Tag Archives: Hyundai Elantra

The Only Prescription for Zombie Fever is a Hyundai Veloster with Bumper-Mounted Chainsaws

By Andrew Wendler

With the nation’s seemingly insatiable hunger for zombie-themed entertainment still in full swing, Hyundai is leaving nothing to chance and showing off a second vehicle specifically prepped in tribute to Robert Kirkman’s long-running series of Walking Dead graphic novels and comics. Debuting at this year’s Comic-Con event in San Diego, the Veloster Zombie Survival Machine (henceforth to be referred to as ZSM) joins last year’s Hyundai Elantra coupe ZSM in the tiny-but-growing segment of vehicles equipped to neutralize the walking dead.

Locked, loaded, and prepared to macerate the inanimate and bloated, the Veloster rocks a pair of bumper-mounted chainsaws that can be quickly swapped out for a more traditional zombie-clearing horde plow when the need arises. If conventional firepower is more your style, switch on the floodlights, sound the aptly named “Doom Whistle,” and grab a hold of the roof mounted, quick-change .50 cal machine gun/flamethrower setup and make it rain a little terror. For good measure, additional gunnery includes hood- and door-mounted machine guns. The windows receive protective shielding made of barbed wire and wrought iron, and a pair of hood-mounted sandbags catch errant shrapnel. Mounted to the rear you’ll find an old-school baseball bat decorated with spikes, a samurai sword, an armored bumper with protruding knife blades, and an exposed spare wheel and tire that’s sure to be shredded by the first zombie that gets his lifeless, un-manicured paws on it.



Why exactly it’s finished in Vitamin C Orange textured paint we can’t say, but it does look sharp. Forged wheels wearing all-terrain tires hide beneath oversized wheel flares, and a sprayed-on textured coating covers the floor. As you might expect, the interior contains all the controls to operate the defense systems and plenty of storage for ammo, weapons, first-aid items, and the like.

As it sits, the 2013 Veloster ZSM resembles the production 2013 Veloster in pretty much name only, and neither Hyundai nor Glapin Auto Sports, who performed much of the transformation, have divulged powertrain details. But any sensible zombie slayer would want the Turbo, right? As much as we enjoy these one-off projects, it appears the only thing capable of stopping an inevitable zombie apocalypse at this point is a wane in the the public’s interest.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Car & Driver

2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport

So-called compact crossovers such as the Honda CR-V or Subaru Forester have been creeping up in size; and that’s made room for a new sort of wagon that’s a step larger than subcompact hatches yet a step taller than compact hatchbacks like the Ford Focus or Hyundai Elantra. Among those is the 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, a vehicle… …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at The Car Connection

2013 Honda Civic EX-L Sedan Review & Test Drive

By Harvey Schwartz

2013 Honda Civic EXL Beauty Right Up Done Small

‘MORE REFINED INSIDE AND OUT’

When the all-new Honda Civic premiered in 2012 it received mixed reviews about the new exterior styling and interior materials.  The compact sedan market is one of the most hotly contested so Honda designers went back to their drawing boards and refreshed the front and rear fascias, then gave the interior more luxurious finishes plus more standard equipment in 2013 to better compete against the Toyota Corolla, Nissan Sentra, Hyundai Elantra, Ford Focus and Chevy Cruze.

Last year I tested the all-new 2012 Civic Si coupe and found it fun-to-drive, with excellent handling capabilities, and didn’t mind that the interior had mostly hard plastic.  When looking for a performance car less than $25,000.00, I don’t care that the company is putting more money on performance-driven items that on the interior dashboard materials.  I want fun and excitement behind the wheel for a reasonable amount of money.  Well, to turn the tide with the other automotive reviewers, Honda refreshed the front and rear fascias and upgraded the interior to give it a more upscale look and feel.  I tested the Civic 4-door EX-L model with navigation and enjoyed my seven-day test drive like last year.

2013 Honda Civic EXL Beauty Side LA  Done Small

Changes to the exterior include a new open-mouth lower bumper with a horizontal chrome accent and a sportier looking black honeycomb mesh grille with another horizontal chrome piece around the bottom and up the sides.  The grille is flanked by new halogen headlamp clusters and clear-lens corner lights to make a more premium look.   Integrated foglamps are at the sides of the lower bumper.  The more sculpted front end flows into a new more deeply faceted sculpture.  The flared fenders find new 16X6.5 inch sporty aluminum wheels with black painted pockets wrapped with 205/55R16 inch all-season radial tires.

2013 Honda Civic EXL Beauty Rear LA Done Small

From the side is a long, low, sleek look with steeply raked A-pillars, lower side extensions, body color pull-out door handles, aero-styled remote/heated sideview mirrors and nice scallop in the doors.  The rear features a new bumper design and new rear trunk lid that are finished off by a clean horizontal chrome trim piece.  The all-new design of the jewel-like taillights now carries into the trunk face, providing a more polished and upscale look.  The rear bumper also features integrated reflector treatments and a new diffuser panel with a honeycomb mesh vent.

Interior improvements include new soft-to-the-touch leather dashboard and dashboard top with dual stitching, black matt trim and brushed aluminum trim around the air-vents, around the leather-wrapped steering wheel spokes, center console, and door trim.  Chrome is featured around the stick shifter gate.

