2010 Hyundai Sonata Gls on 2040-cars

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Honda readying Veloster-rivaling concept for Beijing?

Maybe the rumors of the CR-Z's death have been exaggerated. Honda has just released the first teaser of a new concept that it plans to debut at the Beijing Motor Show at the end of April. It shows off a sporty looking coupe that looks like the child of a CR-Z and Hyundai Veloster. However, the concept looks to be for the Chinese market, as it's a joint proposal with one of its domestic partners there, Guangqi Honda Automobile.
Unfortunately, we don't have any other details about the concept yet - not even a name. The teaser also doesn't give a very good indication of the car's size. It appears to be roughly the size of a small coupe, and if Honda hadn't already tried the idea with the CR-Z, you could almost see it as a modern CRX, but it could be a little bit larger, too.
In addition to the coupe concept at the Beijing show, Dongfeng Honda will premiere the concept for the next Spirior, which is the foreign version of the Accord. Guangqi Honda will also bring a mid-size SUV and the third-generation Fit. Acura will also be there and will have both the NSX Concept and a model of its powertrain. Scroll down for the full release about everything Honda will show in China.

Daimler, Toyota, BMW to lead $10-billion hydrogen investment

Daimler, BMW, and Toyota are leading a group of 13 companies pledging to invest more than $10 billion during the next five years to spur enough infrastructure-building and technology advancements to get more of the general public to buy hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. The automakers, which also include Honda and Hyundai, as well as companies such as Shell, AirLiquide, Linde Group, and Total SA, are part of what they're calling the Hydrogen Council. The group made its announcement in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday. The Hydrogen Council will pledge to accelerate its rate of hydrogen-related investments, which currently stand at about $1.5 billion annually. The coalition says its work represents a continuation of the 2015 Paris Agreement, in which many of the companies agreed to address the issue of climate change. The group says that hydrogen, which emits water vapor when used in fuel-cell vehicles, "can play an important role in the transition to a clean, low-carbon, energy system." The Hydrogen Council also vowed to push global governments to accelerate public investment in hydrogen-related infrastructure. Relative to other drivetrain technologies, hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are in their relative infancy in terms of adoption because of the high cost of both building fuel cell vehicles and setting up a hydrogen-refueling infrastructure. Toyota is the only automaker that sells a production fuel-cell vehicle in the US. The Japanese company, which introduced its Mirai domestically in late 2015, sold 1,034 of them in the US last year. Daimler subsidiary, Mercedes-Benz, used Tuesday's announcement to remind people that it would start selling its GLC plug-in hydrogen fuel-cell crossover this year. There are only 33 publicly accessible hydrogen refueling stations in the US, including 30 in California, and one each in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and South Carolina, according to the US Department of Energy. By comparison, there are more than 15,000 electric-vehicle charging stations with almost 40,000 outlets in the US. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Mercedes-AMG GLC43 News Source: Daimler/Hydrogen Council via Bloomberg, Automotive News-sub.req. Green BMW Honda Hyundai Mercedes-Benz Toyota Hydrogen Cars infrastructure mercedes f-cell

2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, PHEV gets conservative new look, more range

The plug-in hybrid middle ground between the 2015 Toyota Prius Plug-In (11 miles of EV range) and the 2016 Chevrolet Volt (50 miles) has long been the Ford domain. The Blue Oval has two plug-in hybrids with 20 miles of all-electric range, its 2015 Fusion and C-Max Energi Plug-in Hybrids. Entering this fray later this year will be the 2016 Hyundai Sonata Plug-In Hybrid, which will arrive with 22 miles of EV range and 93 MPGe. Hyundai made that announcement at the Detroit Auto Show this morning, saying that 22 miles is "farther than any other midsize PHEV sedan." Those zero-emission miles will come from a 9.8-kWh lithium polymer battery and a 50-kW electric motor. Once the pack runs out, Hyundai expects the PHEV to get 40 mpg combined (as well as 38 mpg city and 43 mpg highway) thanks to the gas-powered heart of the powertrain: a 154-horsepower, 2.0-liter Nu GDI four-cylinder engine that puts out 140 pound-feet of torque. When combined with the motor, the total system output is 202 horsepower. Hyundai is also showing off a non-plug Sonata Hybrid, which is expected to get a 10-percent fuel economy boost. The current version gets 38 mpg, combined, so that hints at around 42 mpg on the sticker when the car arrives in dealerships. The plugless model has to make due with a 51-hp, 38-kW electric motor that offers 151 pound-feet of torque and a net power rating of 193 horsepower. The two new Sonata Hybrid models have their own, more aerodynamic front and rear fascias as well as "purposefully unique wheels" that help drop the drag coefficient to just 0.24. The PHEV has a unique grille and a charge port on the front driver's side. Both models will arrive in dealerships later this year. Featured Gallery 2016 Hyundai Sonata Plug In Hybrid View 12 Photos Green Detroit Auto Show Hyundai Fuel Efficiency Hybrid Sedan