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Chrysler Wins Again, Small Car Battle Brewing and Mustang Beats Camaro

Automakers love Leap Year. And why wouldn’t they? Who doesn’t love an extra day for selling? Actually, it turns out the extra day that Leap Year provides didn’t make that much of a difference, as there were 25 selling days in February of this year versus 24 last year. A variance of one day is not out of the norm for any month. Still, sales were so good last month that you’d think each automaker had an extra week.

Like last month, the best performer was again Chrysler, both the brand and company, which saw sales rise 113.87 and 40.39 percent, respectively. The 300 sedan in particular, which just won our most recent comparison test versus the Hyundai Genesis, saw sales rise 480% to 7,670 units versus the same time last year.

Indeed, nearly every major automaker had positive news to report, except for General Motors and Mitsubishi. While Chevrolet posted a positive 5.78-percent increase in sales and GMC a narrow 0.14-percent rise, GM as a whole was dragged down by Buick and especially Cadillac, which reported drops of -11.29 and -27.04, respectively. In aggregate, GM reported a sales gain of just 1.10 percent, though its daily average sales rate was 2.94 percent below February of last year. In other words, GM sold about 254 vehicles less per day on average in February of this year than last.

If we go one level deeper and look at the sales of some individual models, the most interesting numbers were in the small car segment. Both the Chevrolet Cruze and Toyota Corolla have been leading the segment lately, but February saw the resurgence of both the Ford Focus and Honda Civic. Focus sales were up 115 percent to 23,350 units while Civic sales rose 36 percent to 27,086 units. Both vehicles sold more than the Corolla at 22,148 units and Cruze at 20,427 units. And we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that the Mustang finally posted a better month of sales than the Camaro: 7,351 to 6,923.

*Brands and companies are displayed in descending order according to their percentage change in volume sales. There were 25 selling days in February 2012 versus 24 selling days in February 2011, so there will be a difference between monthly sales volume and the average daily sales rate (DSR) for each brand/company. Also, brands are combined and reported as companies only if their sales figures are released jointly.

February 2012: Leap Year Edition

Over at Chevrolet HQ, the bubbly is flowing like high-octane unleaded. Of all the sports cars sold in the U.S. in 2011, 30 percent were either a Camaro or Corvette. Woo hoo! *POP!*

Take that, Ford Mustang! Take that, Dodge Challenger! Take that, um, Hyundai Veloster? and Honda CR-Z? Yeah, Camaro trounced all y’all! Beat Mustang by almost 18,000 cars and the Dodge Challenger by, wow, more than 48,000 units! And don’t even think about lining up your CR-Z next to a Camaro, ’cause you’ll get smoked!

In the big-ticket sports car class, the Corvette is still king. In fact, nearly as many Vettes were sold in 2011 as the Porsche 911, BMW 6 Series and the Z4 combined.

But back to the Camaro. Why is the (at minimum) 323-horsepower Camaro listed alongside the relatively anemic 122-hp Honda and 138-hp Hyundai? Smoke and mirrors from Chevy? Maybe, but probably not. They’re all two-door coupes… except for the Veloster which has three. They’re also all available in red and considered compact cars by the EPA…. except for the CR-Z, which is a two-seater. More likely, the three are in the same GM target market of 25-40-year-old males… who want to get 40 mpg while going 150 mph with the convenience of a hatchback?

We give up. Feel free to peruse the press release after the break.

Continue reading Chevy boasts one out of three sports cars sold are Camaro or Corvette

Chevy boasts one out of three sports cars sold are Camaro or Corvette

Beneath the camo and snow probably lies the Kia Rondo variant of the Hyundai ix30. Both will be based on the Kia Cee’d, but expect the Rondo’s personality to be less Flash Gordon and more fresh groceries than the Hyundai HED-5 concept upon which the ix30 is based.

It looks like the next iteration might have similar interior packaging as the original Rondo with seating for five or seven depending on package choice. Engine and transmission options should, of course, be very similar to whatever Kia decides to offer in the new Cee’d.

The first Rondo was an affordable MPV that pretty much came and went with little fanfare. But if the Rondo gets a dose of Kia’s current design language, it to sell a little better than the last model. Then again, it’d be hard to sell fewer.

Will the new Rondo be available to U.S. families? Who knows? There wasn’t exactly a lot of love for for the model the last time, but competition in the small MPV category is finally heating up, so perhaps more buyers will be paying attention to the segment. We’ll watch for more details from next week’s Geneva Motor Show.

Kia Rondo replacement spotted… will we get it?

Here’s a stat for you: By 2014, cars will be in the top three fastest-growing segments for connected devices and streaming content. So it’s not entirely surprising that Intel, which has continued to diversify its businesses in the last decade, is betting big on the connected car market.

To that end, the chipmaker has created the Intel Capital Connected Car Fund to invest in technologies and companies that advance in-car infotainment systems.

Intel already has partnerships with BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota and a handful of Chinese manufacturers, but this new fund will primarily finance private and public software and hardware ventures. The key technologies Intel will be focusing on are everything from vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-smartphone and vehicle-to-infrastructure systems, along with speech and gesture recognition, social media integration and eye tracking. Geeky details in the press blast below the fold.

Continue reading Intel socks away $100M for Connected Car Fund

Intel socks away $100M for Connected Car Fund

Hyundai has managed to keep its i-oniq concept coupe under wraps since it teased us almost three months ago, but the internet couldn’t wait for the concept’s Geneva Motor Show debut.

The crew from the Korean Car Blog snagged this first official image of the i-oniq, the next interpretation of Hyundai’s “fluidic sculpture” design language. And it’s certainly a looker, in a oddly French kinda way.

Coming in around 173 inches, the i-oniq is a little shorter than BMW 3 Series coupe, and is reportedly a serial hybrid, with a small displacement gasoline engine powering up a battery pack, with a pair of motors driving the rear wheels.

Unfortunately, those are all the details we have for now, but we suspect a full reveal before its debut next week.

First image of Hyundai i-oniq concept leaks out

Battle Of The Budget-Friendly Full-Size RWD Luxury Sedans

The Hyundai Genesis Sedan and Chrysler 300S are much more alike than they are different.

Why compare a Hyundai to a Chrysler? At first glance, this matchup may seem rather preposterous, but a logical argument says this rivalry has been in place for more than a decade. In 2002, Chrysler and Hyundai were both offering full-size front-wheel-drive sedans. Hyundai had its XG350 fitted with a 194-horsepower 3.5-liter V6, while Chrysler was touting its Concorde with a 214-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 (each shared an EPA rating of 16 mpg city and 24 mpg highway). Not only were both remarkably similar on paper, but both sedans started at about $25,000.

Today, Hyundai and Chrysler remain in the full-size arena with products that are infinitely more interesting, significantly more powerful and immeasurably more engaging to drive – they also happen to be the only two rear-wheel-drive luxury sedans left in this price segment.

Sensing an interesting fight, we rounded up a 2012 Hyundai Genesis sedan and a 2012 Chrysler 300S for a driving comparison. After several hundred miles of city, canyon and highway had passed swiftly beneath their undercarriages, one clear winner had emerged.

Continue reading 2012 Hyundai Genesis Sedan vs. 2012 Chrysler 300S [w/video]

2012 Hyundai Genesis Sedan vs. 2012 Chrysler 300S [w/video]

Two years after Consumer Reports smacked Toyota by pulling its coveted Recommended label from the Japanese automaker’s vehicles in the wake of safety concerns, the venerable consumer products testing magazine has slipped back into its comfortable role of being one of Toyota’s biggest fans. In announcing its annual Top Picks list, CR lauded five Toyota models as best-in-class, meaning the once beleaguered brand captured fully half of the category awards.

