2014 Hyundai Sonata Gls on 2040-cars

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Hyundai Tucson N would be a hot hatch on crossover stilts

Auto Express reports that during last week's launch of the all-new Hyundai Santa Fe, the carmaker's global head of sales said a hotted-up N version of the Tucson "is under development, and other models will come after that." The remark should quell a year of speculation that a performance-oriented Tucson N had to figure somewhere in Hyundai's plans. The question now is when will the Tucson N get here. The N performance sub-brand's first product, the i30 N, just launched. We'd been told that a "fastback" would come next, probably an N version of the i30 Fastback going on sale in international markets this year. After that would come a B-segment vehicle — likely an i20 N, a road-going model of the four-door that Hyundai uses for the World Rally Championship. After that would come an SUV, however, we're also expecting a Veloster N to reach the U.S. market late this year. We know that the N division plans to take the time to make sure each model delivers all the goods — the i30 N's received uniformly high marks so far — so we could be looking at mid to late 2019 for a spicy Tucson. The hot crossover playground will entertain more global players by then — Seat just debuted its 296-horsepower Cupra Ateca in Europe, for instance — but in the US, the Tucson N could own a niche without a true competitor. The Mazda CX-5 earns across-the-board praise for driving dynamics, but its four-cylinder tops out at 187 hp and it would never be called a "lovable thug." Unless Ford decides to roll out an Escape ST after three years of scuttlebutt on the matter, nothing else in the segment could touch a 'roided Tucson, especially one given the full 271-hp from i30 N's 2.0-liter turbocharged four-pot. Related Video:

Hyundai recalling 140k Sonatas over seatbelts

Hyundai is recalling about 140,000 examples of the 2015 Sonata in North America to repair a problem with the front passenger seatbelt not latching. Specifically, the problem affects 129,000 of the sedans in the US and 10,401 in Canada. On these models, if the seatbelt tongue is forcibly inserted into the buckle at a certain angle, then it can jam and not latch. Only the front passenger side is affected, and driver would be notified because a warning light would illuminate on the dashboard. The safety campaign covers 2015 Sonatas with production dates between April 25 and December 4, 2014, according to a statement to Autoblog from Hyundai, but there are no reports of injuries from this issue. Owners will receive notification by mail in about a month. To fix the problem, dealers will inspect the part and repair or replace it as necessary. Hyundai has already notified NHTSA about the recall, but the campaign hasn't been added to the agency's website yet. Transport Canada has already posted some information about it, though. Related Video: Hyundai Statement: We recently notified NHTSA of a safety recall we are initiating in the U.S. to repair or replace the front passenger seat belt buckle in approximately 129,000 2015 Sonatas that were built beginning April 25, 2014 through December 4, 2014. We are initiating this action to ensure the safety and quality of the vehicles and the continued satisfaction of our customers. In some cases, if the front passenger seat belt "tongue" is inserted into the buckle forcibly at an angle, the buckle may jam, preventing the front passenger from fastening the seat belt. The front passenger's seat belt warning lamp will illuminate if the front passenger seat belt is not buckled while the seat is occupied. This condition does not result in partial latching of the belt and does not affect the driver or rear passenger seat belt buckles. There are no reports of injuries attributed to this condition.

Hyundai, Kia ratchet up fleet sales as retail transactions slide

Automotive News reports both Hyundai and Kia have stepped up fleet sales in an attempt to offset disappointing first quarter results. The Korean automakers saw their sales decline by nine percent compared to last year, while all major competitors managed to increase their sales. That situation marks an inversion of two years ago, when both gained ground after Japanese rivals suffered production and inventory shortages after the country's earthquake and tsunami tragedies.
Now, Hyundai can't come up with enough volume models in popular trim configurations to satisfy buyers, and lower-volume models are also in a snag. At the moment, Hyundai can only build 20-30 percent of Veloster hatchbacks with turbocharged engines while the US market would apparently support closer to 70 percent.
In order to reverse the sales slide, Hyundai and Kia have stepped up fleet sales of the vehicles they do have by some 50 percent, ringing up a total of 42,400 units in the first quarter. By contrast, Automotive News reports the seven largest automakers increased retail volume by seven percent and fleet sales by four percent as a group.