2013 Honda Civic EXL Engine Done Small

Power from the 1.8 liter 16-valve, SOHC, all-aluminum, i-VTEC inline four-cylinder gets a slight bump in …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Automotive Addicts

Video: Hyundai Elantra's alleged unintended acceleration sends teen, police on a 113-mile ride

By Zach Bowman

Runaway Hyundai Elantra

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Back in December, one North Texas teenager received a quick lesson in car control at the hands of his 2011 Hyundai Elantra. Elez Lushaj called police, after he says his car accelerated to nearly 120 mph on Highway 183 unintentionally. Dispatchers urged the 16-year-old driver to try everything from turning the car off to standing on the brakes and putting the car in neutral, but Lushaj told them nothing was working. Flummoxed, police simply did their best to warn traffic away from the speeding compact with the hope that the car would eventually run out of fuel.

Before that could happen, Lushaj lost control on Interstate 30 after some 90 minutes as he attempted to avoid a semi truck. The Elantra rolled four times, leaving the driver conscious but with several broken bones. Police commended Lushaj for keeping the car on the road and away from population centers for as long as he did.

Hyundai, meanwhile, said that it hasn’t heard anything on the case. Spokesperson Jim Trainor reported to WFAA that it was “extremely unlikely for simultaneous and spontaneous total system failures for the brakes, accelerator and transmission to occur at the same time” and notes that Hyundai would like to investigate, but this is the first they’ve heard of Lushaj’s wild ride. You can watch a local news report on the incident below for more information.

Continue reading Hyundai Elantra’s alleged unintended acceleration sends teen, police on a 113-mile ride

Hyundai Elantra’s alleged unintended acceleration sends teen, police on a 113-mile ride originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 Feb 2013 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

Self-Driving Cars, Gas Tax, Refreshed Volvo Lineup: Today's Car News

Today at The Car Connection, Michigan considered allowing self-driving cars on its roads, and photos of the refreshed 2014 Volvo lineup leaked onto the Internet. We compared the Hyundai Elantra against the Chevrolet Cruze, and we spied the 2015 Mercedes-Benz C Class. All this and more in today’s car news, right here on The Car Connection. The… …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at The Car Connection

Chevy Cruze Vs. Hyundai Elantra: Compare Cars

If you didn’t expect to find a Chevrolet or a Hyundai among TheCarConnection’s top choices, you’re in for a surprise. Much has changed in the compact-sedan class over the past few years, and both the new Chevy Cruze and Hyundai Elantra are among our top-rated vehicles here. One of them has a major award in its win column. From our road tests, it’s… …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at The Car Connection

First Drive: 2014 Kia Forte

By Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: , , ,

Kia Tries Yet Again To Prove That Compact Sedans Are Its Forte

2014 Kia Forte

For those keeping track, the introduction of the 2014 Kia Forte sedan marks the second time in five years that Kia has completely redesigned its compact sedan offering. Put another way, car shoppers have now had three entirely different options in this category from Kia – the unloved Spectra along with two generations of the Forte – in the same period of time that Toyota has been building the current Corolla.

If nothing else, it’s clear that Kia is committed to making as big of a dent in the compact class as possible. That said, none of Kia’s entries have come close to challenging the dominance of the aforementioned Corolla, Honda Civic or Volkswagen Jetta, domestic offerings like the Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze, or even the Hyundai Elantra, its slightly older and more subdued Korean sibling, in the race for market share.

We spent a day driving the new 2014 Forte Sedan through the wide open spaces separating the copper mines of central Arizona to find out if Kia’s latest offering has what it takes to play in the compact car Big Leagues.

Continue reading 2014 Kia Forte

2014 Kia Forte originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

Toyota Corolla Vs. Hyundai Elantra: Compare Cars

Together, the Hyundai Elantra and Toyota Corolla couldn’t be more emblematic of how far the Korean automakers have come, yet how conservative several of the long-respected Japanese brands have remained as of late. Just a quick look at these two models, side by side, says a lot. The Elantra, which was completely redesigned for 2011, may very well…
Source: FULL ARTICLE at The Car Connection

Official: Mazda3, CX-5 earn IIHS Top Safety Picks

By Jonathon Ramsey

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Mazda technologies like SkyActiv-Body and SkyActiv-Chassis, plus ultra-high-tensile steel, six airbags, “crusable” brake and accelerator pedal assembly and collapsible steering column have helped the 2013 Mazda3 and 2014 Mazda CX-5 win Top Safety Pick laurels from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). It’s the second year in a row for the Mazda3.

The accolade is earned by receiving “Good” marks for frontal moderate overlap crashes, side and rear impact crashes, and tests of roof strength. Remember, the small overlap test that the IIHS commenced in August 2012 has lately tripped up some makers who have excellent safety reputations.

The Mazda3 and CX-5 join offerings like the Dodge Dart, Hyundai Elantra, Mitsubishi Outlander Sport and Subaru Forester among the 117 vehicles so far declared Top Safety Picks – which is different than the 13 named Top Safety Picks+, mind you – for this year. Have a read of the press release below for more information.

Continue reading Mazda3, CX-5 earn IIHS Top Safety Picks

Mazda3, CX-5 earn IIHS Top Safety Picks originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 Jan 2013 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog