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Hyundai files patent for smartphone feature disabler in proximity to steering wheel

Combatting driver distraction continues to be a hot topic in automotive safety, especially when it comes to young motorists. While simply not using a smartphone behind the wheel would fix much of the problem, automakers are trying to work out complicated ways to make people safer. For example, GM is experimenting with head and eye tracking to make sure folks are paying attention to the road. Now, Hyundai might have come up with a technology that offers a very simple fix: disable the phones. The Korean automaker explains the idea in explicit detail in a recently published patent. The tech specifically "limits or disables the use of some of mobile device features which could cause distraction to the user," according to the abstract. Depending on variables like the vehicle's speed, the system determines what smartphone functions are safe to use, including texting or voice calls. Based on a plethora of permutations in the document, these restrictions could only be for the area around the driver's seat or for the whole vehicle. The key to the patent is placing antennas around the vehicle and monitoring for cellular signals. When the system detects them, it can begin selectively deciding what features to allow on the device. The tech isn't a simple on/off switch either, and can possibly detect the time of day or importance of the caller to let messages though. The major downside to all of this is the phone would need to run a specific program or firmware for all of this to work. With such a recently published patent, it might be years before the tech arrives in Hyundai vehicles, if at all. Still, this is an interesting solution. Of course, it would be far simpler if people just put down their phones. You can read the full description of the automaker's concept, here. News Source: Free Patens Online via US Patent and Trademark Office Auto News Hyundai Technology Emerging Technologies Smartphone distracted driving patent cell phone driver distraction

Hyundai rehires R&D president let go over quality issues

Last November, Hyundai announced the resignations of research and development president Kwon Moon-sik and two other R&D executives. At that time, it was said that the executives wished to "take responsibility for a series of quality issues" at the Korean automaker. Kwon Moon-sik had only been in the position for a year, but some of the quality issues thought to have caused the resignations included recalls of the Genesis and other sedans around the world, along with the company's much-publicized fuel economy overstatement controversy - both of which dealt with matters that transpired before Moon-sik took his position. In its statement at the time, Hyundai said, "The latest personnel change shows our firm commitment to quality management and reaffirms our will to continuously improve R&D competitiveness."
Three months later, Reuters is reporting that Moon-sik is back with the company, a statement announcing the rehire saying, "Given his expertise, experience and leadership skills, we reinstated president Kwon to enhance quality and R&D capability from scratch." Company chairman Chung Mong-koo is said to have a reputation for firing then rehiring workers, and it's possible this rehire is especially timely because Hyundai will bring its new Sonata to market this year and likely wants its experienced R&D captain at the wheel.
The man who had taken Moon-sik's position has returned to his previous post as head of powertrain development. However, in another surprise resignation, the head of Hyundai's design center, Oh Sug-geun, has left the company for "personal reasons." He has been replaced by Lee Byung-seob, who moves up from his position as head of exterior design.

Hyundai delivers its first Tucson Fuel Cell to a California customer

With expected pomp and circumstance, but short of a marching band, Hyundai delivered its first Tucson Fuel Cell crossover to the Bush family in Southern California on Tuesday. Dave Zuchowski, president and chief executive officer of Hyundai Motor America, was on hand to officiate along with an array of other government officials, including California Air Resources Board chairman Mary Nichols. The automaker is touting the emissions-free vehicle as the "world's only mass-produced fuel cell vehicle" as it travels down the same assembly line as the other Tucson models - its production is scalable, based on demand.
The Tucson Fuel Cell replaces the standard model's 2.4-liter, four-cylinder, gasoline combustion engine with a 100-kW fuel cell stack, which sends power to a 100-kW (134 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque) electric motor driving the front wheels. A 24-kW battery pack, shared with the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, is used for storage. The vehicle earns the customer a combined 50 MPGe, while earning the automaker up to $130,000 through California's ZEV credit system.
As the hydrogen refueling infrastructure is extremely underdeveloped, Hyundai will initially only offer the Tucson Fuel Cell on a lease program to customers in the Los Angeles/Orange County areas, where it has approved six stations with the 700-bar (WEH TK17 pistol-grip nozzle) pumps. The automaker has packaged the program with a $2,999 drive-off, with payments of $499 per month for 36 months. To nearly eliminate operating expenses, the automaker is throwing in "unlimited free hydrogen refueling" (keep in mind that the leasee is only contracted to 12,000 miles each year, so that will put a cap on how much free fuel flows from the pump) along with the company's At Your Service Valet Maintenance at no extra cost.