Hyundai is keeping the pedal to the medal with millions of dollars in television advertising being earmarked for the upcoming Super Bowl. This is a great way to increase brand awareness and to work your way deeper into Amercian Culture. if done correctly it can work as with the Chrysler 200 pairing with Eminem last year!

From the Detroit News:

Detroit — Hyundai Motor Co. is hoping that five television spots before and during the Feb. 5 Super Bowl game will help to bolster its rising brand recognition and continue big sales gains from the past few years.

North American CEO John Krafcik says the fast-growing brand is working on a 60-second spot that will run right before kickoff, plus two ads on the pregame show and two during the first and third quarters of the game.

He wouldn’t say how much the Korean automaker is spending on the ads, which will compete with the most creative spots American companies have to offer during one of television’s highest-rated and most expensive sporting events. Last year Super Bowl ads cost companies about $3 million for 30 seconds.

Chrysler Group LLC’s two-minute spot featuring rapper Eminem was among those that created the most Super Bowl buzz last year, and it helped kick off what has been a strong sales year for the recovering company. The cinematic third-quarter ad showed Eminem driving through Detroit and introduced a new car, the Chrysler 200 sedan, amid gritty scenes of the city. A voiceover talked about how the city has survived going through “hell and back.”

Krafcik said Hyundai hopes to have standout spots as well, but it will focus more on a brand message rather than going for entertainment value.

Read the full article.

Hyundai Motor Co. sells one out of every two cars in South Korea, so it’s difficult for the slanted-H logo to mean anything other than ubiquity in its home country.

That’s why Hyundai has to do something special for its upscale cars. Its top-of-the-line Equus and luxury Genesis sedans operate as distinct brands in South Korea, with no Hyundai logos on the car.

But even so, the two sedans are also so common among South Korea’s elite that Hyundai has to stretch even more to produce something different for those who really want to stand out.

The result is the company’s first luxury co-branded product: a limited-run Genesis sedan with Prada.

The 1,200 Genesis Prada sedans will be sold in South Korea over the next few months. Another few hundred will be shipped to luxury buyers in the Middle East and China.

The starting price for the car is 79 million won (about $73,000), which is 20% more than a regular Genesis model with the same V8, 460-horsepower Tau 5.0 GDi engine.

Read the full articles.

Automakers are pouring billions of dollars into fuel-efficient powertrains. But shapely sheet metal still sells cars — which is why fresh design statements will be abundant at the North American International Auto Show next week.

Hyundai and Kia, for example, promise to make a splash with the Hyundai Curb and Kia KV7 crossovers.

Chrysler is trying for a more refined rear-drive sedan with the redesigned 300.

And a Toyota Prius wagon is scheduled to make its debut.

Read the full article.

Hyundai keeps chugging along and now plans expansion of it’s factory capacity in the U.S. It’s really no surprise that Hyundai will be looking to either expand or build more assembly plants in North America in the near future as sales for the Korean company continue to grow. Last month (July 2010) Hyundai’s U.S. sales set a record with 54,106 units sold which is a 19 percent increase from a year ago.

The U.S. car market is steadily fighting back and if and when things really get going Hyundai is preparing to be an even bigger player.

From Auto News.com:

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Hyundai Motor Co. needs more factory output in the United States and will announce plans to expand production within the next month or so, John Krafcik, CEO of Hyundai Motor America, said today.

The automaker’s plant in Alabama, which makes the Sonata sedan and Santa Fe crossover, is running at maximum overtime right now and still struggling to meet sales demands, Krafcik said at the CAR Management Briefing Seminars here.

He declined to say what shape the new U.S. production would take, but said, “We know we have to grow U.S. production.”

Read the full article here.

News flash! Another dumb idea from GM! The brain trust at GM have apparently decided against selling the all new Chevy Orlando in the U.S. because they want to focus on “other” Chevy products??? OK, So GM is calling this new stylish and sensible vehicle a “minivan” and guess what? 1.) GM/Chevy have no minivan for sale in the U.S. 2.) GM/Chevy have no other vehicle with 3 rows that compares to the Orlando 3.) With gas prices likely to rise soon the Orlando (which is off the same platform as the Volt and Cruze will get close to 35mpg on the highway) would be a home run in the U.S.

Oh well, I guess GM/Chevy are happy with losing market share to other companies like Ford and Hyundai so keep one of the better new products to come out of their stable in awhile and sell it basically everywhere but the U.S.

From AutoGuide.com:

The Chevrolet Orlando crossover will not be sold in the United States after all. In an interview with Bloomberg, Margaret Brooks, GM’s product marketing director for small cars and crossovers said that “The best thing to do for Chevrolet is to focus on the brands we’ve already brought to market: the Traverse, Equinox, Malibu and, soon to come, the Cruze.”

Read the full article here.

This is not a misprint. Hyundai to bring luxury vehicle to challenge BMW, Mercedes and Lexus. That’s right, the Hyundai Equus is on it’s way to the U.S. with all of the goodies inside and out to take on the big boys. Will the Equus be a hit in the mid 50k range? We’ll know soon enough.

From AutoGuide.com:

It certainly looks like a flagship luxury sedan, created to rival established German saloons like the 7 Series and S Class, but it costs roughly half the price and… it’s a Hyundai? Yes, debuting at the New York Auto Show, Hyundai will now offer its flagship luxury sedan from Korea in the U.S. aiming to, “compete with the best luxury sedans in the world on all levels.”

Pricing for the Equus has yet to be locked-down, but Hyundai says it expects to be able to sell the car in the mid $50,000 range. And while the Equus isn’t likely to win over many buyers from Mercedes, the package is an attractive one for Lexus LS shoppers, with the LS460 riced in the mid $60,000 range.

The Equus more than just looks like a proper luxury barge, using a powerful V8 engine and riding on a proper rear-drive architecture (an elongated version of that used for the Genesis Sedan). The Equus is actually 7.2-inches longer than the Genesis at 203.1-inches. That makes it longer than the extended wheelbase Lexus LS, plus it’s wider than either the S-Class or 7 Series.

Read the full article here.

The Big H is already on a roll but if they build anything similar to this prototype i-Flow/Sonata being shown in Geneva look out because they could be steamrollin’. Some of Hyundai’s cars already resemble a Lexus and at a portion of the cost so they have sent out warning shots to the competition on what lies ahead.

Hyundai unveiled its i-Flow concept vehicle, calling it a preview for a future D-Segment contender. According to Hyundai, we may see the i-Flow’s styling and technology in a 2011 production model. Would it be too much to expect it in the 2011 Euro-spec Sonata?

The seventh of a series of concepts from the Russelsheim design studio, the i-Flow extends upon Hyundai’s “fluidic sculpture” philosophy. The outside offers a futuristic look while inside, the i-Flow has an alien, Hyundai calls it “bionic”, feel.

Under the futuristic shell, the i-Flow is Hyundai’s first diesel hybrid powertrain. At the i-Flow’s heart is the U2 1.7L two-stage turbo engine combined with a lithium-ion powered motor. No horsepower or torque figures were provided, but Hyundai says the i-Flow gets 78.4 mpg.

Read the full article here.

To say that Toyota customers are up for grabs is an understatement! Waiting for at least one company to throw in a free cruise and free pizza for a year!

From the Detroit News:

Two of Toyota Motor Corp.’s competitors reversed course and said today they will join those offering incentives on trade-ins from Toyota owners.

Chrysler Group LLC and Hyundai Motor Co. are the latest to offer rebates. General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. were first to offer $1,000 incentives for Toyota owners through the end of February. Ford today said it also is increasing the amount of money it provides to dealers for advertising to allow them to capitalize on the opportunity created by Toyota’s woes.

Chrysler has spent the last two days mulling a change in its programs and had planned to wait until next week to announce its latest incentives.

Read the full article here.

Photo from fOTOGLIF
]]> http://www.dashboardnews.com/2010/01/31/toyota-owners-up-for-grabs/feed/ 2 http://www.dashboardnews.com/2010/01/11/hyundai-steps-up-with-new-2010-sante-fe/ http://www.dashboardnews.com/2010/01/11/hyundai-steps-up-with-new-2010-sante-fe/#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:11:58 +0000 Staff http://www.dashboardnews.com/?p=469

Hyundai really steps it up with the new 2010 Sante Fe that will reportedly bring in 20/28 mpg, for front drive automatic models with the four-banger.

From AutoGuide.com:

Hyundai continues to deliver significantly improved vehicles, the latest being the 2010 Santa Fe mid-sized crossover, which is set to launch at the Detroit Auto Show. Mid-cycle refreshes rarely get the sort of overhaul that the 2010 Santa Fe has received, with minor interior and exterior updates being joined by two new engines, both of which are more fuel efficient than the engines they replace.

For 2010 the entry level 2.7-liter 4-cylinder has been replaced with Hyundai’s new Theta II 2.4-liter, which delivers 175-hp and 169 ft-lbs of torque – the same as in the new 2011 Tucson. This is less power than the old V6, but a new six-speed automatic transmission and the lighter weight of the 4-cylinder should put the crossover’s acceleration at about the same range. Fuel economy is up significantly (aided by the new six-speed transmission) from 18/24 mpg (city/highway) to 20/28 mpg, for front drive automatic models.

Read the full article here.

From Car and Driver.com:

Think what you will about the ever-expanding “four-door coupe” theme—now applied to everything from luxury SUVs to mainstream sedans—but you just can’t help but be seized by the design of the new 2011 Hyundai Sonata debuting at the L.A. auto show. (Even if there appears to be plenty of Volkswagen CC and even a bit of Toyota Camry Solara to its looks.) Styled in the company’s California studio, the Sonata is strikingly swoopy and all creased up with Hyundai’s new design language called “Fluidic Sculpture,” which we’re told we’ll be seeing a lot more of in the future.

Read the entire article and check out the gallery here.