Florida Elantra Limited Clean Carfax Factory Warranty We Finance 38mpg Ipod on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Albert Biermann, the man behind some of Hyundai's sportiest cars, retires

Hyundai Motor Group, which includes Kia and Genesis, made big news by announcing at the end of 2014 that it was bringing on Albert Biermann to its research and development division. He had spent just over 30 years at BMW and was in charge of the M division before he left. His time at Hyundai led to some of the company's best driving cars, which meet or beat the global competition. But now, the company has announced Biermann is retiring. At 65 years old, it's not entirely surprising that Biermann would be looking at retirement, and he seems to be leaving on good terms. "Korea will remain as my second home, and all of my colleagues at Hyundai Motor Group will always be considered part of my family. I would like to recognize that our success has always been based on the strong collective spirit of the many talented people at Hyundai, and I will value our unique achievements wherever I live," he said in a release from Hyundai. Fortunately, Biermann will still be an Executive Technical Advisor for the company. Specifically, he'll be advising on electrified performance cars. We say fortunately, because Biermann has been so involved in some of the company's best cars. He helped make the company's rear-drive-based cars such as the Kia Stinger and Genesis models so fun to drive. He also helped setup Hyundai's N sub-brand, and the N models are among the best sport compacts in the world. Assuming Hyundai has taken to heart many things from Biermann, and with his continued advising, the company should still be in a good position. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2022 Hyundai Kona N Short Cut

China sticking to its guns on EVs for the future

Automakers are obviously free to develop whatever next-gen, zero-emissions tech that they want. However, if a company wants to get on the good side of the Chinese government, that strategy better include some plug-in vehicles. The authorities there are lending major support to plug-ins at the moment, and its forcing the auto industry to play along. According to Bloomberg, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and BMW are all launching dedicated EV brands with their joint venture partners, and as many as 40 electric models could hit the Chinese market this year alone. However, analysts don't think the vehicles are going to sell well. Instead, the launches are essentially a way for companies to play nice with the government and help get the approval to build factories in the country. Take Toyota as an example. The company is pushing the future of hydrogen hard with promotional films for the Mirai and engineers talking down fast-charging EVs. Still, the Japanese automaker is getting ready to launch two EV brands in China with its joint venture partners, according to Bloomberg. China's push for alternative fuels has been happening for a while, but it really kicked into high gear last year. The government has set a goal to improve fleet-wide economy by 40 percent by the end of the decade in order to spend less importing oil and for the population's health. The plan has shown some success so far with hybrid and EV sales growing early in 2015. Related Video: News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Kin Cheung / AP Photo Government/Legal Green BMW Hyundai Toyota Volkswagen Green Culture Technology Electric tax incentives chinese government

U.S. appeals court preserves $210M Hyundai-Kia fuel economy class settlement

A U.S. appeals court restored a $210 million nationwide class-action settlement for hundreds of thousands of owners of Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors Corp vehicles whose fuel economy estimates were inflated. By an 8-3 vote on Thursday, in a case closely watched by class-action lawyers, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, California, said vehicle owners had enough in common to let them settle as a group. It also rejected arguments by owners opposed to the settlement that the claims process was too burdensome, and that lawyers for the class had colluded with the automakers to extract a "sweetheart deal" that undervalued their claims. The case began after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found flaws in Hyundai's and Kia's testing procedures, prompting the automakers to lower fuel efficiency estimates for about 900,000 vehicles from the 2011, 2012 and 2013 model years. Lawyers for objecting drivers had no immediate comment. Hyundai said it was grateful for the decision. Kia and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The decision by Circuit Judge Jacqueline Nguyen upheld a settlement approved in June 2015 by U.S. District Judge George Wu in Los Angeles. Wu "made careful findings, which the objectors here largely do not challenge, and which more than support the judgment," Nguyen wrote. The decision reversed a divided three-judge 9th Circuit panel's January 2018 rejection of the settlement and decertification of the class action. That panel said Wu failed to assess whether differences in state laws prevented certification of a nationwide class. It also said used car owners should have been excluded because it was unclear whether they had relied on the South Korean automakers' fuel economy claims. Lawyers had said it would become much harder to obtain nationwide settlements if the panel ruling stood. Nguyen had dissented from the panel ruling. Circuit Judge Sandra Ikuta, who wrote it, dissented on Thursday. Ikuta accused the majority of failing to determine what law should apply to the nationwide class or how the settlement, and thus attorneys' fees, should be valued. "The majority's failure to correct these errors may be beneficial for the class action bar, but it detracts from compliance with Supreme Court precedent," Ikuta wrote. The 9th Circuit covers nine western U.S. states, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.