Hyundai Elantra

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Hyundai announces new Sonata planned for 2014

Hyundai will introduce the first revamped version of its flagship model and top-selling Sonata sedan in four years in 2014, the South Korean manufacturer announced. The latest version of the Sonata was launched in September 2009 in South Korea and early 2010 in the United States. As the world's fifth-largest auto group along with its affiliate Kia Motors, Hyundai's only newly planned model this year is the 2013 Santa Fe. Hyundai had a record sales year in 2011. In addition to the Hyundai Elantra selling more than one million units worldwide, the carmaker had its largest-selling year in the United States with a sales increase of 20 percent over 2010 totals. The Alabama-built Sonata and North American Car of the

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Hyundai Elantra 2012 gets new honor: best car under $20,000

The Hyundai Elantra, winner of the 2012 North American Car of The Year, has been awarded another honor. It's the top pick for “Best Car Under $20,000” by AOL Autos. The Elantra’s unmatched fuel economy and styling helped it defeated competitors Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze. “Elantra comes with a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine producing 148 horsepower and 131 pound-feet of torque. The engine provides the Elantra with more power and better fuel efficiency than competitors like the Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra and Toyota Corolla,” said the AOL Autos staff. “Elantra is the best total package and best sedan pound for pound, dollar for dollar under $20,000.” The AOL Autos staff judged the “Best Car Under $20,000” based

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Academy Awards: Hyundai takes starring role again at Oscars (video)

Hyundai, the automotive car sponsor for the Academy Awards for the fourth straight year, will have nine commercials broadcast during the Feb. 26 coverage of the Oscars on ABC. The Hyundai spots will include two pre-show ads and seven commercials during the telecast. Two of the commercials, directed by filmmaker Wes Anderson, will feature the new 2012 Hyundai Azera. The new Azera is expected to arrive at dealerships soon. The spots, “Modern Life” and “Talk to My Car,” focus on the car’s high-end features and connectivity system called Blue Link. Both commercials are reminiscent of Anderson’s movies including “Rushmore” and ”The Royal Tenenbaums.” The rest of Hyundai’s 30-second spots feature its Sonata Hybrid, Elantra, Equus, Genesis Coupe and Genesis R-Spec,

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Hyundai Elantra, 2013: European functionality, more standard features

Hyundai has introduced the 2013 Elantra GT in a North American debut at the Chicago Auto Show. The Elantra GT, which brings five-door functionality and European driving dynamics to the expanding Elantra lineup, is scheduled for dealerships in the summer of 2012 The lineup now includes Elantra Coupe – also making its world debut – and the Elantra sedan, the 2012 North American Car of the Year. Elantra GT is based on the new-generation i30 model designed for the European market. Hightlights for the 2013 Elantra GT include: Fluidic Sculpture’ design, 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine with six-speed automatic or manual transmission, 148 horsepower, EPA estimated 28 mpg city, 39 mpg highway, driver knee airbag, hidden rear camera. Hyundai’s signature hexagonal grille

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Hyundai claims another honor via J.D. Power's customer loyalty crown

Hyundai has claimed another honor, the time it's been ranked highest among all automotive brands in J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Customer Retention Study. Now in its ninth year, the study measures the rate at which automotive brands retain their existing customers and examines the reasons why customers remain loyal. Hyundai earned the top spot in the study, improving its retention rate by four percentage points from 2010 to 64 percent in 2012. According to J.D. Power and Associates, Hyundai's increased retention rate is shaped by its expanding model lineup, as well as the fact that perceptions of the brand's quality and appeal have continued to improve during the past decade. The 2012 Hyundai Elantra was a top pick among

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Hyundai Elantra 2012 takes another honor — North American Car of the Year

