyzes 12 trends that will shape the world of 2030

Hyundai announced this year the start of Project Ioniq, its attempt at figuring out what the world of 2030 will be like. Of course the project would also use that information to determine how that world will affect the transportation industry. And it happens to share its name with the company's newest eco-friendly model. The first part of Project Ioniq is under way with the Ioniq Lab. This lab will be run by Dr. Soon Jong Lee, a professor at Seoul National University. Lee is also in charge of the Korea Future Design and Research Institute, and ten researchers and ten consultant experts will assist him on the project. Phase one has now yielded what Hyundai sees as 12 "megatrends" that will affect how the world changes and develops in 2030. This will in turn affect what people are looking for as far as transportation and mobility, and may inform what technologies and segments Hyundai invests in the future. The 12 megatrends are as follows: Hyper-connected Society Hyper-aging Society Eco-ism Multi-Layered Mash-up Context-awareness-based Individualization High Concept Society Decentralization of Power Anxiety and Chaos Sharing Society Co-evolution Mega-urbanization Neo-frontierism The team has detailed descriptions of each megatrend, and they are interesting, but we'll try to sum up all twelve of them for you here. If you want to check out all the details, be sure to check out the press release at this link. Overall, we're looking at a world where there are many more old people, and a large majority of the population will live in urban areas. Not everyone will live in urban areas, and some people may have new living opportunities because of advancements in aerospace and aquatic engineering. It will be a much more diverse world as well that we will be even more connected with, sharing information more and more. This will make understanding what people share and how they do so vital. Society will also start sharing everything much more, something akin to Uber and ZipCar today, but expanded. Companies will be looking to combine technologies and collaborate more to be involved in a wider array of businesses. The environment as well as cyber crimes and terrorism will remain ever-present issues. We will also see the development of significantly more capable robots and artificial intelligence.

Recharge Wrap-up: Batty battery covers, Mercedes at Silvretta, new Hyundai Sonata Hybrid available in 2015

Apparently, Chevrolet Volt battery covers make suitable homes for bats. As part of an Eagle Scout project, Matthew Netherland created 30 bat houses out of scrapped Volt battery covers donated by Chevy. 22 of the bat houses will be set up near hydroelectric dams in Michigan. Each bat house will accommodate 100 bats, and divert the scrapped materials from the landfill. The battery covers also make great nesting boxes for wood ducks, which General Motors has previously set up at its Milford, Michigan Proving Ground. Last weekend was the Silvretta E-Auto Rally, which saw emissions-free vehicles cross the Montafon Mountains in Austria, including cars from Mercedes-Benz. These cars included the B-Class Electric Drive, B-Class F-Cell, SLS AMG Electric Drive and even the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive. Also on hand for the Silvretta Classic Rally was a V8-powered C111, a 1978 Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC and 300 SL Roadster. Read more in the press release, below. BMW has finalized pricing for the i8 in the US at $135,700 (plus $925 in destination charges). In addition to the base price tag, which we've known for a while, BMW Blog has the complete pricing guide with options and packages. Most of the i8 orders were the Pure Impulse World package, which includes various aesthetic upgrades. It also provides membership to the BMW i Pure Impulse Program, which allows you to "to enjoy innovative ideas and trends in a variety of areas, including home styling, culture, gourmet gastronomy, design and many more." Head over to BMW Blog for more information. The new generation of the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid will arrive later than the rest of the model lineup, confirms Car and Driver. While the gas-powered Sonatas get updated now for the 2015 model year, the Hybrid remains unchanged until late this year or early 2015, when it will arrive as a 2016 model. Hyundai is offering a 2015 Sonata Eco edition, but with 28 miles per gallon in the city and 38 mpg highway (32 combined), it's not quite as appealing as the current Sonata Hybrid's 36/40/38 figures. Read more here. In June, average US fuel economy was 25.5 miles per gallon, making it the fifth straight month above 25 mpg, according to University of Michigan. The average window sticker ratings from vehicles sold in June dropped slightly from 25.6 mpg in May. The year started at 24.9 mpg in January, and hasn't dropped below 25 mpg since.

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.