Consumer Watchdog is not backing down from its bid of calling out Hyundai‘s MPG claims for their popular Elantra, and has now issued out a letter to Hyundai’s CEO asking the company to pull its prominent 40-mpg claims from car’s advertisements until the EPA re-tests the model.

Elantra owners from around the country are reporting that their vehicles’ average gas rating is more in the 18- to 19-mpg range rather than the advertised 29-mpg city, 40-mpg highway that Hyundai is advertising. To add more fuel to the fire, Consumers Union and Motor Trend’s tests were well short of the 33-mpg combined claim and even the most mileage-obsessed drivers over at Fuelly.com couldn’t get their Elantras close to the 33-mpg claim.

And while most people understand that there is a discrepancy between mpg claims from manufacturers and real world driving scenarios, their complaint lies in the fact that the Elantra falls well beyond a 10-percent difference. Consumer Watchdog is now calling Hyundai out as being deceptive and hope that Hyundai will pull the claims from their ads before more consumers purchase the Elantra under false pretenses.

Motor Trend tested the Elantra to 25.9-mpg while Consumers Union averaged 29-mpg. USA Today on the other hand tested just 22-mpg.

The 1 millionth Hyundai Sonata rolled off the line on July 29 2011 at the Alabama manufacturing facility, marking a historic milestone for the Korean automaker. A small celebration last Friday was held at the plant, as a 2012 Limited Edition 2.0 Turbo with a radiant silver paint finish, marked the event . Employees of the plant cheered as President and CEO Young Deuk Lim drove the Sonata off the line with Vice President of Production, Ashley Frye and Robert Coleman, HMMA’s Team Member of the year in the passenger seats.

“I am so proud of everything our Team Members have accomplished in the past six years, eclipsing 1,000,000 total vehicles manufactured in November 2009, producing more than 300,000 vehicles in 2010 and now our 1,000,000th Sonata,” said President Lim. “This milestone provides us an opportunity celebrate our many achievements and take pride in knowing our Hyundai spirit is alive and ready to reach any goal we set for ourselves.”

The Alabama plant has produced three different vehicles since 2006 including the Sonata, Santa Fe and Elantra. The popular Sonata, has helped Hyundai exceed the 300,000 unit capacity at the plant for the past two years.

The Japanese earthquake disaster and the resulting supply disruption mixed up the Top 10 best-selling vehicles in June, allowing the Chevrolet Cruze compact to top the chart in the US, a spot usually reserved for the Toyota Camry.

The Camry did make the Top 10 and was the only Japanese vehicle to do so but as number eight, with sales down 27.7 percent from last June. Toyota has regained strength and production is almost back to normal so expect the Camry to move back up. Honda also took a tumble and fell to 15th place with the Civic, down 34 percent compared to this time last year. The Altima was Nissan’s top seller coming in at 11th place with sales up 22.7 percent.

Coming in first place was Ford’s F-series which improved over last year by 6.7 percent. Second place was awarded to the Chevrolet Silverado which improved by 5.1% over last year.

The Top Ten Sellers For June are the Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado, Chevrolet Cruze, Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Escape, Ford Focus, Ram Pickups, Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion, and Hyundai Elantra.

[Source: USA Today]

Even with high gas prices, Americans are choosing fuel effiecient compacts with conventional gas engines over pricier gas-electric hybrids. Sales have steadily increased with the Hyundai Elantra, Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze while hybrids are showing little activity.

Hybrid sales in the U.S peaked in July,2009 peaking at 3.6% and last month sales were down to 1.6% however production cuts and the Japan disaster are playing a factor.

“Even with the fuel savings, it doesn’t make sense to buy a hybrid” for many buyers, says Power Senior Manager Mike Omotoso of J.D Power and Associates. “This year, we had $4 gas (in many cities) but we saw the introduction of compacts that get 40 mpg. All of these cars are considerably cheaper than hybrids.”

The nations best-selling hybrid is the Toyota Prius averaging 50 mpg, while the Ford Fusion hybrid averages 38.5 mpg. However, all Elantras and some Focus and Honda Civic models are rated at 40 mpg or more on the highway.

New conventionally powered cars use various strategies to increase gas mileage to compete at hybrid levels- without the batteries and electric motors that can increase the price of the car by $6,000, according to J.D Power and Associates.

[Source: USA Today]

The all-new Hyundai Elantra Coupe will debut this fall at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show, with Hyundai is hoping this new coupe will eat into Honda Civic Coupe sales.

The basic powertrain will likely come from the sedan which is powered by a 1.8-liter four-cylinder producing 148-hp and 131 lb-ft of torque. Hyundai is also likely to create a high performance Elantra R-Spec in 2012. This coupe will likely be powered by the same 208-hp turbocharged engine already confirmed for the high-performance version of the Hyundai Veloster. Transmission choices for the Veloster include an optional duel-clutch automatic transmission for its naturally aspirated 1.6-liter engine, so this will likely be the choice for the R-Spec Elantra.

Fuel economy will likely be around 29 MPG city and 40 MPG highway regardless of transmission, trim level and wheel size. The Elantra sedan is offered in two trim levels including GLS and Limited. Coupe equipment will likely be similar to the sedans offerings.

[Source: Edmunds Inside Line]

Hyundai officially announced that its has sold 5 million vehicles in Europe since it first began retail operations in 1977. The first Hyundai Pony was imported to Europe in 1977 and the five millionth vehicle was in i30, which was launched in 2007 and has sold just over 320,000 units throughout Europe.

Hyundai has managed to sell 1 million cars alone, in the last three years. However it took the Korean automaker 19 years to sell its first million cars within Europe, and the two millionth car was sold in 2001.

The company progressed immensely with the introduction of the Hyundai i30 in 2007, which was designed for the European market. The i30 is built in Nosovice, Czech Republic producing 300,000 units per year.

Allan Rushforth, Senior Vice President and COO of Hyundai Motor Europe, commented, “Hitting five million sales is a wonderful achievement for Hyundai, and it marks us out as a major player in what is the world’s most competitive car market. But this is just the beginning for the brand. We are planning for further sales growth during 2011, to take us to 3% market share in Europe. And in the longer term we expect the quality and desirability of our cars to help us maintain our momentum and deliver our next five million sales in a much shorter time frame.”

Hyundai has recalled over 190,000 Elantra models over concerns that the passenger side airbags might not work properly.

The Elantras were from the last generation, built from July 2006 to November 2008, and cover model years 2007 to 2009.

The recall deals with a defect in the airbag seat sensor that detects a person’s weight and deploys the airbag accordingly, not deploying the airbag if the passenger is a child, for example. The sensor is located in the center console, and could break easily—if liquid is spilled into the console, for example. Then, the side airbag could fire regardless of the passenger’s size and weight, injuring a child.

Over 96,000 additional Elantras from 2007 and 2008 are also being examined for a driver’s side airbag that could deploy incorrectly if the seat is set in a certain position.

Hyundai‘s new Accent was the star of the companies exhibit at this year’s Beijing Auto Show, but the debut of two new engines and a new automatic transmission will have broader implications for the rest of the company’s lineup.

In addition to the 2.4L GDI four-cylinder in the Sonata (pictured above), two new gasoline direct-injection engines were unveiled at Beijing, a 1.6L four cylinder putting out 138 horsepower, a 28 horsepower bump over Hyundai’s current 1.6L four banger. The 1.6 GDI should appear in the Accent, Elantra, certain Kia models and the upcoming Veloster compact sports car. Even more enticing was the mention in a product video that the 1.6 could potentially be turbocharged and paired up with a dual-clutch gearbox, though no timeline was given for either technology.

Hyundai’s long awaited GDI version of the Lambda V6 was also previewed, although the engine was only rated at 296 horsepower, which is a few ponies less than the current Lambda makes in Hyundai’s Genesis Coupe. One can assume that there will be different variations, and that the engine will see a bump in power when it comes Stateside. Hyundai also joins Lexus in the elite 8-speed automatic club, and it’s a sure bet that the Genesis Sedan and Coupe will get the new 8-speed auto option.

With Hyundai positioning itself as a premium brand, the company has an obligation to innovate on its own, and not just play catch-up – even if they’re hot on the heels of world leaders like Lexus.

[Source: Edmunds Inside Line]

Hyundai and Kia have announced plans to build more fuel-efficient versions of the Accent, Elantra and Forte. These “blue” models will be much like GM’s XFE (Xtra Fuel Efficient) cars and trucks and use many of the same techniques.

For starters, fuel-economy will be improved through the use of a five-speed, rather than the standard four-speed automatic transmission. The cars will also get lower rolling resistance tires, as well as electric (rather than hydraulic) power steering. Additionally, new alternators will be used that produce less drag on the engine, while special aerodynamic enhancements will help improve efficiency in that respect.

Kia says the Forte EX with the company’s add-on fuel-economy package will get a rating of 27/36 mpg (city/highway) as compared to 25/34 mpg.

Hyundai has not released expected fuel-economy numbers for the Accent or Elantra, but if Kia’s 2 mpg rating holds steady then the vehicles should get 28/37 mpg and 25/37 mpg (city/highway) respectively.

Hyundai has set a goal of a fleet average fuel-economy rating of 35 mpg by 2015 and this will no doubt help it get there.

The cost to consumers for these fuel-efficient models will vary. Kia believes buyers will pay extra ($600 extra) for a fuel-economy package, while Hyundai will offer its “blue” models as stripped down versions costing less than the other trim levels.

All three fuel-efficient vehicles will be available late this summer as 2010 models.

[Source: Car & Driver]