Another day, another award for Hyundai. And this time, it's among the most prestigious honors. The Hyundai Elantra defeated the Volkswagen Passat and Ford Focus and was selected as 2012 North American Car of the Year. A jury of 50 independent North American automotive journalists evaluated each of the new cars introduced last year and chose the 2012 Hyundai Elantra at a news conference at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The honor marks Hyundai’s second win. The Hyundai Genesis was named North American Car of the Year in 2009. “Elantra speaks to the success of our recipe of bold design and great fuel economy,” said John Krafcik, president and chief executive officer, Hyundai Motor America. “In

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Hyundai shines in 2011 with Sonata, Elantra driving 20 percent sales increase

Hyundai Motor America had a record year sales year in 2011. In addition to the Hyundai Elantra selling more than one million units worldwide, the South Korean manufacturer had its largest-selling in the United States with a sales increase of 20 percent over 2010 totals. The Alabama-built Sonata and North American Car of the Year finalist Elantra both set full-year records with sales of 225,961 units (up 15 percent) and 186,361 (up 41 percent), respectively. Seven of the 10 vehicle styles Hyundai sold in the United States in 2011 had increased sales, with the Azera and Santa Fe the only styles that sold few units in 2011 than in 2010. The 2012 Hyundai Veloster joined the Hyundai lineup in 2011.

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Hyundai joins rare auto club of seven with 1 milion yearly sales in 2011

The 2011 Hyundai Elantra has received its share of accolades. But it likely has just received its most significant honor — the lofty 1 million yearly sales plateau. According to a report on Forbes.com, when the final tallies are totaled the 2011 Hyundai Elantra will be the second-highest seller globally in 2011 with about 1.01 million units sold. The Toyota Corolla, sold under different nameplates throughout the world, remained the top worldwide seller, with about 10,00 more units sold in 2011 than the Hyundai Elantra. While reaching the 1 million in sales yearly total, the Hyundai Elantra joins six other vehicles that have also sold more than 1 million units in one year — Ford Model T, VW Beetle, Chevrolet

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Hyundai, Toyota shine among TheWeeklyDriver.com's 2011 Top-10 Cars

TheWeeklyDriver.com had its most successful year in 2011. We posted plenty of car news and automotive trends articles, and we incorporated a good supply of independently produced videos to complement the approximately 100 vehicles we reviewed. As editor and publisher of the site, I reviewed 29 cars and trucks in 2011. I drove more than a dozen other vehicles at press launches for several automakers, and I want to thank the nearly dozen manufacturers I worked with in 2011 for their continued support. Thanks also to Michael Dobrin Public Relations, Page One Automotive and STI Fleet, for their continued logistics and manufacturer liaison assistance. In July, I traveled to the Tour de France for the 13th time. There's no better

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Hyundai Veloster, 2012: honors begin for 40 mpg, 3-door coupe

The 2012 Hyundai Veloster, the three-door coupe that joins siblings Accent, Elantra and Sonata Hybrid by achieving 40 mpg on the highway, has begun to generate end-of-the-year honor including Best Economy Car in Bloomberg's recent "Best Drives of 2011." The Veloster also features Hyundai’s Blue Link telematics system, Pandora internet radio with seven-inch touch-screen display and a new 1.6-liter direct-injected four-cylinder engine that can be mated to either Hyundai’s first EcoShift dual-clutch transmission or a six-speed manual transmission. Bloomberg praised the Veloster for “amenities like touch-screen navigation, automatic everything, Bluetooth and a rear-view camera.” “Hyundai has four models which hit the 40 mpg mark, only one a hybrid. That’s progress for the people,” said Jason Harper, Bloomberg’s auto critic. “Most

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Hyundai soars again with 2011 North American record sales for brand, Elantra

The near-exponential growth of Hyundai has become even more impressive as the South Korean manufacturer has reached 600,000 annual sales for the first time, while its most popular style, the Elantra, has also sold in record numbers. According to the carmaker, 261,331 Elantras have been sold in North American in 2011, compared to 151,735 in 2010 — a 43 percent increase. Hyundai has achieved sales year-over-year gains for 35 consecutive months. “Elantra has been an absolute phenomenon in the compact car segment,” says John Krafcik, Hyundai Motors America President and CEO. “In November, Elantra retail sales were up 37 percent, in spite of significant competition from all-new entries such as the Chevy Cruze, Ford Focus and Honda Civic.” All 2011

