Hyundai’s new U.S marketing chief wants to improve customer perception brand by improving quality and design to enhance the consumers on a more emotional level.

Consumers have traditionally turned to Hyundai because of practical attributes such as value, warranty and fuel economy. However, Hyundai has expanded its U.S linup in recent years to include premium cars like the Genesis and Equus in a move to attract non-traditional demographics.

Furthermore, Hyundai has set up a program this month guaranteeing the trade-in value of models after two years of ownership, if the customer trades in their car for a new Hyundai. This follows on the heels of their Assurance program set up during the recession, which allowed buyers to return cars without a penalty or a hit to one’s credit score if there was job loss or bankruptcy within a year of purchase.

Hyundai’s sales in the U.S are vastly improving with 204,374 vehicle sales in April, a 31 percent gain from the same period in 2010.

[Source: Automotive News]

Kia‘s top of the line Sorento SX comes with special Dual Flow Dampers, which apparently offers a great blend of performance and comfort, while giving the Sorento a slightly lower ride height.

However, the lesser Sorentos apparently offered a harsh ride of broken-up pavement, and Kia has taken notice. The DFD dampers will now be standard across the board starting in the fourth quarter of 2010, so any “early adopters” might be kicking themselves for having purchased a lesser Sorento. Kia made no mention of whether there’s any kind of retrofit for previous production runs (we doubt it) so buyers who got on the bandwagon early may just have to live with their purchase.

[Source: Autoblog]

Hyundai‘s Sonata has won high praise from many automotive journalists, Autoguide included, for its distinctive styling, refined manners and great value.

But enthusiasts are still waiting on the hottest Sonata (who ever thought we’d see those words together?), the 274 horsepower Sonata turbo, set to debut later this fall. Since its debut at the New York Auto Show, Hyundai has been somewhat tight-lipped about their fastest family sedan, but a press briefing in Korea this past week, Hyundai released a couple interesting details.

The Sonata turbo will be able to match the performance of a manual transmission BMW 328i, getting to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds, and obtain fuel economy numbers of 22 mpg in the city and 34 mpg highway. While the Sonata turbo will only have an automatic transmission, and likely weigh close to what a 328i weighs, we can’t help but feel that Hyundai’s acceleration times are a tad conservative. Of course, the Sonata is also going to be at least $5,000 cheaper.

[Source: The Car Connection]