2012 Kia Forte Ex 4 Door Bluetooth Automatic Cruise Cd Media Audio 34k Houston on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Salvage firm asks judge to halt rival's removal of capsized ship and its 4,200 cars

SAVANNAH, Ga. — A maritime salvage company is asking a federal judge to stop the Coast Guard and a rival firm from carrying out their plans to remove a cargo ship that overturned five months ago on the Georgia coast. The multiagency team overseeing removal of the South Korean freighter Golden Ray recently announced plans to carve the 656-foot-long ship into eight giant pieces that would be loaded onto barges using a towering crane in the waters of St. Simons Sound near tony St. Simons Island. Removal is to start soon after crews surround the wreck with a large mesh barrier to trap stray debris, expected to take about a month. The Golden Ray heeled over minutes after undocking in the Port of Brunswick on Sept. 8, 2019, and its crew of 23 was rescued. It has been shorted up with thousands of tons of rocks to prevent it from listing further, and its nearly full fuel tanks have been pumped out. A key part of the dispute involves the fate of its cargo of 4,200 cars. The salvage company Donjon-SMIT filed a complaint Thursday in U.S. District Court seeking a judge's injunction to stop any removal efforts. The company said the Coast Guard violated a 1990 federal law intended to improve oil spill responses by allowing the ship's owner to drop Donjon-SMIT as its pre-designated salvage responder. Donjon-SMIT said the ship's owner, identified in the court filing as GL NV24 Shipping Inc., had rejected its plan to remove the ship “in small sections weighing approximately 600 tons (544 metric tonnes)” so crews could systematically remove the thousands of cars still inside the ship's cargo decks. The ship is filled with new Kias and Hyundais built in Mexico, and some cars from other companies, that were bound for the Middle East. The company said the owner instead hired another firm, T&T Salvage, willing to remove the vessel in larger chunks of up to 4,100 tons (3,720 metric tonnes). The multiagency command team released some details of the plan Feb. 5, but has not said what it intends to do about the cars inside. “In short, the cars need to be safely removed to avoid environmental disaster,” Donjon-SMIT said in its legal filing. Campbell Houston, a spokesman for the multiagency command overseeing the salvage operation, had no immediate comment when reached by phone Friday. T&T Salvage did not immediately reply to an email message seeking comment.

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.

2018 Kia Stinger GT long-term wrap-up | Putting the grand in grand tourer

One of our latest long-term tester departures is our 2018 Kia Stinger GT, and it's one we're sad to see leave. Our really red example was optioned ideally for this group of enthusiasts in southeast Michigan with the twin-turbo 365-horsepower V6, a few extra comfort features with the GT1 package such as a sunroof and heated steering wheel, and of course, all-wheel drive. And after over 18,000 miles of driving the Stinger, we were thoroughly impressed. The engine felt impressively powerful, delivering a big ol' shove to the back with every stab of the throttle. The handling was confident and quick. While it wasn't our exact long-term car, one of our editors took a Stinger to the track and had a good time with it. The styling never grew old, looking just as low, lean and aggressive as when it first arrived. And it was even comfortable and practical, just look at all the stuff we could stuff in it! Looking at everyone's final thoughts, the Stinger made a near-perfect daily driver. There were a few snags during our custody, though. A few creaks and rattles appeared, including an issue with a door hinge that had to be fixed by the dealer. We also ended up with a warped brake rotor that needed changing. Something that couldn't be fixed was the Stinger's thirst. We averaged between 19 and 23 mpg in mixed driving plus the occasional long highway slog. That's actually slightly better than the EPA's combined estimate of 20 mpg, but it's still not stellar. The four-cylinder is the way to go if you'll be racking up a lot of miles. Gripes aside, the Stinger GT was a welcome part of the Autoblog fleet. See what we all had to say about it in more detail below. 2018 Kia Stinger GT View 10 Photos Editor-in-Chief, Greg Migliore: I really enjoyed our long-term Stinger. It had guts. It had plenty of power. It was fun to drive. It had emotion in a way only a few non-luxury sedans have. Frankly, it's this and the Dodge Charger as far as large sedans go for enthusiasts. I loved how the Stinger sounded; guttural and deep. It looked the part, too, though some of the accents weren't to my taste. The steering was excellent, the right balance of precision and pliability. It offered confidence to push the car in corners and the necessary feedback to do so with skill. I really liked the Stinger. It offered a great value, though the interior did start to show some aging after a year in our fleet.