2019 Hyundai Elantra Se on 2040-cars

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Autoblog Minute: VW finds CO2 'irregularities', Takata dropped by automakers, SEMA recap

Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal gets a new wrinkle, US regulators hit Takata Corporation with a substantial fine, and we head to Las Vegas for a look at tuner paradise at the 2015 SEMA show. Autoblog senior editor Greg Migliore reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal gets a new wrinkle. US regulators issue a significant fine to Takata Corporation. And we take a peek inside tuner paradise at the 2015 SEMA show. I'm senior editor Greg Migliore and this is your Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. The VW diesel emissions scandal, first brought to light in September, gets a new wrinkle, as an internal investigation by the German automaker revealed [00:00:30] irregularities in CO2 emissions that could affect approximately 800,000 vehicles. VW estimates the issue could pose a 2-billion euro economic risk. VW claims that most of the vehicles affected have diesel engines, but industry analysts say a 1.4-liter gas engine is also affected. VW says that fuel consumption figures were set too low during the CO2 certification process. During all of this, sales of some diesel-powered Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche models [00:01:00] have been halted. Takata Corporation is back in the news in connection with its deadly airbag scandal. Federal regulators fined Takata $70 million. If the parts supplier does not comply, the fine could balloon to $200 million. Takata was also dropped this week by its biggest customer, Honda. And now, Toyota and Mazda will be following Honda's lead in dropping Takata. We're also hearing that Mitsubishi and Subaru are considering a switch in air-bag inflator suppliers. SEMA 2015 [00:01:30] came and went. We saw offerings from Mopar, like the AWD Challenger concept. Honda unveiled a Ridgeline that it will race at the Baja 1000, which gives us a hint at what future production model could look like. The celebrity presence was also felt in Vegas as it always is. Kid Rock brought a Duramax Diesel Chevy Silverado, and Acura restored and presented Ludacris with his now famous 1993 Acura Legend. Those are the highlights from the week that was. Be sure to come back on Saturday for my full recap, [00:02:00] where I'll have some added insight into Hyundai's foray into the luxury sector. For Autoblog, I'm Greg Migliore. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive.

Hyundai Azera large sedan officially dead in America

Hyundai has released its 2018 model year information, and it appears the Azera won't be making the cut for the new year. The large sedan has been cut from the American lineup, though overseas markets will still have access to the car. In fact, those markets will enjoy a fully redesigned model with muscular lines and an upright fascia. Hyundai's reasoning for dropping the Azera model is that other Hyundai models, as well as the current crop of Genesis cars, are becoming more widely appealing. So, basically, the narrow range of consumers that demanded a larger, more "luxurious" vehicle than the Sonata, but weren't willing to make the small jump to a Genesis, is too small to keep the model around. There are a couple of other noteworthy changes in the 2018 Hyundai lineup. The new Accent sedan is still on its way to dealerships, but the Accent hatchback is gone. Since the company hasn't shown an Accent hatch yet, we're not completely surprised by its omission. What is odd is that there's no hint in Hyundai's wording at it being introduced at a later date. Despite that, there's still the possibility Hyundai will simply introduce a hatchback version later, as it did with the Elantra and Elantra GT. And perhaps, in the vein of that i30-based Elantra GT, the Accent hatch could be based on the i20 this time. Speaking of hatchbacks, the Veloster won't have a 2018 model year. Instead, the 2017 model year has been extended through 2018. We of course know that the Veloster isn't going away permanently, since we've seen spy photos of new versions. So we suspect that this long model year indicates that we'll see the new Veloster by the end of this year, or possibly the start of 2018, with a launch a few months after for the 2019 model year. Related Video:

Hyundai shoots down the rumor claiming it is done developing engines

Hyundai has clarified that the recent rumor claiming it had stopped developing gasoline- and diesel-burning engines to focus on various forms of electrifications is false. It said that development work remains on-going and that the internal combustion engine still has a future. "Hyundai Motor Group can confirm that it is not halting the development of its engines following recent media speculation. The Group is dedicated to providing a strong portfolio of powertrains to its global customers, which includes a combination of highly efficient engines and zero-emissions electric motors," said senior group manager Michael Stewart in an interview with Motor1. The report that emerged in late 2021 claimed that the Hyundai Group (which includes the Hyundai brand, Kia, and Genesis, among other entities) had completely stopped designing piston-powered engines to focus on electrification. It claimed that most of the engineers had been assigned new roles related to electrification, though it also noted that some were staying behind to continue refining the technology. If this sounds familiar, it's likely because Hyundai recently shot down a separate but similar rumor that said it had put the hydrogen-electric powertrain it planned to install in many of its cars (including some upmarket Genesis models) on hiatus. The carmaker explained that it has merely reshuffled the team that's developing the technology because unspecified technical hurdles have slowed down the project. Several electric Hyundai models are in the pipeline, including the production version of the Prophecy concept unveiled in 2020 and a relatively big SUV previewed by the 2021 Seven concept. But, its comments suggest that more gasoline-powered models are on the way as well, which is great news; its range of N-tuned high-performance models includes excellent cars and there's still room for it to grow. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.