hyundai Archives | Page 5 of 12

Hyundai CEO Krafcik warns against price war, short-term thinking

Filed under: GM, Hyundai, Toyota, Earnings/Financials

Hyundai Motor America President and CEO John Krafcik believes that some automakers are starting a price war, which would be an unwise move that focuses solely on short-term sales.

General Motors had strong sales in January 2011, but its 23-percent gain was due to increased incentives and price-cutting. After GM made its move, Toyota followed suit.

Krafcik says that Hyundai, whose incentive spending is among the lowest in the industry, has no plans to join in this game. Heavy incentive spending leads to sharp up and downswings in an automaker’s accounting ledger. Hyundai sales rose 24 percent in 2010 and Krafcik expects to see improvements in 2011. While some automakers are fiddling with the radio, Krafcik is paying attention to the road in front of him.

[Source: The Economic Times]

Hyundai CEO Krafcik warns against price war, short-term thinking originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 13 Feb 2011 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Hyundai CEO Krafcik warns against price war, short-term thinking”

Chicago 2011: No power upgrade for the Hyundai Genesis Coupe “for a little while”

Filed under: Chicago Auto Show, Coupe, Performance, Hyundai

2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe

Hyundai Genesis Coupe – Click above for high-res image gallery

The Hyundai Genesis sedan has just received an upgraded 3.8-liter V6 with 333 horsepower and 291 pound-feet, adding 43 more horses and 27 more pound-feet of torque to its accomplishments.

The Genesis Coupe, on the other hand, is playing with 306 hp, and according to Hyundai spokesman Jim Trainor, that isn’t going to change soon. When we asked if the Genesis Coupe would get the new V6, he said “you won’t see any difference to the Genesis Coupe powertrain for a little while.” Trainor wouldn’t define what “a little while” meant, but he did say “you’ll probably see a similar strategy to the Genesis sedan,” suggesting that the Coupe will get a power bump when it gets facelifted, “probably next year.”

Gallery: 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe: First Drive

Chicago 2011: No power upgrade for the Hyundai Genesis Coupe “for a little while” originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Chicago 2011: No power upgrade for the Hyundai Genesis Coupe “for a little while””

Chicago 2011: 2012 Hyundai Genesis R-Spec Sedan rolls with a 5.0

Filed under: Chicago Auto Show, Sedan, Performance, Hyundai

2012 Hyundai Genesis R-Spec sedan – Click above for high-res image gallery

The current Hyundai Genesis 4.6 sedan, with its 385 horsepower V8, is hardly a slouch. In fact, according to most road tests, the luxury four-door reportedly hits 60 mph in about 5.5 seconds. In an effort to raise the vehicle’s performance bar and snuff out those who have complained about the four-door’s lack of “sport,” Hyundai has pulled the covers of its new 2012 Genesis R-Spec sedan.

Under the hood is a new 5.0-liter V8. The engine – the most powerful Hyundai has ever fitted to a street vehicle – is rated at 429 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque. Mated to a standard eight-speed automatic (with manual shift mode), the new powertrain should shave more than a few tenths off its sprint… and go some way toward adding the ‘sport’ prefix in front of ‘sedan.’

Other performance goodies backing up the new engine include unique R-Spec transmission tuning, suspension upgrades, larger brakes and recalibrated sport steering. Wheels have been bumped up to 19-inch alloys wearing 235/45R19 tires (sticky Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 Summer Tires are optional). Cosmetically, the sport sedan is differentiated by dark chrome headlight inserts, and new badging inside and out. The Genesis R-Spec sedan will be offered in Black Noir, Titanium Gray, and Platinum Metallic exterior paint, with black leather inside as standard-fit.

Gallery: 2012 Hyundai Genesis Sedan R-Spec: Chicago 2011

Chicago 2011: 2012 Hyundai Genesis R-Spec Sedan rolls with a 5.0 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 14:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Chicago 2011: 2012 Hyundai Genesis R-Spec Sedan rolls with a 5.0”

Chicago 2011: Hyundai Veloster Rally Car is ready to duel in U.S. Rallycross

Filed under: Chicago Auto Show, Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Hyundai

Hyundai Veloster Rally Car

Hyundai Veloster Rally Car – Click above for high-res image gallery

Rhys Millen drove his new Hyundai Veloster Rally Car into the spotlight at the Chicago Auto Show this morning. The purpose-built racer is fitted with a hand-built Hyundai 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine boosted by a HKS ball bearing turbocharger. As expected, the beast makes some serious power. According to Hyundai, the four-banger spits out out 500 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque. An Xtrac six-speed sequential gearbox sends the power to an Xtrac permanent four-wheel drive system. The suspension is comprised of Proflex jumbo coilovers that help give this competition Veloster generous travel. Hidden inside the 18-inch HRE alloy wheels (wrapped in 245/40-18 Hankook racing tires) are 14-inch Alcon rotors up front and 12-inch Alcon rotors in the rear (six-piston calipers sit at all four corners). With a curb weight of just 2,656 pounds, the Veloster Rally Car’s acceleration ought to be… um, sick fast.

Check out the Veloster Rally Car this year, as it competes in the 2011 U.S. Rallycross Championship driven by Millen, Robby Maddison and Marcus Dodd. Millen and Maddison will also drive the Veloster rally cars at Summer X Games, where it will compete against Ken Block and Tanner Foust in their Ford Fiesta racecars, among others. Should be fun.

Gallery: Hyundai Veloster Rally Car: Chicago 2011

Hyundai Veloster Rally Car: Chicago 2011

Chicago 2011: Hyundai Veloster Rally Car is ready to duel in U.S. Rallycross originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 12:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Chicago 2011: Hyundai Veloster Rally Car is ready to duel in U.S. Rallycross”

Hyundai teases Veloster rally car ahead of Chicago debut

Filed under: Motorsports, Hyundai, Racing

Hyundai Veloster rally car teaser – click above for high-res image gallery

Throughout 2010, Hyundai teased us with shots of its unconventionally sporty new three-door. Thankfully, we finally got to see the 2012 Hyundai Veloster in its production skin at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show. Now comes a brand-new image to further tantalize us. Wearing Red Bull Racing colors, this rally-prepped Veloster has been captured mid-flight.

We don’t have all of the details on this rally-ready Hyundai Veloster to devulge just yet, but we can confirm that we’re dying to know more. Set your calendars for February 9, 2011 at 9:45am CST because that’s when Hyundai will make good with more information. Also, be sure to tune in to our 2011 Chicago Auto Show coverage, because word on the tarmac, gravel and snow-covered street is that this mighty Veloster is hopping a plane to Chi-town… after it eventually touches down from this jump.

Gallery: Hyundai Veloster Rally Car

Hyundai Veloster Rally Car

[Source: Hyundai]

Hyundai teases Veloster rally car ahead of Chicago debut originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 04 Feb 2011 13:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Hyundai teases Veloster rally car ahead of Chicago debut”

Videos: Hyundai spotlights Elantra and Sonata Hybrid for Super Bowl

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising

2011 Hyundai Elantra

Hyundai Elantra Super Bowl ad – Click above to watch the video after the jump

Hyundai will run three TV ads in this weekend’s Super Bowl, all supporting the 2011 Elantra and Sonata Hybrid.

The ads for the Elantra continue a theme begun two weeks earlier in the NFL Conference Championship games in which Hyundai is trying to show that the Elantra surpasses expectations most consumers have about compact cars. Both ads play to a theme of hypnosis and the idea that people need to “snap out of it” and get deprogrammed about their ideas of what a compact car can and should be. A third ad, which has already aired, shows a sheep driving an Elantra. The 40-mpg highway rating of the Elantra plays prominently, and may, indeed, be the most memorable bits of these ads… though the driving sheep is a pretty good image too.

The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid has a stronger idea behind it, putting across the message that we should never settle for the first thing to come along an indirect jab at Toyota Prius and perhaps Ford Fusion Hybrid.

Images of bikes with enormous front wheels circa the 19th century, a stoner carrying a stereo turntable around his neck, and a guy using a cellphone the size of a raccoon provides some decent visual jokes. This spot will probably get remembered better than the hypnosis Elantra ads.

Hyundai’s in-house ad agency, Innocean, created the ads. Follow the jump to see the videos and read Hyundai’s official press release.

[Source: Hyundai]

Continue reading Videos: Hyundai spotlights Elantra and Sonata Hybrid for Super Bowl

Videos: Hyundai spotlights Elantra and Sonata Hybrid for Super Bowl originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Videos: Hyundai spotlights Elantra and Sonata Hybrid for Super Bowl”

Report: Hyundai may import Elantra from Korea to meet surging demand

Filed under: Car Buying, Budget, Sedan, Plants/Manufacturing, Hyundai

2011 Hyundai Elantra

2011 Hyundai Elantra – Click above for high-res image gallery

The rakish 2011 Hyundai Elantra hit North American dealerships late last year, priced from $14,830 (*excluding $720 for destination). In December 2010, Elantra sales totaled 13,096 units, up from 5,763 in 2009, and this high demand for the new Elantra may be higher than the Korean automaker had originally anticipated.

This increased demand has prompted Hyundai to consider importing some Elantras from Korea. Currently, Hyundai produces U.S.-market Elantras at its Montgomery, AL plant. This facility’s annual production capacity, which stands at 330,000 total units, may not be enough to satisfy America’s thirst for the stylish compact. Recently, Hyundai spokesman Frank Ahrens told Automotive News that:

If Elantra does what we think, hope it will do, it will mean we’ll have to export them from Korea. We’re pretty bullish on it, given the reviews it’s received so far and the price.

The 2011 Elantra is $1,445 cheaper than a base Chevrolet Cruze and $1,440 less than a base 2012 Ford Focus, which makes Hyundai’s model a pocketbook-friendly alternative to its main competitors in the compact class.

Gallery: 2011 Hyundai Elantra: First Drive

2011 Hyundai Elantra

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]

Report: Hyundai may import Elantra from Korea to meet surging demand originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 14:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: Hyundai may import Elantra from Korea to meet surging demand”

Video: GM dares to compare Chevy Cruze to… the old Hyundai Elantra?

Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Marketing/Advertising, Chevrolet, GM, Hyundai

Chevrolet Cruze and Hyundai Elantra

Chevrolet dares to compare the new Cruze to an old Elantra – Click above to watch video after the jump

General Motors is using the phrase “Dare to Compare” as part of a campaign pitting its vehicles directly against competitors. In a new video you’ll find after the break, the Chevrolet Cruze lines up against the Hyundai Elantra… the now-outdated 2010 Hyundai Elantra.

While the Cruze 1LT (why not the base LS?) indeed performs quite well against the previous-generation, base-model Hyundai sedan, we would prefer to see it go wheel-to-wheel with the 2011 Elantra. Apples to apples and all that, right? As it stands, Chevrolet has dared to compare itself to an older version of a car that has since improved greatly. Hardly seems like a fair fight…

For those wondering about the dollars and cents, the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze 1LT starts at $18,175 (the base Cruze LS starts at $16,275). By way of comparison, the base 2011 Hyundai Elantra GLS starts at $14,830 and the 2010 model started at $14,145.

It’s not that the Cruze isn’t a fine car… but ya know, the new 2011 Cruze is quite a bit better than a lot of older cars… including the Cobalt this Elantra once competed with. Click past the jump for the clip.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: GM dares to compare Chevy Cruze to… the old Hyundai Elantra?

Video: GM dares to compare Chevy Cruze to… the old Hyundai Elantra? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 19:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Video: GM dares to compare Chevy Cruze to… the old Hyundai Elantra?”

Hyundai shows off two of this year’s Super Bowl commercials

Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Hyundai

Hyundai Elantra Super Bowl

Hyundai Elantra Super Bowl commercials – Click above to watch after the jump

Hyundai has purchased no less than four 30-second spots during this year’s Super Bowl for what we can only imagine is more money than we’ll make in three lifetimes. Two of those commercials will highlight the hot-selling Sonata, while the other two have been reserved to get the word out about Hyundai’s redesigned 2011 Elantra.

In fact, the Elantra is part of a much larger marketing campaign that kicks off this weekend with new commercials being aired during the NFL’s AFC Championship game. Thing is, you might not be able to tell these commercials are for a Hyundai because they’ll be unbranded and not mention the company or car at all.

This, my friends, is how corporations do viral marketing (Hint: You might not want to tell us that you’re doing something viral, because then it’s not viral anymore). Without mentioning the product they’re trying to sell, these pre-Super Bowl commercials being aired during the AFC Championship game, along with more ads in print and on the web, will highlight the conspiracy to brainwash compact car buyers to accept poor design and a dearth of innovation in exchange for practicality and reliability. Then, during the Super Bowl, Hyundai’s two Elantra-related commercials will reveal what the rest of the unbranded marketing campaign was really trying to sell. That is, the Elantra. Clever, except for the part where we’re told beforehand what the mystery commercials are all about.

Check out the Elantra’s two Super Bowl commercials for yourself after the jump.

[Source: Hyundai]

Continue reading Hyundai shows off two of this year’s Super Bowl commercials

Hyundai shows off two of this year’s Super Bowl commercials originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Hyundai shows off two of this year’s Super Bowl commercials”

Hyundai reportedly considering second U.S. plant to meet rising demand

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Hyundai

The millionth vehicle built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama

The millionth vehicle built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama rolls off the line in 2009

Every automaker wishes it had this problem: not enough supply to meet demand. The solution? Expand production, of course. That’s the situation Hyundai is reportedly facing, and the automaker says that if it’s going to build another plant, it should be right here in the United States.

Hyundai currently builds the Sonata and Elantra at its solitary American plant in Montgomery, Alabama. (The Santa Fe, meanwhile, is built at the Kia subsidiary facility in West Point, Georgia.) And with demand for its compelling lineup rapidly increasing in the United States – up nearly 25 percent in 2010 versus 2009 – the Korean automaker is seriously considering expanding its production capacity with another plant to meet growing demand.

Executives will reportedly evaluate the possibility next year after they observe whether the upward trend in demand will continue enough to warrant such an expansion.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]

Hyundai reportedly considering second U.S. plant to meet rising demand originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Hyundai reportedly considering second U.S. plant to meet rising demand”