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Hyundai sets record yearly sales mark in 10 months

Hyundai, capitalizing on the increasing popularity of its Sonata, Elantra and new Veloster models, has eclipsed its previous yearly sales record after the first 10 months of 2011. Hyundai sold 538,228 vehicles in the United States in 2010, but through October this year has sold 545,316 vehicles — an increase of 27 percent from October, 2010. Year to date, Hyundai sales are up 21 percent versus the 2010 in total, and up 31 percent at retail. Sales to fleet accounts represent 11 percent of the total sales year-to-date and eight percent for the month of October. Thirty-seven percent of Hyundai vehicles sold in October achieved 40 MPG fuel economy ratings. Santa Fe and Tucson, Hyundai’s crossover line-up, registered sales increases

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Hyundai lands three models on Forbes' best used cars list

Hyundai has three vehicles among the best value used cars available in the U.S. market, according to a new report on Forbes.com. The Hyundai Accent, Hyundai Elantra and Hyundai Sonata all made the list among the 11 best 2008 cars selected. According to Forbes, the supply of used cars has diminished in recent years because car owners are keeping cars longer for economic reasons. Forbes also reports the average price of a 1-to-3 year-old used car has increased from about $15,000 in 2008 to about $23,000 in 2011. As one example, Forbes wrote about the 2008 Hyundai Elantra: "While the previous generation Elantra compact sedan isn’t as expressively styled as the current model, it performs well in most respects and

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LA Auto Show, 2011: BMW i8 Concept to Toyota Prius Plug-in

Fuel Efficiency and Green will be among automakers' key topics at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show — from entry level brands to high performance machines. As the first major North American auto show of the season, the 2011 L.A. Auto Show is scheduled Nov. 18-27 and will host some of the industry's most important new vehicle debuts. New entries into this fuel-efficient category include the Hyundai Veloster, the 2012 Kia Rio and the 2012 Mazda3 with SKYACTIV technology. Mazda's new SKYACTIV powertrain and chassis technologies will also be featured in the North American Debut of its all-new CX-5 crossover. BMW will introduce new, more-powerful, four-cylinder engine technology, but placed in popular performance cars-the Z4 and 528. Both boast improved

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Hyundai Accent, Suzuki SX4 return to school with honors

Kelley Blue Book has announced its recommendations for the best cars for students going back to school, with the 2012 Hyundai Accent and 2007 Suzuki SX4 respectively receiving best new and used cars. The vehicles chosen were based on: safety, affordability, versatility, reliability, cost of ownership, fuel economy, aesthetics and driving fun factor. All cars had to be available for less than $18,000 using KBB’s pricing guide. The Best New Back To School car is the 2012 Hyundai Accent. According to KBB, “Like its bigger brothers the Sonata and Elantra, the 2012 Hyundai Accent appeals to a finely-tuned sense of value, putting a lot of equipment into a stylish, roomy package that competes more than favorably with competitors like the

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Honda Civic again gets poor rating from Consumer Reports

The 2012 Honda Civic, redesigned for it ninth edition, has drawn extensive criticism from Consumer Reports, the independent review publication that as recently as 2007 gave the perennially top-ranked small sedan its top score. The publication’s biggest complaint was the Civic LX’s cheap plastic interior, numb steering, weak stopping power, road noise and flighty handling. A lack of  Bluetooth and outside temperature display in the $19,405 LX sedan dropped its score from a “very good” 78 to a “mediocre” 61. Consumer Reports also didn’t list the Honda Civic among its recommended vehicles last year, but its score wasn’t as low. The 2012 Honda Civic’s score was the second-lowest among a test of 12 small sedans, with  redesigned Volkswagen Jetta scoring

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