Spy Shots: Hyundai's ix35 Ready for its First Facelift, Tucson to Follow

Presented in late 2009 as the ix35 in Europe, Korea and other markets around the world besides North America where it retained the Tucson nameplate, Hyundai's compact crossover is approaching that time in life when most car manufacturers facelift their models to keep them competitive with their chief rivals.

These new spy pictures of a camouflaged ix35 where shot in Germany where Hyundai has its European headquarters.

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New LWB, Three-Row 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Priced from $28,350* in the U.S.

With the new generation of the Santa Fe, Hyundai decided to split the range into two models, the Santa Fe Sport with seating for five passengers and the option of either a 190hp 2.4-liter inline-four or a 264hp 2.0-liter turbo, and the longer wheelbase model with seating for six or seven, and a 290hp V6 engine.

The five-seat 2013 Santa Fe went on sale last year with prices starting from $24,450 (plus an $825 delivery and handling fee), and now Hyundai has announced pricing for the LWB version that starts at $28,350 for the FWD GLS and tops out at $33,100 for the AWD Limited, excluding a delivery charge (*) of $845.

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Hyundai in Shock as Toyota Camry Wins 2013 "Korea Car of the Year" Award

Until recently, South Korea had a taxing policy that made importing cars nigh impossible. It was a means to protect its homegrown automakers, of course, i.e. Hyundai and Kia, from foreign competition. Now, though, it has opened its doors to foreigners, which is fair, as the Koreans face no such restrictions in regions such as North America, Europe or Asia.

Toyota, for one, only entered the South Korean market in 2010. In 2011, it managed to shift 5,020 vehicles. Last year, it more than doubled that number, to 10,795 and, despite the strong competition from German rivals, increased its market share from 4.78 to 8.25 percent.

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The Latest Super Bowl Ads from Audi, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes, Subaru, Toyota and VW

During the time we were offline, a number of carmakers released a whole new string of ads that will run prior to kickoff and during this Sunday's Super Bowl game between the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens in New Orleans.

There's a little something for everyone, from Mercedes-Benz's new CLA spot with Kate Upton and Kia's Space Babies, to the re-appearance of Big Bang star Kaley Cuoco in Toyota's 2014 RAV4 spot and Subaru's dog friendly commercial for the 2014 Forester crossover.

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Euro NCAP Announces the Safest Cars of 2012 in Each Segment

Safety is something not to be taken lightly as far as cars are concerned. Euro NCAP, the independent organization that was established by seven European governments and has been conducting crash-tests since 1997, has been a key player in improving the level of passive and active safety offered by today’s new cars.

In 2012, it tested 36 new vehicles that became available in European markets. Most of them performed well enough to earn a five-star rating, though some did better than others in the four individual categories, namely adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, pedestrian protection and safety assist systems, and earned the “Best in Class” title for their respective segments (two of them tied in the Mini MPV class).

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Hyundai Axes i45 a.k.a Sonata and Focuses on More Premium i40 in Australia

The Hyundai i45, known in other parts of the world such as North America as the Sonata, will be no more in Australia as the Korean carmaker will suspend sales of the mid-size sedan in the country.

Instead, its place in Hyundai's Australian lineup is being taken by the newly introduced i40 sedan, which was designed and initially launched in Europe as the brand's fighter in the D segment.

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Hyundai Building its Own Test Center at the Nürburgring Track

Reaffirming its commitment to compete with the top brands around the world on all levels, Hyundai revealed plans to build a new test center at the Nürburgring track in Germany that will enable the company to develop the driving dynamics, reliability and durability of its future vehicles. Read more »

Hyundai's HCD-14 Concept Hints at the Design of the 2014 Genesis Sedan

Just hours after we posted the first official images of Hyundai’s HCD-14 Genesis concept, the Korean automaker revealed extensive details about its large executive saloon study that premieres at the 2013 Detroit Motor Show.

The concept previews many of the design elements that we will see in the upcoming 2014 Genesis mid-size saloon as well as in other future Hyundai models.

Although its dominant feature is the five-bar brushed metal grille, the HCD-14 Genesis also boasts rear-hinged rear doors with a single brushed aluminum hinge articulating diagonally from the cutline making for easier passenger access to the cabin.

While these features may sound a bit overboard, bear in mind that this is a concept, so the rear-hinged doors and (we hope) the gaping grille, at least in this guise, won’t make it into production.

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Hyundai to Dazzle Detroit Auto Show-Goers with New HCD-14 Genesis Concept

There's no stopping the Koreans who seem hell bent to change everything we knew about their automotive industry these past few years.

At the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, Hyundai will soon debut the impressive HCD-14 Genesis Concept vehicle, which it says, "will give the automotive world a glimpse into future Hyundai premium vehicle design, advanced 3-D gesture-based technology controls, and spirited driving dynamics."

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Peter Schreyer Appointed President of both Hyundai and Kia Design Centers

On January 2, the Hyundai Motor Group Chairman and CEO Mong-Koo Chung announced that “brand innovation based on quality” would be the world’s fifth largest automotive group’s new direction.

