2014 Hyundai Sonata Gls on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Second-generation Hyundai Veloster spied with same asymmetric doors

Until we saw these photos, the future of the Veloster didn't look especially bright. It's entering its fifth year on sale with no major updates, and no announcements for a replacement. It also was killed in the UK three years ago when it wasn't selling well. However, these photos show that Hyundai hasn't given up on it. At first glance, it looks very much like the current model, but closer inspection reveals some differences. Up front, the hood looks lower, and it tapers down to what seems to be an exaggerated version of the "cascade grille" Hyundai has implemented on the Elantra GT, and new Sonata. The headlights look slimmer, and there seem to be fewer busy, "quirky" lines. Moving backward, we find the same asymmetric door layout consisting of one door on the left, and two on the right. On the right side, the rear door handle is still tucked in the corner of the window. The glass area on the right also appears a bit larger thanks to a lower edge that stays lower for longer. At the rear, the camouflage is at its heaviest, but interesting details still show through. The rearmost glass seems to be more steeply raked. We can't tell if there's still glass on the top of the hatch, but considering the evolutionary nature of this car's design, we would expect the same amount of hatch glass. The taillights have adopted the slim and wide look of other recent Hyundai's. The center-exit exhaust remains, too, but it looks a bit smaller, and no longer has an obvious split in the middle. On either side of the bumper are auxiliary vents, likely fake. Besides the low sales and limited updates, another reason we questioned the future of the Veloster was its unremarkable driving dynamics. While forgivable in the base model, it was an issue on the Turbo, which simply wasn't fun enough to recommend over competitors. We're glad to see Hyundai will give it another shot, though, since the world can always use more quirky and interesting automobiles. Hopefully this next one will drive better. And who knows, it might even spawn a crazy mid-engine, rear-drive version. Related Video:

Hyundai shows off six custom creations in Vegas

Hyundai rolled in to SEMA this year with an array of six customized vehicles. And while it previewed several members of that lineup in the run up to the tuner expo, it has now brought them all together under one roof – namely that of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The fleet consists of three custom creations based on the Tucson crossover, two on the Genesis Coupe, and one on the Veloster. The Tucson lineup includes one by Bisimoto, another by John Pangilinan, and a third by Rockstar Performance Garage. In typical style, Bisimoto cranked the crossover up past 700 horsepower, thanks to a high-boost turbocharger running on flex fuel. Pangilinan crafted his JP Edition Tuscon for off-road adventure with a pop-up tent on the roof, brush guards, and a lifted suspension. And Rockstar went with a Baja-style off-road competition approach with a massive 6-inch lift kit and 32-inch tires. The Genesis Coupes include one by ARK Performance and another by TJIN. The former is dubbed the Solus edition, adopting a dual focus on performance and luxury with a wide body kit, carbon-fiber trim and a supercharged V6 stroked out to 4.0 liters to produce over 500 horsepower. The TJIN edition also ups the output past 500 horses with a supercharger from Bisimoto, plus a free-flowing exhaust, intercooler, and blow-off valve. KW coilover suspension, custom body kit, and green paint job finish it off. Finally, there's the Veloster Turbo R-Spec done up by Blood Type Racing with a black paint job, red racing stripe, carbon-fiber wide-body kit, and a 1.6-liter turbo four boosted up to – you guessed it – over 500 hp. Check out five of them together (sans the Bisimoto) in the slideshow above, or each of the six in the individual galleries at bottom for a closer look - along with the details in the press release below. Related Video: HYUNDAI'S 2015 SEMA LINEUP FEATURES SIX VEHICLES BUILT BY THE INDUSTRY'S BEST TUNERS Concepts Based on 2016 Tucson, 2015 Genesis Coupe and 2015 Veloster Turbo R-Spec FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Nov. 3, 2015 – Once again, Hyundai has teamed up with some of the best vehicle tuners in the automotive community to deliver six concept vehicles for SEMA 2015. This year's builds feature three of Hyundai's all-new 2016 Tucson crossovers, two high-powered Genesis Coupes, and a Veloster Turbo R-Spec. Hyundai will be showcasing these creations at its SEMA display in Center Hall (booth #24387) at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Nov. 3-6, 2015.

At meeting with automakers, Trump launches new attack on NAFTA

WASHINGTON — Ten American and foreign automakers went to the White House on Friday to push for a weakening of U.S. fuel efficiency standards through 2025, while President Donald Trump used the occasion to launch a fresh attack on the North American Free Trade Agreement that has benefited the companies. A draft proposal circulated by the U.S. Transportation Department would freeze fuel efficiency requirements at 2020 levels through 2026, rather than allowing them to increase as previously planned. Trump's administration is expected to formally unveil the proposal later this month or in June. "We're working on CAFE standards, environmental controls," Trump told reporters at the top of the meeting, referring to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards for cars and light trucks in the United States. Trump said he wants automakers to build more vehicles in the United States and export more vehicles. But much of the hour-long meeting focused on NAFTA. Trump blasted the pact involving the United States, Canada and Mexico as "terrible" and noted that negotiations to make changes sought by his administration were ongoing. "NAFTA has been a horrible, horrible disaster for this country and we'll see if we can make it reasonable," Trump said. Automakers have called NAFTA a success, allowing them to integrate production throughout North America and make production competitive with Asia and Europe, and have noted the increase in auto production over the past two decades with the deal in place. They have warned that changing NAFTA too much could prompt some companies to move production out of the United States. The chief executives of General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co, Fiat Chrysler, along with senior U.S. executives from Toyota Motor Corp, Volkswagen AG, Hyundai Motor Co, Nissan Motor Co, Honda Motor Co , BMW AG and Daimler AG met with Trump, as did the chief executives of two auto trade groups. Major automakers reiterated this week they do not support freezing fuel efficiency requirements but said they want new flexibility and rule changes to address lower gasoline prices and the shift in U.S. consumer preferences to bigger, less fuel-efficient vehicles.