hyundai

The ultimate Hyundai

The Equus is not your typical Hyundai. First of all, it costs a lot more, over 50 grand, than you would expect from the economy car maker. It also has a V-8, massage seats, and a refrigerator between the rear seats. It competes favorably with the Lexus LS 460, which Hyundai clearly had in its sights when it designed the car. And although it might seem pricey for a Hyundai, it undercuts every other luxury sedan on the market by 10s of thousands of dollars.

In Ultimate trim, the Equus comes with two big, powered seats in back, the right side featuring an ottoman. There is also a rear seat entertainment system. With all the money you save buying the Equus over a Mercedes-Benz S-class, you can give the chauffeur a raise.

Read our full review of the 2011 Hyundai Equus. … Read more

CNET Car Tech: 2011 Hyundai Equus Ultimate

This one's going to be a little hard to swallow for some people, but Hyundai makes a $60,000 car and it's a contender. Going after the S Class and LS, the Equus gives you all the tech you need and serious luxury. Reminds us of the way the Lexus LS shook things up in 1990. Brian Cooley takes you for a drive to check the tech.

Read the full CNET review of the 2011 Hyundai Equus.

Car Tech Live 215: CNET drives the Hyundai Equus (podcast)

Stranded on the road? There's an app for that. Google will tell future Ford cars how to drive. Will you buy your next car at Best Buy? And we drive the Hyundai Equus, well actually, we get driven in it.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) Episode 215 Show Notes

• CNET drives the 2011 Hyundai Equus

• Google to give Ford cars a crystal ball

• Pioneer has an Android announcement for the dash

• Jaguar will produce the CX-75 hybird supercar

• VW will offer a plug-in hybrid by 2013

• CNET's LOLCars gallery!… Read more

CNET Roadside Assistance 011: Can't see through the glare. (podcast)

This is the 11th episode of CNET Roadside Assistance for Thursday, the 5th of May 2011. In this episode we take about trading a Z to a Quest, adjusting the glare on the dash, and finding the perfect car to travel 500 miles a week in.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 011 SHOW NOTES

• LOLcars (photos)

2011 Hyundai Equus is earns top safety award

Hyundai's flagship model, the 2011 Hyundai Equus, just received a "Top Safety Pick" rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

The $58,000 luxury sedan rated "Good" in all crash protection safety categories including front, side, rollover, and rear.

The Equus features the Vehicle Stability Management (VSM) system, which governs the Electronic Stability Control (ESC), the electronic parking brake, smart cruise control, the collision-warning sensor, and the seat belt tensioning system.

Additional safety features include Hyundai's Lane Departure Warning System, nine standard airbags (advanced dual-front airbags, front and rear seat-mounted side-impact airbags, … Read more

Keyless ignition rule likely to track SAE plan

WASHINGTON--A federal plan to require automakers to standardize keyless ignition systems in the wake of Toyota's unintended acceleration problems is likely to mirror industry guidelines issued in January, an automaker group said.

Large automakers except Toyota said they already comply with the guidelines crafted by SAE International or plan to do so.

These "recommended practices'' seek to counter the variation, driver confusion, and safety problems that have ensued since automakers started installing push-button ignition in luxury models.

The number of models offering keyless ignition has more than quadrupled to 189 in the 2011 model year--including the Hyundai Elantra … Read more

Engineers prove 40 mpg can be made affordable

After being pummeled so long for ignoring fuel economy in favor of performance, some automakers deserve kudos for developing cars that coax more than 40 mpg on the highway from gasoline engines--not gasoline-electric hybrids but regular, internal-combustion gasoline engines.

General Motors, Ford, Hyundai, and Smart already are selling 40-mpg gasoline cars in the United States, and later this year Honda, Kia and Mazda plan to join the parade.

The timing couldn't be better. With gasoline prices rising, the result of political uncertainty in the Middle East, some Americans are eager to buy higher-mileage vehicles but cannot afford the higher … Read more

Avera Motors changes name to Rivian Automotive

Florida's Avera Motors announced March 10 that it was changing its name to Rivian Automotive. Company CEO R.J. Scaringe blogged about the name change, saying that the new name "pays homage, in part, to the Indian River Lagoon," which is near the automaker's Rockledge, Fla., facility.

The new name saves the company from a costly trademark infringement lawsuit from Hyundai over the use of the Avera name. The South Korean automaker claimed Avera was too similar to the company's Azera nameplate.

In October 2010, Rivian teased with the release of a photo of a … Read more

Hyundai builds a better Civic: 2011 Elantra GLS

For years, the Honda Civic has stood as the gold standard for small, fun-to-drive cars. Recently, however, C-segment competition has started to heat up, and Honda is facing some serious competition from the likes of Hyundai. Yes, Hyundai; don't laugh. We were recently given an opportunity to spend time behind the wheel of Hyundai's all-new compact sedan and we're now thoroughly convinced that Honda should definitely be afraid of the 2011 Elantra GLS.

Starting in the engine room, the Elantra is powered by a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine that, at 148 horsepower and 131 pound-feet of torque, … Read more