hyundai

We take you on a walking tour of the New York show, including the hot BMW 335is, Hyundai Sonata Turbo & Hybrid, Chevy Cruze Eco, the supposedly compact Rolls Royce Ghost, and we even bump into Fudgie the Whale.

• Wagons galore from Mercedes, Acura, Cadillac...

• ...though Volvo and BMW don't agree with that trend.

• Hot rod Sonata about to debut with a turbo

• Subaru WRX gets a hotter body, STi a trunk

• BMW puts an s back in its nomenclature… Read more

NEW YORK--Along with the Sonata Hybrid launched at the 2010 New York auto show, Hyundai also unveiled its all new turbocharged Sonata. Boasting 274 horsepower, the Sonata's turbocharged 2-liter engine mops the floor with many competitors, both turbocharged four-bangers and V-6es.

Hyundai exploited two technologies to eke more efficiency out of its internal combustion engine,: direct injection and turbocharging. The Sonata 2.0T uses a 2-liter four-cylinder engine spraying fuel directly into the cylinders for a more efficient burn. Hyundai's twin scroll turbocharger increases the engine's output up to the previously mentioned 274 horsepower and 269 pound-feet … Read more

NEW YORK--For better or worse, Hyundai made its name on affordable cars. That theme hasn't changed much, even with the release of the company's largest premium luxury sedan, the Equus, at the New York auto show. While Equus competes with cars such as the Lexus LS 460, Mercedes-Benz S-class, and Audi A8, it comes in at a significantly lower price, with a base below $60,000.

Seeing an Equus on the road, you might not even realize it is a Hyundai, as the company's slanted H logo only appears discretely on the trunk of the car. Most … Read more

NEW YORK--After showing hybrid concepts over the last few auto show seasons, Hyundai finally shows the real deal with a hybrid version of its Sonata midsize sedan at the New York auto show. The standard Sonata got an update at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show, radically restyling it with Hyundai's new fluidic sculpture design language. Now fitted with Hyundai's Blue Drive hybrid system, the car gets significantly better mileage.

The Sonata Hybrid is the first production hybrid to use lithium polymer batteries, which have more power density over nickel metal hydride batteries used in hybrids from Toyota, … Read more

NEW YORK--Several Asian brands plan world debuts at the New York auto show this week.

Kia will show a stylish redesign of the Optima sedan, Infiniti is rolling out a new QX56 luxury SUV, and Scion is expected to show either its new iQ minicar or the next version of the tC coupe.

Meanwhile, Acura, Subaru and Suzuki plan variants of models already on sale. Mercedes-Benz will unveil a freshened R-class crossover. And Cadillac, Chevrolet and Lincoln are expected to show derivatives of existing vehicles.

Press conferences are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, March 31 and April 1. … Read more

GENEVA--The financial woes of the last few years caused automakers to scale back on outlandish concepts, using their design resources for more immediate and practical work. But the 2010 Geneva auto show sees the return of at least a few interesting concepts.

Some are so heavily design-oriented that they don't resemble anything in the automaker's current stable, and probably never will. Features like touch screens running along the entire dashboard and cameras for side-view mirrors may only show up when we get flying cars.

Others do presage technologies slated for production cars. Most of these concepts are specified … Read more

Previews for next week's Geneva auto show announced this week, including a hybrid concept from Lotus, a diesel hybrid concept from Hyundai, an electric personal mobility vehicle from Honda, and the Audi RS5. We take a drive in another Audi, the A3 TDI.

• The Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid concept debuts at Geneva

• Hyundai's diesel-electric hybrid dream car

• Honda 3R-C is part motorcycle, part Segway, all weird

• 450 horsepower Audi RS5 announced for Geneva

• Mini becomes the unofficial iCar… Read more

Hyundai has released preview images and details of its i-flow concept, which will bow at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. The concept will be powered by Hyundai's first diesel-electric hybrid power train and should slip through the air with a slippery 0.25Cd drag coefficient.

At the heart of the i-flow's power train his Hyundai's new 1.7-liter turbodiesel engine that shares motivational duties with a yet-undisclosed electric motor and a lithium ion-polymer battery pack. Hyundai also makes no mention of what sort of hybrid system the i-flow will use. Judging by the size of the engine … Read more