2011 Hyundai Genesis 3.8 on 2040-cars

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Hyundai Fined $17.35 Million For Delayed Recall

Hyundai has agreed to pay a $17.35 million fine for delayed reporting of a brake defect affecting Genesis luxury cars, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday. The defect involves corrosion in critical brake system components that can reduce braking effectiveness and increase the risk of a crash, NHTSA said. Hyundai was aware in 2012 that brake fluids used in the model year 2009-2012 Genesis cars did not sufficiently inhibit corrosion in key components of the vehicle's brake system, the agency said. But rather than issue a recall, Hyundai instructed dealers to change the brake fluid in affected vehicles without explaining the consequences that failure to take that action might have, NHTSA said. Hyundai also did not inform Genesis owners of the potential safety consequences, the agency said. Hyundai recalled 27,500 of the cars in October 2012 just hours before the government opened an investigation. "Hyundai failed to act to protect their customers and others that were harmed in an accident, and must change the way they deal with all safety related defects," David Friedman, head of the safety administration, said in a statement. About 70 percent of the affected Genesis cars have been repaired so far, the safety administration said. Hyundai is committed to ensuring immediate action in response to potential safety concerns, including the prompt reporting of safety defects, said Jim Trainor, a senior group manager for Hyundai Motor America. "In order to mitigate a situation like this in the future, Hyundai is instituting new organizational and process improvements, and enhancing the ability of its U.S. leadership team to readily respond to regulatory reporting requirements," he said in an email. In May, the safety administration slapped General Motors with a record $35 million fine Friday for taking more than a decade to disclose an ignition-switch defect in millions of cars that has been linked to at least 13 deaths. Earlier this year, after a four-year criminal investigation, the Justice Department made Toyota pay $1.2 billion for concealing unintended acceleration problems from NHTSA. No individuals were charged with a crime. Related Gallery Safest Crossovers For The Budget-Conscious Family View 10 Photos Recalls Genesis Hyundai NHTSA brakes

Hyundai’s N division will tune electrics, steer clear of Genesis

At Hyundai's Namyang proving ground in a small garage emblazoned with a giant "N," Albert Biermann, the ex-BMW engineer who now heads up vehicle development for the Korean brand, recently provided a few hints about what to expect from Hyundai's nascent performance sub-brand — and that includes EVs. "We are looking for the right ideas of how to transfer the craziness of N into electrification," he said. That could be "a full EV [and] also could be a hybrid." To date, we've seen the Veloster N introduced last fall in the United States, followed by the recently announced Elantra GT N Line. Europe has the i30 N in hatchback and fastback body styles. Biermann says, "We will expand also into segments we are not in now," including "something a little bit smaller," as well as into "a different type of vehicle." Biermann also said we can expect a more powerful version of the new 2020 Hyundai Sonata — which we've just reviewed, and which will launch in the United States with a 180-hp 1.6-liter turbo and a 191-hp 2.5-liter naturally aspirated four. But he stopped short of saying whether it would be an N or an N Line model. And it appears that the N expansion will not extend to Genesis. "There are no plans yet to make a sub-label for Genesis like we did with N for Hyundai," Biermann said. This despite the fact that nearly all of its rivals have branched out in that direction. For now, it seems, the G70 Sport is as sporty as it will get over at Genesis.

2016: The year we talked about autonomy a bunch | Autoblog Podcast #497

This week on the Autoblog Podcast, Mike Austin and David Gluckman take a look back at one of the biggest topics of 2016: autonomous driving. The thing is, there was a lot of news about autonomous driving, but not much in the way of autonomous cars you can buy. They also talk about what they've been driving lately - there was a good turbocharged compact car and a not-so-good turbocharged compact car. And then we round out the year with a quick Spend My Money. The podcast will take a break next week, but we'll be back in the new year with reports from CES and the 2017 Detroit Auto Show. And we're lining up some fun guests for future recordings. The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want buying advice of your very own, send a message or a voice memo to podcast at autoblog dot com. (If you record audio of a question with your phone and get it to us, you could hear your very own voice on the podcast. Neat, right?) And please send trivia questions! You'll get the honor of stumping your fellow listeners, and we'll thank you too. Autoblog Podcast #497 Topics and stories we mention 2017 Hyundai Elantra Sport 2017 Nissan Sentra SR Turbo 2016 Honda Accord V6 (The sedan, but here's our Quick Spin of the coupe for reference) Autonomous Driving Rundown Intro - 00:00 What we're driving - 02:40 Rants (metal trim on steering wheels, learn how your car works) - 14:25 Looking back at autonomous driving in 2016 - 21:10 Spend My Money - 31:20 Total Duration: 37:46 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show on iTunes Podcasts Honda Hyundai Nissan Car Buying Technology Emerging Technologies Autonomous Vehicles nissan sentra