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Imported pickup tax in play in Trump trade talks with South Korea

WASHINGTON/SEOUL - Talks starting Friday to amend a U.S.-South Korean trade deal must balance President Donald Trump's domestic agenda against the need to contain a nuclear armed North Korea and will have to be completed swiftly, officials from both sides told Reuters. The U.S goods trade deficit with South Korea has doubled since the 2012 signing of the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS). Almost 90 percent of the 2016 shortfall of $27.6 billion came from the auto sector, an issue the United States is expected to press hard in the Washington talks. A quick deal could give Trump his first trade victory at a time when NAFTA negotiations are dragging on without agreement and pressure on China to change trade practices has yielded little progress. The talks, led by Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Michael Beeman and Yoo Myung-hee, director general for FTA negotiations at South Korea's trade ministry, begin at a time of heightened tensions with Pyongyang. A trade ministry official in Seoul said South Korea was waiting for Washington's formal proposals and substantial negotiations would not take place on Friday over a deal Trump has repeatedly threatened to scrap. "The U.S. brought up lowering non-tariff barriers, especially for their auto industry. At the moment, we are not sure whether the U.S. will ask that but we will be prepared (for the U.S. demand)," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the press. A top priority for the Americans is maintaining a 25 percent tariff on Korean pickup truck imports, which was meant to have been phased out from 2019 under the current deal, according to a U.S. official and a South Korean car industry source. South Korea has two major automakers, Hyundai and Kia, both of which are heavily reliant on exports due to the small size of their domestic market. Critics charge that South Korea discriminates against imports with a range of non-tariff barriers. South Korean auto companies believe that Washington will also seek to increase the 25,000-vehicle per U.S. automaker threshold for U.S. car shipments to South Korea that can enter the country without meeting Seoul's domestic industry regulations. The official at a South Korea auto company, who was not authorized to speak to the media, also said the United States was interested in easing Seoul's vehicle emissions targets. These are viewed as discriminating against U.S. autos.

Redesigned 2018 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and PHEV revealed in Chicago

The refreshed 2018 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and PHEV have been revealed at the 2018 Chicago Auto Show. While the updates are subtle, it's enough to breathe a little life into an underappreciated member of the Sonata clan. Like the rest of that clan, the fascias front and back have been redesigned. The grille in particular looks considerably more shapely and modern than the outgoing 2016 model's rather plain, Audi-aping unit. The fog light recesses are much more aggressive, better complimenting the headlights, which are new LED units. New wheel designs top off the exterior changes. It's all fairly handsome in toto. Inside, there's a new steering wheel, and behind that a revised instrument cluster. The infotainment system is upgraded with new nav overhead perspective features, and there's a Qi charging pad if you option the nav as well. Safety is a big part of this refresh: blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert, and lane change assist are now standard. Automatic emergency braking and lane keep assist are also new options for these two cars. The gasoline-electric powertrains are unchanged. The Hybrid's 193-horsepower-combined electric and gas motor output remains the same. That includes a 2.0-liter gas engine, a 38-kW electric motor mounted in the transmission, and a 1.76-kWh battery pack in the trunk. The PHEV gets a bigger 9.8-kWh battery for up to 27 miles of electric range. With the larger 50-kW motor, the PHEV combined horsepower rating swells to 202. Like every other 2018 Sonata, however, the suspension and steering have been revised. The front roll bar has been stiffened, the steering assistance has been recalibrated, and the rear trailing arms have been fitted with new bushings. As we discovered in our 2018 Hyundai Sonata Sport quick spin review, these changes make a surprisingly significant difference in the way this midsize sedan drives. One would assume the improvements to the hybrid models' vehicle dynamics would be comparable. The PHEV will only be sent to dealers in certain states: California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont. If you want a PHEV in another state, your dealer can order one – so technically it's available in all 50 states, if you're patient. Hybrids are available now-ish, and PHEVs will be available in the second quarter of this year. Related Video:

Best car infotainment systems of 2022

Declaring one infotainment system the best over any other is an inherently subjective matter. You can look at quantitative testing for things like input response time and various screen load times, but ask a room full of people that have tried them all what their favorite is, and you’re likely to get a lot of different responses. Some prefer systems that are exclusively touch-based with a simplistic user interface. Others may prefer a non-touch system that is navigable via a scroll wheel. You can compare it to the phone operating system wars. Just like some folks prefer Android phones over iPhones, we all have our own opinions for what makes up the best infotainment interface. All that said, our combined experience tells us that a number of infotainment systems are at least better than the rest. WeÂ’ve narrowed it down to five total systems in their own subcategories that stand out to us. Read on below to see our picks, and feel free to make your own arguments in the comments. Best overall: UConnect — Various Stellantis products If thereÂ’s one infotainment system that all of us agree is excellent, itÂ’s UConnect. Both UConnect 4 and the latest UConnect 5 software are included in this praise, too. It has numerous qualities that make it great, but above all else, UConnect is simple and straightforward to use. Ease of operation is one of the most (if not the single most) vital parts of any infotainment system interface. If youÂ’re expected to be able to tap away on a touchscreen while driving and still pay attention to the road, a complex infotainment system is going to remove your attention from the number one task at hand: driving. UConnect uses a simple interface that puts all of your key functions in a clearly-represented row on the bottom of the screen. Tap any of them, and it instantly pulls up that menu. We like the radio/media interface — itÂ’s super easy to swap stations or sources. The menu structure is easy to grasp, and of course both Apple CarPlay/Android Auto are available if you want them. UConnect 5 is a big visual improvement over UConnect 4, but thankfully it retains the same ease of use as the outgoing system. WeÂ’ll also point out that Stellantis is able to adapt UConnect to different screen shapes and sizes with great success — it works stunningly well in the vertical 12-inch screen of the Ram.