2004 Hyundai Santa Fe Gls Sport Utility Awd Truck All Wheel Drive Clean Santafe on 2040-cars

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Hyundai and Kia to invest in self-driving startup Aurora

Hyundai Motor Co said on Thursday it would invest in self-driving car software startup Aurora along with Kia Motors Corp to speed up development of autonomous vehicle technologies. "With the new investment, the companies have agreed to expand research to a wide range of models and to build an optimal platform for Hyundai and Kia's autonomous vehicles," Hyundai said. Aurora said in a blog post that Hyundai and Kia's investment is part of a series B financing round, which has now raised more than $600 million. Aurora, which just announced a partnership with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, competes with Alphabet's Waymo and General Motors' majority-owned Cruise, among others. (Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Hyundai announces N performance sub-brand at WRC launch

It's been well over a year since Hyundai revealed its initial prototype for the i20 WRC at the 2012 Paris Auto Show. Now it's revealed the final version (pictured above, complete with Shell Helix livery) and it's also announced the full team that will field it next year in the World Rally Championship, including Thierry Neuville and additional drivers Juho Hänninen, Dani Sordo and Chris Atkinson. That's plenty exciting for rally fans, but the news that caught our attention was buried deeper in the press release.
That is the announcement of Hyundai's new N performance sub-brand. Named after the company's R&D facility in Namyang, South Korean, the N brand "will be used to symbolize Hyundai's high performance technology," not just on the rally car but also "future mass-produced high performance cars" for the road. The WRC car wears the logo that we'd expect to represent that new cadre of performance Hyundais.
Having hinted at the emergence of a European performance sub-brand a couple of months ago, the Korean automaker hasn't revealed any further details on which those road cars might be, but promises to transfer lessons it learns from the rally stage to the marketplace. We're looking forward to finding out more, but a roadgoing i20 hot hatch would be a good first bet. Here's hoping the North American product lineup won't be left out.

2013 Hyundai Santa Fe probed by NHTSA over axle failure

According to Reuters, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched a preliminary evaluation of the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe after receiving two complaints of broken front axles on vehicles with fewer than 5,000 miles on their odometers. Naturally, a broken axle could result in the loss of control of the vehicle, especially if it occurs at high speed. It's not immediately clear if the investigation centers on the five-seat Sport, the seven-seat model or both.
No actual recall has yet been issued, and "no safety defect has been identified," according to a statement Hyundai released to Reuters, which added, "Hyundai will, of course, take any actions necessary to ensure the safety of our customers if the information gathered during the investigation indicates that action is appropriate."
We suppose you could sum up the report this way: 2013 Santa Fe owners, stay tuned.