2012 Hyundai Tucson Limited on 2040-cars

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Weekly Recap: Kia leads Korea's quality surge

The rapid rise of Korea's auto brands in the US market has been apparent on the sales charts for several years, and now it's showing up in an area that's just as crucial: quality. Kia and Hyundai earned the highest rankings among mainstream brands in the J. D. Power Initial Quality Study released on Wednesday. The study tracks problems owners report during the first 90 days they own their car. Kia reported 86 problems per 100 vehicles, or fewer than one problem per car sold, to take second in the rankings behind luxury sportscar-maker Porsche (80). Kia's score improved by nearly 20 percent compared with the 2014 study. "The big industry story is Kia," Renee Stephens, vice president of U.S. automotive quality at J.D. Power, said in a video statement, noting Kia's infotainment systems were the key reason for its improved performance. Hyundai was fourth for the second straight year, though its score actually worsened by one, to 95. Even with Hyundai's slight dip, Korean quality increased 11 percent, according to the study, which far outpaced American and European companies' three-percent increases. Japanese brands improved one percent. Hyundai Motor Co. (parent company of the Hyundai and Kia brands) captured four individual vehicle awards, which tied for the most with General Motors, Nissan, and Volkswagen. "The Korean brands have really taken off," Stephens said. "There's movement in the industry, and the patterns are shifting." Another luxury brand, Jaguar (93 problems), slotted in between Hyundai and Kia in third place. Infiniti was fifth, followed by BMW. Chevrolet was the highest domestic brand, taking seventh place, followed by Lincoln, Lexus, and Toyota, which were all well above the industry average of 112 problems per 100 vehicles. OTHER NEWS & NOTES Kirk Kerkorian dead at 98 Kirk Kerkorian, a billionaire activist investor who wielded enormous influence on the Detroit Three car companies in the 1990s and 2000s, died Monday. He was 98 years old. Kerkorian made headlines in 1995 for trying to take over Chrysler – with the help of former chairman Lee Iacocca – before being fended off by Chrysler management. His takeover attempt ultimately pushed Chrysler to be sold to German giant Daimler. He tried to buy Chrysler again in 2007 when Daimler put Chrysler on the market, but Kerkorian fell short and the automaker was sold to private equity firm Cerberus.

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.

2020 Hyundai Ioniq Electric reportedly getting more range

With the introduction of the Hyundai Kona Electric, Hyundai's first full EV on the market, the Ioniq Electric, has seemingly been neglected. But that doesn't seem to be the case according to Inside EVs. The news outlet spoke to someone from Hyundai who revealed that for 2020 the Ioniq Electric will get a boost in range, but it won't match the Kona Electric. For reference, the current Hyundai Ioniq Electric has a range of 124 miles, and the Kona Electric is rated at 258 miles. That leaves a lot of room for Hyundai to decide how much range the new Ioniq will have, and makes it hard to estimate what the final figure will be. It would seem a safe bet that the range will at least be 150 miles, maybe a bit more, since that would put the Ioniq Electric on par with the base Nissan Leaf for range. This is especially likely since both cars compete at the same price point of between $30,000 and $36,000 before incentives. There's a chance Hyundai could offer more range, or perhaps an optional long-range model with over 200 miles, but that might raise the price, and Hyundai will probably point buyers that need more range to the Kona anyway. We'll also be curious to see if Hyundai ups the power of the Ioniq. Its current 118 horsepower is pretty low, even in the EV segment. The standard Leaf produces 147 horsepower. Apparently the Kona Electric's 200-horsepower motor can fit in the Ioniq, as proven by the Hyundai team racing a Kona-powered Ioniq in the Optima Ultimate Street Car competition. But again, if Hyundai isn't going to give the Ioniq as much range as Kona, there's not much reason to give it a bigger motor either. Especially when the Ioniq Electric buyers probably aren't that interested in speed. Related Video: