2013 Hyundai Sonata Gls Sedan 4-door 2.4l No Reserve on 2040-cars

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Hyundai will launch pickup, more SUVs to reverse U.S. sales slide

By Paul Lienert and Hyunjoo Jin DETROIT/SEOUL — Hyundai plans to launch a pickup truck in the United States as part of a broader plan to catch up with a shift away from sedans in one of the Korean automaker's most important markets, a senior company executive said. Michael J. O'Brien, vice president of corporate and product planning at Hyundai's U.S. unit, told Reuters that Hyundai's top management has given the green light for development of a pickup truck similar to a show vehicle called the Santa Cruz that U.S. Hyundai executives unveiled in 2015. Hyundai currently does not offer a pickup truck in the United States. Hyundai also plans to launch a small SUV called the Kona in the United States later this year. People familiar with the automaker's plans said separately that Hyundai plans to launch three other new or refreshed SUVs by 2020. So-called crossovers — sport utilities built on chassis similar to sedans — now account for about 30 percent of total light vehicle sales in the United States. Consumers in China, the world's largest auto market, are also substituting car-based SUVs for sedans. People familiar with Hyundai's plans said the company plans to roll out a new version of its Santa Fe Sport midsize SUV next year, followed by an all-new seven-passenger crossover to replace a current three-row Santa Fe in early 2019 in the United Sates. A redesigned Tucson SUV is expected in 2020, people familiar with Hyundai's plans said. Hyundai's U.S. dealers have pushed the company to invest more aggressively in SUVs and trucks as demand for sedans such as the midsize Sonata and the smaller Elantra has waned, and as Hyundai has announced a shift to electric vehicles. "We are optimistic about the future," Scott Fink, chief executive of Hyundai of New Port Richey, Fla., which is Hyundai's biggest U.S. dealer, said. "But we are disappointed that we don't have the products today." Hyundai's U.S. sales are down nearly 11 percent this year through July 31, worse than the overall 2.9-percent decline in U.S. car and light truck sales. Sales of the Sonata, once a pillar of Hyundai's U.S. franchise, have fallen 30 percent through the first seven months of 2017. In contrast, sales of Hyundai's current SUV lineup are up 11 percent for the first seven months of this year. "Our glasses are fairly clean," O'Brien said.

2015 Hyundai Genesis 5.0 First Drive [w/video]

The original Hyundai Genesis was something of a mixed bag. A great first effort, no doubt, but as with any, well, genesis, there were weak points – the infotainment system and some interior materials, for example. In creating its second-generation model, Hyundai paid plenty of attention to these shortcomings while wisely deciding to retain the most notable of the original model's strengths: its 5.0-liter V8. The 420-horsepower rocket from the former Genesis R-Spec has once again been named the top-flight engine for this updated, 2015 model. Hyundai has comprehensively overhauled its first rear-wheel drive sedan, and while it might use an older – but impressive – engine, the 5.0-liter V8 isn't nearly as big of a story this time around. That's because it's now wrapped inside a far better package, as we found during a week behind the wheel. Hyundai's stylists have matured the Genny, opting for significantly more standout sheet metal in this new iteration. The old car featured a more traditional three-box shape, while the second-gen car is more open about its rear-drive layout, featuring a long hood and a short rear deck that feeds right into an aggressively raked rear window. The upright front fascia, with its broad, crisply styled grille and almond-shaped headlamps is clean and fashionable while still coming off as sort of conservative. Around back, Hyundai maintained some semblance of its old fluidic design, with sweeping, wraparound taillamps, while the V8 model's bumper is home to sporty, staggered quad exhausts. That said, the updates to the exterior are overshadowed by the comprehensive overhaul found in the cabin. The Genesis finally has an interior befitting of its price tag, thanks in large part to the swath of natural-looking matte wood trim on the dash, complemented by aluminum accents. The upper and lower dashes are finished in plastic, but its quality is no better or worse than what you'd find in a German competitor. However, while the cabin certainly feels much better than the last-gen model, there are still a few shortcomings. The "ultra premium" leather is standard on the 5.0's wide, supportive seats, and while it feels very, very nice, we did notice that even with fewer than 8,000 miles on the clock, a regular parade of denim-clad auto journalists has already started to stain the driver's side bottom cushion – something we noted during our year-long test of Hyundai's larger Equus.

Facelifted Hyundai Veloster to get new 7-speed DCT, Flex Steer

No matter how you look at it, the Hyundai Veloster is an odd duck. With the vehicle's weird door configuration and styling that kind of looks like a modernized Honda CRX, the model is certainly unlike anything else on the road today. Since spotting one testing earlier this year (pictured above), we know that a refreshed version is on the way eventually, but that car keeps a lot of its secrets hidden under camouflage. New rumors from The Korean Car Blog suggest that the Veloster might receive a few mechanical changes to go along with the updated skin.
Among the biggest rumored tweaks is that the turbocharged model is receiving a seven-speed, dual-clutch gearbox as a replacement for its current, conventional six-speed auto. Another potential change for the naturally aspirated version is Hyundai's Flex Steer system that offers selectable weighting for the electric power steering.
Styling obviously isn't being left alone for the update. The mule testing earlier this year appears to show a new grille and altered bumpers underneath its concealment. The latest rumors suggest that's exactly the case with the possibility of a front end closer in design to the current Genesis, along with HID headlights and a modified hood design to remove the faux heat extractors.