2001 Hyundai Elantra Gls on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2018 Hyundai Tucson Sport introduced with new engine

The 2018 Hyundai Tucson Sport its getting its own exclusive engine to help separate it from the rest of the Tucson lineup. It will also get some bragging rights over rivals like the Toyota RAV4. Now, don't get too excited and imagine yourself racing Mustangs and Camaros in your Hyundai-badged compact SUV. The Tucson Sport comes exclusively with a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine that delivers 181-horsepower and 175 lb-ft of torque. This does make the Tucson Sport the most powerful variant in the Tucson range - though the differences are pretty modest. The standard 2.0-liter four-cylinder offers 164 hp and 151 lb-ft of torque, while the optional 1.6-liter turbocharged four serves up 175 hp and 195 lb-ft. Coupled to a six-speed automatic transmission with a SHIFTRONIC manual mode, buyers have a choice of front- or all-wheel-drive. Standard features on the Sport include 19-inch alloy wheels, blind spot warning, proximity key with push-button start, a leather wrapped steering wheel and shift-knob, and dual-zone automatic temperature control. The 2018 Tucson Sport in front-wheel-drive format starts at $25,150, while the Sport equipped with AWD has a starting MSRP of $26,550. This puts the Sport model right in the middle of the Tucson range, which stretches from the base SE model at $22,550, upward to $30,825 for the Limited trim fitted with the turbo four-cylinder and AWD. Related Video: Hyundai SUV hyundai tucson

Hyundai hires actor Paul Rudd as pitchman [w/video]

The Dude abides, but his deep voice is going to be coming from your TV a little less. After seven years of his earthiness, laid back actor Jeff Bridges is no longer the voice of Hyundai in the brand's advertising. He has been replaced by comedian Paul Rudd who is already narrating the new commercial for the 2015 Hyundai Sonata.
"We were looking for a voice that could be recognizable and relatable to a new generation of car buyers," said Steve Shannon, vice president of Marketing, Hyundai Motor America, in the company's announcement of the deal. "Rudd can be serious, humorous, informative and entertaining all at the same time."
According to Hyundai spokesperson Derek Joyce speaking to Autoblog, the deal with Rudd goes for the next three years. "He's our tier one voice, and that's going to affect tone" in the company's ads," Joyce said. The first spot with Rudd is titled Co-Pilot, and it stars a backseat driver losing out to the Sonata's navigation system and safety features at every turn. Rudd isn't physically in the commercial but does the ending voiceover. The company wouldn't say when the next ad with the new pitchman might debut.

Hyundai, Genesis, Subaru warn their dealers about markups

Six weeks ago, word got out that Ford's VP of sales for the U.S. and Canada wrote one of those "It has come to our attention..." e-mails to the automaker's dealer body. The VP's problem was dealers trying to get reservation deposits for the Ford F-150 Lightning well above the official $100 fee. The tomfoolery resulted in interactions "with customers in a manner that is negatively impacting customer satisfaction and damaging to the Ford Motor Company brand and Dealer Body reputation." Two weeks later, GM told its dealers to cut out the reservation gaming and the markups on the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, banditry that's been going on for two years. Two weeks ago, Ford was back at it, this time about markups on the Bronco. Last week, Asian automakers swept into the melee, with Hyundai and Genesis, Subaru, and Infiniti writing letters to their dealers to deliver some variant of, "Stop pissing off the customers." Automotive News reported an SVP at Hyundai Motor America and the COO at Genesis Motor North America sent letters to their dealers expressing disappointment at "certain pricing practices which, if left unchecked, will have a negative impact on the health of our brand." One of the practices mentioned was dealer markups, another was the bait-and-switch, with dealers advertising one price then charging a higher price once the customer showed up at the lot. The letters acknowledged that dealers are separate companies to the automakers and have the right to set their own prices. The automakers cannot interfere with that; their leverage is distributing allocations and perks such as advertising support and financial incentives. So, like a movie boss letting the protagonist go on a technicality, the brands wrote, "we cannot stand idly by watching the actions of the aforementioned dealers undo all the efforts we collectively have put into making these brands what they are today." Jalopnik got tipped to a letter Subaru of America CEO Thomas Doll sent to that brand's dealers. Doll's polite yet insistent tone was the result of a letter a loyal Subaru owner sent to the automaker's VP of Customer Advocacy. In the market for a third brand-new Forester, the owner said they encountered a "tax" labeled a "Low Inventory Surcharge" of as much as $6,000, putting the Forester out of reach.