2014 Hyundai Elantra Limited on 2040-cars

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Hyundai Motor America CEO Dave Zuchowski was fired today

According to Automotive News, Dave Zuchowski, CEO of Hyundai Motor America, was fired today, effective immediately. Automotive News cites multiple anonymous sources that said the reason for this decision was missing the company's internal sales goals. Hyundai has confirmed in a statement that Zuchowski will be "leaving the company", without citing a specific reason for the departure. Until a new CEO is named, the American division's executive vice president and general counsel Jerry Flannery will fill the role. Flannery has been with Hyundai since 1987, and a search for a permanent replacement is already underway. According to Hyundai, this change in management is part of "a continuation of a reorganization that began late this year." Zuchowski became CEO of Hyundai Motor America in 2014, taking the reigns from John Krafcik. Krafcik left at the end of his contract, and now works for Google's autonomous car spin-off Waymo. Zuchowski has worked in the auto industry for over three decades, and was at Ford and later Mazda before coming to Hyundai. Related Video:

CES 2020 and Carlos Ghosn | Autoblog Podcast #609

Welcome to a new decade of the Autoblog Podcast. In this week's episode, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor Alex Kierstein and Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder. First they talk about their early impressions of CES 2020 in Las Vegas, in particular how interesting Sony's Vision-S Concept is. Then they talk about the intriguing saga and daring escape of former Nissan boss and global fugitive Carlos Ghosn. After that, they turn their attention to what they've been driving, including the Genesis G70, Chevy Blazer and Hyundai Santa Fe. Finally, they help a listener pick a new fun toy to replace an unloved Porsche Cayman in the "Spend My Money" segment. Autoblog Podcast #609 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown CES 2020 And that excellent Sony Vision-S Concept What's going on with Carlos Ghosn? Cars we're driving:2020 Genesis G70 2.0T Sport RWD 2020 Chevrolet Blazer Premier AWD 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe 2.0T AWD Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

Hyundai Group design chief wants more differentiation between models and brands

Luc Donckerwolke, the man who oversees design at Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis, is determined to get more differentiation into the model range. He not only wants greater visual separation between all the models in the range, he also wants more distinction between Hyundai Group cars and others in the respective segments, and global distinctions so that a Hyundai in China doesn't necessarily look like one built for North America. He told Autocar, "We will not have a global design language because otherwise it's too rigid. [The alternative is] more work, but it's more flexible." Donckerwolke gets an extreme look at the results of homogeneous design, because an enormous number of cars on the road in South Korea are Hyundai Group products. "[Our] core task is to differentiate the design philosophy of the three brands, not least because we have a big [around 70%] share in Korea. We need to differentiate each model, otherwise the landscape is too homogeneous." Top-down, each brand gets a design brief. Hyundai will be Hyundai's "sexy, seductive and sensuous, sporty, eager and stylish," holding onto its value proposition while adding emotion. Kia will be "young, challenging and cool — cooler than before," said brand design chief Byungchul Juh, with Donckerwolke adding that it's about "streetwear — bold, fresh and young." And Genesis is "haute couture." Donckerwolke characterizes the design philosophy as not "Russian dolls but ... chess pieces, with a look that reveals its own charismatic character. For example, Kia's used to be about the tiger nose grille, separate headlights and the lower intake. Now it's going to be more of a mask that will deliver sportiness and a presence." Kia designer Juh said, "There will be a distinct version of tiger face for each segment, and we'll keep the tiger nose grille. In principle it's the same, but there's a different interpretation for each segment, and more of a 3D feeling. We're moving from a nose to a face." The sketches we've seen of Kia's coming small global crossover take a first step, and we're told the next Sportage will make more impact than the new Tucson. As for Hyundai, the next Sonata will "be the design flag-bearer." We wait to see how much of the vehicle all of this affects. But right now, look at the 2020 Elantra and Sonata from the front three-quarter; ignore their front fascias, and they're two sizes of one sausage.