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Kia reportedly plans to increase production of Telluride SUV

A new report from overseas says that Kia will increase production of the new Telluride SUV to 100,000 units due to strong demand for the three-row hauler in the U.S. Korean news site Motor Graph reports the decision was announced on a conference call at Kia’s headquarters in Seoul; Autoblog has sought confirmation from a Kia spokesman. The news comes on the heels of word that the Telluride, along with its corporate sibling the Hyundai Palisade, were getting some minor price increases, the second for both, with the Telluride starting at $33,060, including destination, after launching at $32,735. ItÂ’s also the latest sign of the popularity and positive reviews of the Telluride, which went on sale in March of last year. The Telluride just won the title of 2020 North American Utility of the Year, vanquishing the Palisade and the Lincoln Aviator, and itÂ’s earned a slew of other honors from automotive publications and organizations. Kia builds the Telluride at its plant in West Point, Georgia and sold 58,604 models in the less than eight months it was on sale in 2019, with an established clip north of 6,000 per month by yearÂ’s end. Recent rumors have suggested Kia could be planning a range-topping trim level, complete with fancy new interior colors and an off-road package that could push the Telluride toward the $50,000 mark. Kia also plans to launch the compact Seltos crossover during the first quarter of this year. Meanwhile, corporate sibling Hyundai also launched the Palisade three-row ‘ute in 2019, one of two new Hyundai nameplates last year along with the compact Venue crossover, which launched in November. From its launch in June through December, the Palisade posted sales of 28,736, with steady month-over-month increases. A Hyundai spokesman said he had no information to share about production plans but said the Palisade was seeing good demand from car buyers. The Palisade is built in Ulsan, South Korea for the U.S. market. Related Video:

Judge reduces damages in fatal Hyundai crash to $81M

Hyundai no longer has to pay $248 million as part of a court ruling from a fatal accident in Montana that killed two cousins in a 2005 Tiburon. The judge hearing the appeal revised the amount down to a total of about $81 million. She upheld the original $8.1 million in actual damages but reduced the punitive damages to $73 million from the previous $240 million.
According to Bloomberg, the judge refused Hyundai's desire to reduce the amount even further. She said in her court order that the company showed "an indifference to or reckless disregard of the health and safety of the motoring public."
In the original case, the families' attorneys alleged that the cracking of a faulty steering knuckle caused the fatal accident. Hyundai argued that fireworks had been let off inside the vehicle, which caused the driver to swerve and crash. In a statement released after the ruling, the automaker claimed that evidence supporting its defense was barred from the trial. According to Bloomberg, had the original amount of damages been upheld, it would have been the sixth-highest amount awarded by a jury in the US this year.

2016 Hyundai Elantra spied uncovered

The next-generation Hyundai Elantra has been speculated on and teased throughout this year. In March we got a leaked photo of a South Korean-market Elantra, the question being if this is was actually the new car and if we'd get in the US. Then we got officially sanctioned sketches of the exterior and the interior. Now Korean site Auto Tribune has leaked photos of the next Korean-market Avante, which is our Elantra, and they actually line up with the automaker sketches. According to Google Translate, the pictures were taken at a Hyundai factory in South Korea by a contractor. If this is the real deal, Fluidic Sculpture has given way to a grille that might want to at least send a "Thank You" note to Audi. Flanking that are smoother lines and a more subtle treatment of the front end, with sleek, pulled-back headlights decorated with a lengthy LED signature above boomerang inlets in the bumper. The sides have been flattened out, losing some of dimensionality of the current car to go more mature. The rear end looks similar to the current sedan, but wider, with long taillights featuring three LED elements. Inside, a three-spoke steering wheel veers toward the plain, and the current continuous waterfall center console gives way to a two-section instrument panel that has an eight-inch infotainment screen at the top, above HVAC controls. At the base there's an open cubby that doesn't look to have a cover, and the gear selector lever incline appears reduced. The overall impression is less engaging to the eye than now. Auto Tribune says a 1.6 liter GDI is under hood, which puts out 175 horsepower and 196 pound-feet of torque in the 2016 Tucson. We'll see the real car at the LA Auto Show later this year. Click through to Auto Tribune for more photos.