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Hyundai refreshes the Sonata for South Korea, and later the US

Thanks to its debut in South Korea, we have an early look at the revised Hyundai Sonata that will eventually reach the US with minor adjustments. And that's not just speculation. We reached out to Jim Trainor at Hyundai, who told us, "Much of what you have seen from Korea will be seen here, but there will be differences both on the exterior and the interior along with some mechanical and option differences." That said, we don't expect major changes to this Korean model. So without further ado, let's take a look. Up front is a thoroughly revised fascia. The most noticeable change is the grille, which descends much lower in the front bumper, much like those on the Elantra sedan and Elantra GT hatchback. The top edge of the grille appears lower, and that brings the whole nose of the car lower. The hood also has a few more creases running longitudinally. The exterior varies a bit between models, with the standard model getting a grille with slats and the 2.0T getting a mesh grille. The 2.0T also gets black headlight bezels and dark chrome all around. Though Hyundai didn't provide photos of the interior, the company says it has been changed, and some of the buttons will have a more premium feel. The 2.0T also gets a few exclusive interior bits to complement its unique exterior. The seats have more bolstering, and the standard steering wheel is replaced with a flat-bottomed piece. There are some functional updates to the new Sonata as well. Most notable is the introduction of an 8-speed automatic on the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder model. In the US, the turbo Sonata is only available with a 6-speed automatic. Hyundai also touts the introduction of wireless phone charging and lane-keep assist. The big differences between this and the US version likely involve visual tweaks and the packaging of some options. There's also the question of whether the 8-speed automatic will be available, but it would be odd if it weren't offered. The Korean model goes on sale later this year, and Trainor told us the North American debut is coming soon. Related Video:

Hyundai sells its 10,000,000th Elantra

There aren't many nameplates that have sold over 10 million units in the history of the automotive industry. In fact there have only been ten, and now Hyundai has joined the list for the first time with the Elantra.
Launched 24 years ago, the Elantra has far and away been Hyundai's top selling model. Now in its fifth generation, the Elantra is sold as a coupe, sedan and wagon, and under the Avante name in its home market. It's one of the top selling cars in the world, and Hyundai has earned the right to crow that it has sold its 10,000,000 of them globally. That means that, on average, Hyundai has sold more than 45 new Elantras every hour of every day of every year since its introduction in 1990.
Other models in the 10 Million Club include the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, VW Beetle and Golf, and the Ford Model T and F-Series. The latter might still be considered the most impressive, selling over 34 million units - the vast majority in the US - to be America's top-selling vehicle for over 30 years running.

Hyundai twin-charged 1.8L GDCI gas engine expected to be more efficient than 2.0L diesel

Despite the growing trend of automakers offering diesel-powered or electrified powertrains, there's still a whole lot that can be done with the good-old gasoline internal combustion engine. And at Hyundai, that's exactly what's being worked on - new gasoline engine technologies that improve both performance and efficiency. During an event at the automaker's technical center in Superior Township, MI on Friday, Hyundai gave Autoblog a glimpse into the future, offering up preliminary details on its new GDCI (Gasoline Direct-Injection Compression) engine - something that will be heading to production soon.
Hyundai's main goal with this GDCI engine is to "achieve diesel levels of fuel efficiency with conventional gasoline," according to Nayan Engineer (yes, his last name is Engineer), one of Hyundai's powertrain gurus. What's more, Engineer says the GDCI engine will offer "equal to better performance than conventional gasoline engines" and will have a "lower system cost [than] diesel engines."
Hyundai expects a 1.8-liter GDCI engine to be more efficient than a comparable 2.0-liter diesel engine with similar performance.