2002 Hyundai Sonata..economical 4 Cyl..loaded..well Maintained...fwd..no Reserve on 2040-cars

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370-hp Veloster by Fox Marketing rounds out Hyundai's SEMA lineup

Hyundai is certainly bringing the horsepower wars to Las Vegas next month. We already know that its SEMA lineup includes a 1,000-horsepower Genesis Coupe, but now the company has announced that it is teaming up with Fox Marketing to create a 370-hp Veloster Turbo.
Keeping the Turbo's 1.6-liter engine, this show car gets an extra 169 hp by adding a bigger turbo and intercooler, cat-back exhaust and nitrous and methanol injection... oh, and the engine runs on 101-octane racing fuel. The brakes have been upgraded with six-piston calipers and bigger rotors, while the suspension now includes adjustable coil-overs. And since this is SEMA, this Veloster Turbo gets the requisite flashy exterior styling.
Scroll down for the full press release, but we'll have some better shots of this Veloster in just a few weeks.

Hyundai files patent for smartphone feature disabler in proximity to steering wheel

Combatting driver distraction continues to be a hot topic in automotive safety, especially when it comes to young motorists. While simply not using a smartphone behind the wheel would fix much of the problem, automakers are trying to work out complicated ways to make people safer. For example, GM is experimenting with head and eye tracking to make sure folks are paying attention to the road. Now, Hyundai might have come up with a technology that offers a very simple fix: disable the phones. The Korean automaker explains the idea in explicit detail in a recently published patent. The tech specifically "limits or disables the use of some of mobile device features which could cause distraction to the user," according to the abstract. Depending on variables like the vehicle's speed, the system determines what smartphone functions are safe to use, including texting or voice calls. Based on a plethora of permutations in the document, these restrictions could only be for the area around the driver's seat or for the whole vehicle. The key to the patent is placing antennas around the vehicle and monitoring for cellular signals. When the system detects them, it can begin selectively deciding what features to allow on the device. The tech isn't a simple on/off switch either, and can possibly detect the time of day or importance of the caller to let messages though. The major downside to all of this is the phone would need to run a specific program or firmware for all of this to work. With such a recently published patent, it might be years before the tech arrives in Hyundai vehicles, if at all. Still, this is an interesting solution. Of course, it would be far simpler if people just put down their phones. You can read the full description of the automaker's concept, here. News Source: Free Patens Online via US Patent and Trademark Office Auto News Hyundai Technology Emerging Technologies Smartphone distracted driving patent cell phone driver distraction

First 2014 Hyundai Equus shipment adrift in Pacific Ocean

To all you Hyundai dealers and customers eager to plunk your posteriors into the broad, leather-lined seats of the redesigned 2014 Equus, we have some bad news: Your ship hasn't come in - literally. According to USA Today, a Korean freighter with the first 61 examples of the luxury sedan packed away in its belly has lost engine power in the western Pacific Ocean, and is adrift.
The ship, Morning Spruce, has apparently been without power for several days and is floating in the Sea of Okhotsk. It isn't clear when it will be repaired or reach US shores to divulge its contents. As a result of the wandering Spruce, Hyundai has reportedly had to reschedule some of its planned marketing efforts for the new model.
The 2014 Equus receives a suite of changes inside and out, including freshened styling, revamped center stack controls, a new instrument cluster and additional tech. Underneath, the rear-drive sedan gets a reworked suspension and a new sport mode to ease some of its nautical-by-nature handling. The 5.0-liter Tau V8 and eight-speed transmission - updates for 2012 - stay the course for 2014.