A few days earlier, on December 28, Kia design chief Peter Schreyer was the first non-Korean to be appointed President of the brand – a remarkable achievement for the 60-year old German and an acknowledgement of his contribution in the carmaker’s success since joining Kia in 2006.

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Toyota Recalls the Most Vehicles in the U.S, Ford has the Most Campaigns in 2012

For the third time in the past four years, Toyota has been crowned the recall champion of the U.S. auto market, according to a Detroit News examination of all the data provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) throughout 2012.

Overall, some 16.2 million passenger cars, trucks, motorcycles and recreational vehicles (RVs) were recalled in the United States (13.5 million of which from the seven bestselling auto brands), representing an increase of 4.5 percent over the 15.5 million vehicles recalled the previous year.

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Hyundai Teases New HCD-14 Concept, Does it Preview the Next Genesis Sedan?

Only minutes after we told you that Hyundai plans to reveal a new concept car at next week's Detroit auto show, the South Korean automaker came out with a single teaser image and a short statement of said model, which is named the HCD-14.

Here's what Hyundai told us: "The HCD-14 concept will give the automotive world a glimpse into future Hyundai premium vehicle design, advanced 3-D gesture-based technology controls, and spirited driving dynamics."

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Spied: This is the New 2014 Hyundai i10 City Car

Hyundai is like one of those kids who just can't stay put, always looking to improve and/or renew its product line, something that has served the Korean automaker well over the years.

In the past few weeks alone, we've seen Hyundai update both its Korean market Equus and Grandeur (also known as the Azera), while also preparing a facelift for the North American market Equus, and continuing development on the next Genesis Sedan.

Now, our spies from Europe have nabbed a camouflaged prototype of the next generation of the i10 sub-compact.

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Hyundai and Kia Sell 7.1 Million Vehicles in 2012, Up 8 Percent, But Expect Slower Growth in 2013

In the year that just ended, Hyundai and its Kia affiliate delivered a combined 7.12 million vehicles worldwide, which represents an 8 percent growth over 2011, beating their initial annual target of 7 million units.

Hyundai, which released detailed results, sold a little over 4.4 million vehicles in 2012, up 8.6 percent from the previous year, while the brand's December global sales were up 5.4 percent, at 391,152 vehicles.

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Kia and Hyundai Announce Google Maps and Search Integration for their Telematics Systems

South Korea's Hyundai and Kia brands have both announced a new partnership with Google that will see the integration of latter's content and search-based solutions enabled by Application Program Interfaces (APIs) on their respective telematics platforms.

The move will enhance the new generation of Kia's UVO eServices and Hyundai's Blue Link with fresh features supported by the integration of Google Maps APIs such as Send to Car, Point of Interest Search and Local Search by Voice.

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Does the Front End of This Hyundai Genesis Coupe Remind You of Something?

Here's a couple of hints; the car we're referring to in our title comes from Britain and is named after the limited number of models that were produced in 2009-2010. Some chromed slits on the Genesis Coupe's modified grille would have helped it bear a stronger resemblance to the vehicle we're talking about.

While we leave you think about it for a moment, let us tell you that this Craigslist find is a 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 2.0T Track Edition fitted with a force-fed turbocharged four-banger driving the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox.

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Hyundai Elantra Sets New Sales Record in the States, Could Pass 200,000 Units this Year

Now in its fifth generation, the Hyundai Elantra has set another all-time sales record in the States in 2012, exceeding last year’s total of 186,361 units earlier this month. Read more »

U Spy: Facelifted 2014 Hyundai Equus Luxury Sedan Spotted in California

When CarScoop reader Hunter L. emailed these scoop shots he took of a camouflaged prototype sedan parked in a garage in California, he told us it's likely a 2014 model Hyundai, something we agreed with him, with our first thought going to the new Genesis saloon that we caught off guard testing in Europe earlier this month.

While the two prototypes may look similar, upon a more careful examination of the photos and specific details such as the lights, the dashboard and the window line, we determined that this is not the new generation of the Genesis but the North American market 2014 Equus facelift, which has been announced in South Korea.

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Hyundai Recalling 2012 Veloster Because Panoramic Sunroof May Shatter and For Parking Brake Issue

For the month of December, Hyundai has issued two separate recalls for its 2012 model year Veloster sports hatch in the States.

The first recall action affects 13,500 Velosters manufactured from November 1, 2011, through April 17, 2012, and equipped with panoramic sunroofs.

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Movin' On Up: Hyundai Hands Over Bulletproof 2013 Equus Limo to UN Secretary-General

Oh, the glory and fame…Who would have imagined a decade or so ago that a Hyundai would be the car of choice for one of the top figures of our world.

Of course, being South Korean may have had something to do with the fact that the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) Ban Ki-moon will now ride in a spanking new, bulletproof 2013 Hyundai Equus Limousine.

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