The five triumphant Toyota models included the Camry Hybrid (hybrid), RAV4 (small SUV), Sienna V6 (family hauler), Prius (green car), and Highlander (Family SUV). It is the first time since 2003 that a single automaker has scored five class awards. Honda, the last automaker to do so, did not land a single vehicle on the list for the second time in three years.

Other vehicles landing a spot on the list include the Ford Mustang (sporty car), Hyundai Sonata (affordable family sedan), Infiniti G (sports sedan), Subaru Impreza (small car), and Chevrolet Avalanche (pickup truck).

CR says it evaluates vehicles for their road test performance, as well as reliability and safety, requiring that winners rank at least near the top of their category on the organization’s overall road test scores while having average or better reliability on reader surveys and performing “well” on crash tests.

Click past the jump to read the full press release.

Continue reading Toyota dominates Consumer Reports annual Top Picks list

Toyota dominates Consumer Reports annual Top Picks list

Back in April, Hyundai launched the Assurance Trade-in Value Guarantee ensuring every new Hyundai’s resale value two to four years down the road. Unfortunately for most folks still shopping for a Hyundai, that program has now ended. Keyword being “most” since Hyundai will no longer ensure the value of their mainline cars, but well-heeled buyers of the Genesis and Equus models can still sleep well knowing their high-end Hyundai will depreciate at a rate comparable to their neighbor’s Toyota Avalon.

“It was a marketing program and we wanted to bring a spotlight on the strength of our residual values, and it did its job,” John Krafcik, CEO of Hyundai Motor America tells Automotive News.

Residual value consulting agency ALG says the data seems to back that up. Residual value of the Equus is third best in the premium-lux market behind the Lexus LS460 and the Jaguar XJ and the Genesis sedan is second only to the Nissan Maxima among full-sized cars.

Hyundai downscales vehicle buy-back promise

When is a Volkswagen not a Volkswagen? If by Volkswagen, you mean the “people’s car” as it was initially intended, then the answer is: When it starts costing thirty to forty grand. But even with new pricing in place, the Volkswagen CC is still a far cheaper proposition to other German “four-door coupes” like the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class, Audi A5 Sportback and A7 and the new BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe.

Whereas the MSRP on the outgoing model started at $28,514, the freshly updated 2013 model starts at $30,250. That, of course, is just the starting price for the base model with the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. Start piling on the options – especially big-ticket upgrades like the VR6 engine and 4Motion all-wheel drive – and you’re quickly looking at a price starting at $41,420 for the top-of-the-line Executive model.

The adjusted pricing puts it well into the company of entry-level models from luxury marques, but if you shun badge snobbery enough to consider dropping that kind of cash on a VW, consider as well that it’s also comparable in both pricing and specification to the new Hyundai Azera we recently drove. Follow the jump for the press release.

Continue reading Redesigned 2013 Volkswagen CC priced from $30,250

Redesigned 2013 Volkswagen CC priced from $30,250

A couple of weeks ago, we shared sketches of the KH concept sedan by Kia (also called the K9 in some circles), but if you’re friends with the South Korean automaker on Facebook, you got first access to images of their flagship sedan.

As we reported before, Soon-Nam Lee, the company’s overseas marketing director, says the car will go on sale in South Korea in the first half of this year and then in most major markets soon thereafter. It’s based on the same real-wheel-drive BH platform shared by the Hyundai Genesis and Equus, and should therefore have some 5.0-liter V8 horsepower to back up its big, bold, BMW-like looks.

Before it hits the streets, though, Kia needs your help. They’re asking their Facebook fans to put on their collective thinking caps and name the stately sedan. Suggestions so far include Kratos, Stylus, Zion, Luxor, Nirvana, Decima and Panther. But we’re pretty sure Autoblog readers can come up with way better names than that.

Kia posts first images of KH concept on Facebook

Finally Focusing On The FWD Luxury Game

Luxury used to be so simple in this country. Life was demarcated by a series of vehicular gradations from Chevrolet to Oldsmobile, Oldsmobile to Buick and finally, when one had clambered up every last rung of the socioeconomic ladder, Buick to Cadillac. But that was generations ago, a time before German automakers like BMW and Mercedes-Benz quietly brushed aside makes like Lincoln and Cadillac to establish themselves as the pinnacle of luxury. It was before names like Acura, Infiniti and Lexus elbowed their way up to the luxury buffet as well.

These days, buyers with an eye toward a comfortable, well-equipped vehicle have more options than nearly any other customer thanks to the careful segmentation of the luxury market. Hyundai has long positioned itself as an automaker that knows how to give buyers heaps of content for their dollar, and vehicles like the Genesis and Equus have proven the Korean company can play on the luxury field with the rest of the rear-wheel-drive bruisers out there.

For 2012, the company has sharpened its nearly forgotten Azera to give front-wheel-drive luxury buyers something else to chew on. With its new exterior, gorgeous cabin, V6 power and a host of standard equipment, the sedan is a natural alternative to hardware like the Toyota Avalon, Buick LaCrosse and Ford Taurus.

Continue reading 2012 Hyundai Azera [w/video]

2012 Hyundai Azera [w/video]

Hyundai has opened the curtains on the i30 wagon it will be bringing to the Geneva Motor Show, and it’s a slightly less svelte five-door version of i30 hatch that debuted in Frankfurt. With its hump providing appreciably more space behind the B-pillar, Hyundai says the i30 wagon has best-in-class cargo room at 528 liters (18.6 cubic feet).

It appears to fall right in the competitive sweet spot Hyundai says it’s gunning for. At 4,485 millimeters the i30 wagon is 50 millimeters longer than the Volkswagen Golf Estate and 35 millimeters shorter than the seven-seat Ford Grand C-Max. The Golf Estate advertises cargo capacity of 505 liters with the rear seats up, and the best the Grand C-Max can muster is 475 liters if you opt for the tire-repair kit instead of the mini spare. The i30 splits the cargo room of the VW and the Ford with the rear seats down, but beats the five-seat C-Max.

The i30 wagon will offer three direct-injection gas engines and three diesels when it goes on sale later this year. Exact specs haven’t been divulged, but outputs will range from 93 to 132 horsepower. A press release with more details is available after the jump.

Continue reading Hyundai previews new i30 wagon for Geneva

Hyundai previews new i30 wagon for Geneva

The poor Fiat 500. The adorable three-door hasn’t exactly been the resounding success Fiat had hoped, missing sales projections by a wide margin. As you may recall, the company managed to sell just 17,945 units between March and December of 2011. That’s a far cry from 50,000 units annually the company projected before the 500 landed in dealerships. But, according to Polk, things may not be as bad as they seem. While it’s true that the 500 managed to pull down just four percent of the subcompact car segment, the results look a bit rosier when you compare the 500 to other three-door B-segment offerings.

In that admittedly small group, the 500 did quite well, pulling down 27 percent of all sales and landing in second place behind the Mini Cooper. The plucky Italian even manged to best the Hyundai Accent and Toyota Yaris. Still, as Polk points out, that’s a good portion of a very small corner of the total subcompact segment, and an even thinner slice of the American car market.

The upcoming five-door 500 will likely give Fiat an extra edge, though whether the vehicle helps the automaker crest its 50,000 unit goal remains to be seen.

Why the Fiat 500 isn’t the flop it’s being made out to be

According to research by Edmunds.com, the $19,711 average transaction price of the 2012 Hyundai Elantra is besting that of its chief rivals, the Toyota Corolla by $1,500 and the new Honda Civic by $500. The great big cherry on top of that sundae for Hyundai? Elantra sales were up more than 40 percent last year.

The sales success of the Elantra wasn’t much of a surprise even before the car went on sale, the transaction-price story is an eye-opener. We don’t have a breakdown on model mix, but a base Elantra with a six-speed manual is $17,220 and the Limited is $21,320 (both prices include $725 destination). The Elantra’s small-money options, like an iPod connector, match those of the competition, and even its three upmarket packages, two for the GLS and one for the Limited, contain features mostly available on the Corolla or Civic.

Point being, the Elantra doesn’t have a single killer app to explain its position. But all of its touches – one extra gear on the manual, two extra on the automatic, its newness and its design, its competitive gas mileage and its rearview camera that can’t be had on the competition, for instance, appear to be the cause. There’s also the fact that dealers don’t have to put much (if anything) on the hood since the factory still can’t make enough of them to satisfy demand.

Nor is this only a tale of the Elantra; the Sonata has narrowed its average transaction price to within $900 of both Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. And according to Hyundai CEO John Krafcik, we aren’t anywhere near the end of the company’s aspirations: “We’re in the middle of a very long journey.” Indeed, even new Elantra itself hasn’t reached top speed yet – a new Coupe and five-door GT are on the way to round out the family for 2013.

Customers paying more for Hyundai Elantra than Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla

Porsche Macan, Fisker finances, DOT guidelines

Episode #270 of the Autoblog Podcast is here with Chris, Dan, and Autoblog Executive Editor Chris Paukert. Topics include the announcement of the Porsche Macan, the state of Fisker’s finances, the DOT proposal for distracted driving guidelines, and in-dash smartphone integration tech. Your questions and comments power the end of the ‘cast, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. We’ve embedded our Q&A module after the jump for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!

Autoblog Podcast #270:

• Porsche Macan
• Fisker on the ropes?
• DOT proposes distracted-driving guidelines
• Could smartphone integration be the solution for the DOT?

In the Autoblog Garage
2012 Subaru Legacy 3.6R
2012 Honda Civic CNG
2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
2012 Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid

Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Shunk, Chris Paukert

Feedback
Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com

Review the show in iTunes

Continue reading Autoblog Podcast #270

Autoblog Podcast #270

It’s What’s Inside That Counts

Long before we saw the Hyundai Genesis Coupe in the flesh, word of the vehicle’s arrival flittered around the web with tantalizing persistence. Few rumors manage to get the enthusiast world licking its chops quite as well as one with a potent V6 in the nose of a rear-wheel-drive two-door. Editors began salivating at the thought of a performance coupe renaissance, complete with all of the associated front-page comparos, while forums lit up with threads detailing hypothetical grudge matches between the would-be Korean prize fighter and hardware from the Nissan 370Z to the then-upcoming Chevrolet Camaro V6. Hyundai had clearly rustled up some snakes.

Then the Genesis Coupe debuted, and while ingredients like available Brembo brakes and a limited-slip rear differential pointed to the possibility of a genuine contender, it’s fair to say the coupe never really became a top-flight prospect for many enthusiasts. A vague gearbox and similarly detached brakes sapped precision from the platform, consigning it to a mid-pack finish in our three-way Battle of the Sixes comparison test back in 2010.

None of this is news to Hyundai. The company began planning ways to sharpen its first genuine sports car nearly as soon as the vehicle debuted at the 2008 New York Auto Show. For 2013, the two-door receives a dose of the automaker’s patented love-it-or-hate-it styling as well as a host of mechanical improvements tucked behind the polarizing aesthetics. Are the changes enough to give the 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe the fangs it needs to thrive in the cutthroat performance coupe world?

Continue reading 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe [w/video]

2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe [w/video]

With all the news coming out recently about the small claims lawsuit over the Honda Civic Hybrid, readers may have forgotten the name behind a long-running legal issue over Toyota’s hybrid system: Paice. The latest development is that Paice and the Abell Foundation (an investor in Paice) have sued Hyundai and Kia over the gas-electric technology used in the Optima and Sonata hybrids (pictured), which shares some parts with Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive. Read up on the details of Alex Severinsky’s story here.

According to Automotive News, Paice claims that Hyundai and Kia should have known that Toyota was dealing with legal issues – especially since Paice has been contacting Hyundai about the issue – and says that the Korean automakers are infringing upon three patents that Paice owns. Toyota and Paice settled their long-looming hybrid patent infringement case in 2010 after eight years, during which time the courts routinely rejected Toyota’s request to dismiss the case. Toyota eventually paid royalties to Paice for the Prius, Highlander Hybrid and Lexus RX400h models it sold.

