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Honda, Hyundai and Kia get best word-of-mouth recommendations in US

Forget advertising, incentives and, yes, even our excellently crafted vehicle reviews, sometimes the best way for automakers to sell cars is still good ol' fashioned word of mouth. In an attempt to measure this "word of mouth" power, The Boston Consulting Group, a management consulting firm, has created a new study called the Brand Advocacy Index (BAI). The index takes a look at how various industries perform from person to person. Those industries include automotive, smartphones, grocery, mobile telecommunications and banking.
The study polled more than 32,000 individuals across Europe and in the US to come up with the top 55 brands in these various industries. On the automotive side of things, the top brands in the US were Honda, Hyundai and Kia, all tied at 63 percent. On a global scale, Volkswagen and Toyota scored the highest with a 65-percent BAI rating (both in France). The average BAI for auto industry players tallied 50 percent.
As for companies in other industries, Apple's iPhone was the index's top-rated smartphone, Trader Joe's was the highest recommended grocery store, Virgin was sat atop the mobile telecom industry and USAA was the top retail bank. Scroll down for the full press release on the new study.

2016 Hyundai Tucson comes to Geneva with long-awaited redesign

As one of the oldest vehicles in Hyundai's lineup, it was only a matter of time before the compact Tucson was given a redesign. Now, at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, we're getting a first-person look at the next-generation model as it prepares to do battle in an increasingly important market. While the last-generation Tucson was an ambassador of Hyundai's early "fluidic sculpture" design language, this new model shares the sharper, more aggressive lines of last year's Intrado Concept. A hexagonal grille is front and center, while the large headlights bleed into the front fenders. As we covered in our original post, the broad, flat hood is reminiscent of the Santa Fe, while the tail looks to the Genesis for its taillight design. Ample attention has also been paid to the cabin, although admittedly, the last Tucson's interior aged rather well. The Geneva show car features handsome red leather seats that contrast nicely with the black dash and silver accents. The cabin layout itself, meanwhile, isn't unlike what's found on the new Sonata; it's clean, logical and easy to figure out. Take a look at our full gallery of live images from the car's Geneva Motor Show Debut. THE ALL-NEW TUCSON 17/02/15 All-New Tucson represents significant step forward for Hyundai New model follows one million Hyundai SUV sales in Europe, over 116,600 in the UK Bold and athletic exterior creates unique appearance Refined interior combines elegance with ergonomics and generous cabin space Convenience and connectivity features tailored to customer needs including New Navigation with TomTom Live services and seven-year free subscription Comprehensive active and passive safety technologies Wide choice of engines; power range from 115 PS to 184 PS All models for Europe to be built in Europe High Wycombe, 17 February 2015 – With its worldwide public debut just weeks away at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, the All-New Hyundai Tucson is set to redefine the Hyundai brand's C-SUV offering – featuring the highest levels of design, quality and technology which are poised to lead the segment. "The All-New Tucson is a bold new car that represents another leap forward for Hyundai," commented Tony Whitehorn, President & CEO, Hyundai Motor UK.

The new Hyundai Veloster will have a driver-focused interior

We've had a number of solid glances at the Hyundai Veloster's exterior while testing, but this is our first look at the car's interior. And it's a seriously good look. About the only thing hiding the dashboard is some snazzy zebra-print vinyl wrap. We can tell from these new spy photos that the Veloster's interior is more focused on the driver than other Hyundais. The center stack is canted slightly toward the driver, and it's a bit asymmetrical, favoring the person behind the wheel. At the top of the center stack is a large touch screen that protrudes from the dash, but it looks a bit more integrated than the screen found in the Elantra GT, as it's nestled between two air vents. We have reason to suspect this is a Veloster Turbo model, which may be renamed Veloster Sport to fit nomenclature used on the Elantra line. The steering wheel is leather-wrapped and has a metallic red accent in the bottom spoke, just like the wheel in the Elantra Sport models. The shifter also has an accent in the same red color as the one on the wheel. We doubt this could be a Veloster N, though, as the seats don't seem aggressive enough, and there don't appear to be any accents in the performance sub-brand's trademark light blue. We expect to see this interior fully revealed, along with the rest of the Veloster lineup, by the end of the year. It will be available in three versions, an entry-level model, a peppier Turbo or Sport version with the outgoing model's center exhaust and more aggressive looks, and a high-performance N model that will probably use the Elantra i30 N's 271-horsepower turbo engine. The Veloster N will also have the most aggressive looks, featuring a large rear wing. Related Video: