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Hyundai Le Fil Rouge concept shows the future of brand's design

At this year's Geneva Motor Show, Hyundai revealed a concept called the Le Fil Rouge, which in English means "the common thread." Though the car has an unusual name, it's important for the Hyundai brand because this car represents the future of the company's design. Elements found on this concept will be applied to all future Hyundais, be they sedans, hatchbacks or crossovers, which also partly explains the car's name. Hyundai says the name also comes from how the car builds on Hyundai's past design and is a "reinterpretation" of its 1974 Coupe Concept. We're not so sure about that last part, but we think the Le Fil Rouge is a mighty handsome sedan, and its future production cars should look pretty good. Aside from a "common thread" of design, Hyundai says the car's theme is "sensuous sportiness." That seems to translate into a low-slung, curvy, coupe-like sedan form. At the front, the nose is very low, and it's dominated by a massive version of Hyundai's corporate "cascade" grille. It's actually a bit reminiscent of the recent Lagonda sedan. It appears that the grille contains lighting elements all throughout. It should be easy to translate this design into conventional radiator grilles, huge lights, or simple, blocked off styling motifs for electric vehicles. This low, wide grille leads into a long hood and front fenders with classic rear drive proportions. The hood has two large creases in the middle that lend some aggression to the swoopy shape, and there are two bright metal accent lines that run up the sides and loop up and around the windows back toward the hood. Along the side, we find a bold character line that lines up with the end of the headlight. It trails back along the car and merges with the rear panel that would likely contain the taillights. The roof also has a bit of a fastback look, ending at the trunk lid. It also contains a rear window with a double-bubble shape. It's an elegant, organic car that does some cool things with lines and curves. It will be interesting to see how it translates to production cars. Related Video: Featured Gallery Hyundai Le Fil Rouge Concept: Geneva 2018 View 9 Photos Related Gallery Hyundai Le Fil Rouge concept View 13 Photos Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2018 Drew Phillips / Autoblog.com Design/Style Geneva Motor Show Hyundai Concept Cars Sedan 2018 Geneva Motor Show

Hyundai to offer new shopping service with money-back guarantee

The internet has made purchasing a car easier than ever before. There are dozens of websites, including Autoblog, that have apps and search tools to help find and compare new car prices. Still, the idea of actually walking into a dealership to deal with haggling, trade-ins, financing and paperwork still seems daunting. Starting soon, Hyundai will be streamlining much of that process with its new Shopper Assurance program. The new service helps knock out much of the legwork before you even step into a dealer. There's even a money-back guarantee. With Shopper Assurance, potential customers can search Hyundai inventory with "market prices" listed. That price includes the car's MSRP minus incentives and other dealer discounts. Most of the paperwork for the purchase can be done online. This includes valuing a trade-in, applying for financing, checking credit scores and calculating payments. Test drives can be scheduled online and can be done anywhere, including a customer's home or office. The most interesting part of the new service is the three-day money back guarantee. If for some reason a customer isn't satisfied, they can return the car for full refund. That said, there are a couple of caveats. The car must have fewer than 300 miles on the odometer since purchase and a dealer must inspect the car for damage or wear. The new service will launch later this year in Miami, Orlando, Dallas and Houston and will roll out in 2018 nationwide. Related Video:

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