Paice drags Hyundai, Kia into long-running hybrid patent fight with Toyota

As much as we love the 2012 Hyundai Veloster, it’s the 2013 Turbo model that really gets our juices flowing (especially in matte gray, for the record). It takes that unique three-door (four-door?) configuration one step further with the addition of some more aggressive aero bits, a revised front end and new wheels; not to mention a potent 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-four underhood, good for 201 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque.

The Veloster Turbo goes on sale this summer, and while official pricing hasn’t been released, the folks at Inside Line have apparently confirmed that the car will start at $21,500 – $22,280 when you factor in the $760 destination charge. That’s $4,205 more than a base Veloster, but in addition to more power, we expect that some of the base car’s optional features will be fitted as standard kit on the Turbo.

What’s really interesting, however, is Inside Line’s report that the Turbo model was never even part of the original Veloster product strategy here in the United States. No big deal, because we’re still getting the forced-induction hatch regardless. But the real reason why this is important is it explains why the Turbo is being offered with a six-speed automatic (in addition to a six-speed manual) rather than the dual-clutch unit found in the base car. Guess that in-house dual-clutch unit can’t handle the full 195 lb-ft of the Turbo.

We expect Hyundai to release official Veloster Turbo pricing closer to the car’s on-sale date this summer. And if this $21,500 base MSRP stands true, then the affordable end of America’s hot hatch pool just got a lot more interesting.

Hyundai Veloster Turbo to start at $21,500?

Remember the days of planned obsolescence? They’re over. The latest J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study shows a 13-percent improvement in new car dependability over the first three years of ownership. The latest sample of 2009 model year vehicles shows the lowest rate of problems since the study’s inception in 1990.

The big winner was the Lexus LS, which had the fewest reported problems in the study. Lexus was the highest rated brand as well, followed by Porsche, Cadillac, Toyota and Scion. J.D. Power says 25 of 32 automotive brands showed improved dependability, with six declining and one remaining the same.

While J.D. Power was pleased to see automakers producing high quality cars despite the economic disaster unfolding around them three years ago, it did note that some brands are still not getting credit for building reliable vehicles. “During the past four years, models from Buick, Cadillac, Ford, Hyundai and Lincoln have achieved consistently strong levels of dependability,” the company’s release stated, “but still have relatively high proportions of new-vehicle buyers expressing reliability concerns.”

To read the full press release, click past the jump.

Continue reading J.D. Power reports vehicle dependability has substantially improved

J.D. Power reports vehicle dependability has substantially improved

And This Time, It’s Personal

In order to understand this review of the 2012 Hyundai Veloster, you first need to understand a bit about me. I’m a mid-twenty-something urbanite. My closet is full of obscure band t-shirts, striped hooded sweatshirts and Converse. My black-framed glasses match my messy dyed black hair. I go to a lot of concerts starring bands you’ve never heard of, I drink Pabst Blue Ribbon at dive bars that I ‘check in’ to on Facebook. Every photo I take has an Instagram filter. My Twitter feed is one big sarcastic abyss.

I’ll sheepishly admit to being sort of a hipster, only without the Arcade Fire shirt and stupid mustache.

More to the point, I look like I stepped right out of a commercial for the Hyundai Veloster. All of the smiling, energetic folks pictured in the brochure at the dealership? They could pass as my friends.

It’s no secret that Hyundai’s new hatch is aimed squarely at my demographic – the always-connected scenester who works hard and plays harder. But does this new Veloster adequately meet the demands of my lifestyle? Forget about the fact that I’m an enthusiast first and a consumer second. If I had to go out and buy a new car tomorrow, would the Hyundai dealership be my destination?

Continue reading 2012 Hyundai Veloster

2012 Hyundai Veloster