2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0t Limited Sedan 4-door 2.0l - Fully Loaded on 2040-cars

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Ex-Hyundai CEO Krafcik joins TrueCar board amidst IPO plans

Former Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik has had a tumultuous year. Last June, he won the Automotive Executive of the Year from DNV Business Assurance. Then in December, he suddenly announced he was stepping down from his leadership role at the Korean automaker on January 1, with some suggesting it was because the company's sales growth was too far below forecasts. Now, it looks like the exec has landed a new role on the board of directors of online car shopping website TrueCar.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Krafcik's role will be to build relationships with automakers and dealers, but the job at TrueCar won't be full time. Since leaving Hyundai, Krafcik has also been doing consulting work in Silicon Valley. "It's helped me understand what I might want to do, full, full time. I am just taking things at the appropriate pace," he said to the Journal.
Krafcik, who is widely considered one of the industry's top executives, took the helm at Hyundai America in 2008 and led it to an increase in sales and market share. He was with the company when it won North American Car of the Year awards in 2009 and 2012 for the Genesis and Elantra, respectively.

Hyundai puts its hydrogen development program on hiatus

UPDATE: According to Pulse news in South Korea, Hyundai denies that it has paused development of hydrogen fuel cells. Instead, the report suggests the team was reshuffled as technological hurdles have slowed down progress. Time will tell which version of the report is factual. Hydrogen technology has reportedly lost one of its biggest and most vocal proponents, at least for now. Citing a long list of hurdles, Hyundai has allegedly stopped developing the hydrogen-electric powertrain it planned to put in several of its cars (including Genesis models) in the coming years. Anonymous sources told South Korean publication Chosunbiz that executives pulled the emergency brake after analyzing the results of a feasibility study. Nothing is official at this point, and the report stresses that the pause is temporary. However, the issues reportedly found are relatively serious: they include unspecified technical problems and a lack of marketability due in part to cost-related concerns. The news comes as a surprise because Hyundai has invested a tremendous amount of resources into making hydrogen a viable alternative to gasoline without many of the inconveniences associated with EVs, like long charging times and limited driving range. It's one of the few carmakers in the world that sells a hydrogen-electric car (the Nexo; pictured), and it announced plans to build about 130,000 hydrogen-powered cars annually by 2025. And yet, the Nexo is a tough sell, even in hydrogen-friendly markets like South Korea; 8,206 units were sold there through November 2021. The 671-horsepower Vision FK concept unveiled earlier in 2021 will seemingly remain at the prototype stage. Interestingly, a separate unverified report claims that Hyundai has also shuttered its engine development division. If both are accurate, it means that the Hyundai group (which includes Kia and Genesis) will exclusively develop electric powertrains starting in the near future. Several car companies have tried to pelt hydrogen-powered cars into the mainstream over the past decade and most have failed. Some of the issues facing the technology include the lack of a charging infrastructure and governments with a single-minded focus on EVs. There are 48 hydrogen charging stations in America, according to the United States Department of Energy, and 47 of those are located in California. While that's great news for Californians, it makes the Nexo completely useless for someone driving from Salt Lake City to Seattle.

2019 Hyundai Kona gets standard safety tech, as prices creep up

The 2019 Hyundai Kona is marking its second year on the market with a few upgrades to sweeten the funky subcompact crossover. The most significant change is the addition of new standard safety equipment. Every trim level from the base SE to the ultimate, well, Ultimate, get automatic emergency braking and collision warning, lane-departure assist and driver attention warning. All of these features were only available on the Ultimate trim level last year. There are a few other small changes here and there. Hyundai is eliminating the silver with black roof color option, but adding a new color called Sunset Orange. The 12-volt power outlet up front goes away on all models in favor of dual USB charging ports. The Infinity upgraded sound system and Hyundai BlueLink connectivity software are now available on the SEL with the SEL Tech Package. The sunroof is also only available as an option on the Ultimate trim, and is included with the SEL Tech Package. View 16 Photos And as is the way with new model years, especially when new equipment is added, prices have crept up a bit for all Kona trim levels. The SE increases by $490, SEL by $650, Limited by $900, and Ultimate by just $100. All-wheel-drive is $100 more expensive, too, at $1,400. The same goes for the SEL Tech Package, which now starts at $1,600. You can see all the prices for both model years below. Trim Level 2019 2018 SE $20,970 $20,480 SEL $22,780 $22,130 Limited $26,530 $25,680 Ultimate $28,480 $28,380 AWD option $1,400 $1,300 SEL Tech package $1,600 $1,500 Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Image Credit: Hyundai, James Riswick Hyundai Crossover Hatchback hyundai kona