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Hyundai files patent for smartphone feature disabler in proximity to steering wheel

Combatting driver distraction continues to be a hot topic in automotive safety, especially when it comes to young motorists. While simply not using a smartphone behind the wheel would fix much of the problem, automakers are trying to work out complicated ways to make people safer. For example, GM is experimenting with head and eye tracking to make sure folks are paying attention to the road. Now, Hyundai might have come up with a technology that offers a very simple fix: disable the phones. The Korean automaker explains the idea in explicit detail in a recently published patent. The tech specifically "limits or disables the use of some of mobile device features which could cause distraction to the user," according to the abstract. Depending on variables like the vehicle's speed, the system determines what smartphone functions are safe to use, including texting or voice calls. Based on a plethora of permutations in the document, these restrictions could only be for the area around the driver's seat or for the whole vehicle. The key to the patent is placing antennas around the vehicle and monitoring for cellular signals. When the system detects them, it can begin selectively deciding what features to allow on the device. The tech isn't a simple on/off switch either, and can possibly detect the time of day or importance of the caller to let messages though. The major downside to all of this is the phone would need to run a specific program or firmware for all of this to work. With such a recently published patent, it might be years before the tech arrives in Hyundai vehicles, if at all. Still, this is an interesting solution. Of course, it would be far simpler if people just put down their phones. You can read the full description of the automaker's concept, here. News Source: Free Patens Online via US Patent and Trademark Office Auto News Hyundai Technology Emerging Technologies Smartphone distracted driving patent cell phone driver distraction

Hyundai reveals new Creta crossover in India

It's been less than a month since Hyundai told us to start anticipating the arrival of the new Creta, and even less time since it released the first teaser sketch. Now the Korean automaker has taken the wraps off the finished product. Unveiled over the weekend in India, the new Hyundai Creta applies the company's latest design language to a smaller crossover form. Full details have still yet to be released, but those body panels are laid over a structure the manufacturer calls Hive. It makes use of a high proportion of high-strength steel to keep the chassis rigid yet lightweight. Powertrain options – for the Indian market anyway – include a 1.6-liter four with 121 horsepower or a choice of diesels with as much as 126 hp. Hardly earth-shattering stuff, but short of more potent turbocharged offerings, those engines ought to make it perfectly competitive with the company it intends to keep. Relative output and fuel choices aside, the engines channel their power through a six-speed manual or automatic transmission, though there's no mention as of yet of the availability of all-wheel drive. We'll have to wait for a release with a wider purview to find out more. At this point Hyundai isn't showing us around the interior, either, but you can scope out what images have been released thus far in the slideshow above. It'll be a while longer before anyone can determine whether it'll prove a worthwhile competitor to the likes of the Nissan Juke, Jeep Renegade, and Honda HR-V, to name just a few likely rivals. With fellow Korean automaker SsangYong eager to make its mark with the similarly compact Tivoli as well, the Creta will have quite a fight on its hands. Hyundai Showcases the Global SUV- CRETA No. 1512015-06-278 hit • Strong structural strength with adoption of Hive body structure • Stable & confident ride & handling for ultimate driving experience • Powerful engine options with first in segment Diesel Automatic Transmission Chennai, 27 June 2015- Hyundai Motor India Ltd, the country's leading premium car manufacturer and the largest passenger car exporter today, unveiled India's most awaited stylish, powerful and dynamic SUV - 'CRETA'. The CRETA marks Hyundai's entry in growing SUV segment with strong product offering boosting Hyundai's product line up to a robust 10 product portfolio.

Lexus tops JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study again, Buick bests Toyota

It shouldn't surprise anyone, but Lexus has once again taken the top spot in JD Power's Vehicle Dependability Study. That'd be the Japanese luxury brand's fourth straight year at the top of table. The big news, though, is the rise of Buick. General Motor's near-premium brand beat out Toyota to take second place, with 110 problems per 100 vehicles compared to Toyota's 111 problems. Lexus owners only reported 89 problems per 100 vehicles. Besides Buick's three-position jump, Scion enjoyed a major improvement, jumping 13 positions from 2014. Ram and Mitsubishi made big gains, as well, moving up 11 and 10 positions, respectively. In terms of individual segments, GM and Toyota both excelled, taking home seven segment awards each. The study wasn't good news for all involved, though. A number of popular automakers finished below the industry average of 147 problems per 100 vehicles, including Subaru, (157PP100), Volkswagen (165PP100), Ford/Hyundai (188PP100 each) and Mini (193PP100). The biggest losers (by a tremendous margin, we might add) were Land Rover and Fiat, recording 258 and 273 problems per 100 vehicles. The next closest brand was Jeep, with 197PP100. While the Vehicle Dependability Study uses the same measurement system as the Initial Quality Survey, the two metrics analyze very different things. The VDS looks at problems experienced by original owners of model year 2012 vehicles over the past 12 months, while the oft-quoted IQS focuses on problems in the first 90 days of new-vehicle ownership. Like the IQS, though, the VDS has a rather broad definition of what a problem is. Because of that, a low score from JD Power is no guarantee of extreme unreliability, so much as just poor design. In this most recent study, the two most reported problems focused on Bluetooth connectivity and the voice-command systems. The former leaves plenty of room for user error due to poor design (particularly true of the Bluetooth systems on the low-scoring Fords, Volkswagens and Subarus), while the second is something JD Power has already confirmed as being universally terrible. That makes means that while these studies are important, they shouldn't be taken as gospel when it comes to automotive reliability. News Source: JD PowerImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL Buick Fiat Ford GM Hyundai Jeep Land Rover Lexus MINI Mitsubishi RAM Scion Subaru Toyota Volkswagen Auto Repair Ownership study