#2012HyundaiElantra

A defect investigation launched last May examining side-curtain airbags in the  Hyundai Elantra has been upgraded to an engineering analysis on 75,581 Elantra vehicles; specifically those manufactured in Korea for the American market. 

Inexpensive family sedans still held the majority in the AutoGuide most researched new cars list this week, though the workhorse Ford F-150 and rowdy Jeep Wrangler roared in, nearly knocking the mundane Toyota Corolla from the list.

As the North American International Auto Show looms ever larger on the calendar, so does the annual North American Car and Truck of the Year awards, the winners of which will be announced on January 9th, before the show opens.

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.

Later this week Hyundai will be previewing its new Elantra model ahead of its LA Auto Show reveal, but the clever folks in Hyundai’s PR department have let slip little bit of the car’s sheetmetal before the unveiling. There’s little new here as we’ve already seen the Elantra not once, not twice, not three times, but at least four times before.