Daily Archives: June 11, 2007

Hyundai SUV Earns Insurance Industry’s TOP SAFETY PICK Award

ARLINGTON, Va., June 11 — The 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe, a midsize SUV, meets the criteria to earn the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s TOP SAFETY PICK designation. The Santa Fe earned the top rating of good for front, side, and rear crash protection and is equipped with electronic stability control. Now 21 cars, SUVs, and minivans earn TOP SAFETY PICK status.

“The performance of the Santa Fe makes good on Hyundai’s promise to provide the highest level of safety to its customers,” says Institute president Adrian Lund. The Hyundai Entourage and twin Kia Sedona also earned TOP SAFETY PICK for minivans. The Institute recognizes vehicles with this award to help consumers distinguish the best overall choices without having to sort through multiple crash test results.

“Criteria to win are tough because they are intended to drive continued safety improvements such as high crash test ratings and rapid addition of electronic stability control, which is standard equipment on the Santa Fe,” Lund says. The Santa Fe also is equipped with side airbags as standard equipment to protect the heads of people in all three rows of seats.

Redesign improves rear crash performance: Hyundai engineers redesigned the Santa Fe’s seat/head restraints to improve performance in rear impacts. The seats and head restraints in this vehicle’s predecessor model were rated poor overall. The new seats include head restraints designed to automatically move up and toward the heads of people in the front seats during a rear impact. These new seat/head restraints are rated good overall.

How vehicles are evaluated: The Institute’s frontal crashworthiness evaluations are based on results of 40 mph frontal offset crash tests. Each vehicle’s overall evaluation is based on measurements of intrusion into the occupant compartment, injury measures recorded on a Hybrid III dummy in the driver seat, and analysis of slow-motion film to assess how well the restraint system controlled dummy movement during the test.

Side evaluations are based on performance in a crash test in which the side of a vehicle is struck by a barrier moving at 31 mph. The barrier represents the front end of a pickup or SUV. Ratings reflect injury measures recorded on two instrumented SID-IIs dummies, assessment of head protection countermeasures, and the vehicle’s structural performance during the impact. Injury measures obtained from the two dummies, one in the driver seat and the other in the back seat behind the driver, are used to determine the likelihood that a driver and/or passenger in a similar real-world crash would sustain serious injury to various parts of the body. The movements and contacts of the dummies’ heads during the test also are evaluated. Structural performance is based on measurements indicating the amount of B-pillar intrusion into the occupant compartment.

Rear crash protection is rated according to a two-step procedure. Starting points for the ratings are measurements of head restraint geometry — the height of a restraint and its horizontal distance behind the back of the head of an average-size man. Seat/head restraints with good or acceptable geometry are tested dynamically using a dummy that measures forces on the neck.

Web site: http://www.iihs.org/

TheCarConnection.com Names All-New Hyundai Veracruz As One of the Best Five Vehicles for the Summer Holiday

TheCarConnection.com Names All-New Hyundai Veracruz As One Of The Best Five Vehicles For The Summer Holiday

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., 06/01/2007 After reviewing more than 100 vehicles as possible contenders, TheCarConnection.com has selected the all-new Hyundai Veracruz midsize crossover as one of the next best vehicles for this year’s summer road trip. The Veracruz, recently identified as the leading competitor in the sport utility vehicle (SUV) crossover segment at the Detroit Auto Show, was touted by TheCarConnection.com as not only challenging the likes of Mazda, Toyota and Honda, but also capable of taking on some vehicles on the higher priced spectrum, such as the Nissan Murano and the Lexus RX350. According to TheCarConnection.com, “The Veracruz doesn’t just show that Hyundai’s arrived — it shows it’s going places, too.”

TheCarConnection.com comments that the Veracruz has subtle yet elegant styling that is nice and upscale. The Veracruz won the award not just on its styling but that it is as flexible and comfortable as any non-minivan on the market. Most of the seats tilt slide or fold away and there’s a positively cavernous cargo compartment.

The all-new Veracruz, which has received outstanding reviews since its introduction in April 2007, comes with a standard 3.8-liter V6 engine, a third row seat, an AM/FM/XM Satellite Radio®/CD/MP3 audio system that includes six speakers, as well as plenty of advanced safety equipment. The Veracruz utilizes the latest in active and passive safety technologies, including standard Electronic Stability Control (ESC), an Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) for impressive stopping distance for a vehicle of its size, anti-whiplash active front head restraints and six airbags with side air curtains that protect all three rows during side impacts. The vehicle also received the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) five-star frontal and side crash ratings in the sport utility vehicle segment.

To read TheCarConnection.com’s full review of the Hyundai Veracruz, log on to www.TheCarConnection.com and click on reviews.

HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA

Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Fountain Valley, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co. of Korea. Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through more than 750 dealerships nationwide.

THECARCONNECTION.COM

TheCarConnection.com is your one-stop source for car reviews, news, buying tips and pricing information from J.D. Power and Associates. Get the latest on your favorite new cars, trucks and SUVs, see spy shots of future vehicles, build and compare your next vehicle, and talk about today’s autos, too-at TheCarConnection.com, where you’re in the driver’s seat.

Hyundai Motor America Reports Record May Sales

All-New Santa Fe Increased 101 Percent

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., 06/01/2007 Hyundai Motor America today reported sales of 43,885 for the month of May, up three percent representing the best May sales in company history. Hyundai’s all-new 2007 Santa Fe led the strong sales with an increase of 101 percent over May 2006. Our fuel-efficient 2007 Accent and the all-new 2007 Elantra kept the momentum going in their segments; the Accent increased almost 10 percent and the Elantra increased five percent over May 2006.

“We are pleased with our May results and are looking forward to a very strong finish in the second quarter. With consumer awareness of Hyundai’s quality, safety, and outstanding value on the rise, we are confident our sales growth will continue,” said Dave Zuchowski, Hyundai’s vice president of National Sales.

All Hyundai vehicles sold in the U.S. are covered by the Hyundai Advantage, America’s Best Warranty. Hyundai buyers are protected by a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty, a 5-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, a 7-year/unlimited-mile anti-perforation warranty and 5-year/unlimited-mile roadside assistance protection.

CARLINE	MAY/2007	MAY/2006	CY2007	CY2006
ACCENT	3,669	3,342	14,859	11,598
SONATA	12,147	17,035	52,578	75,622
ELANTRA	9,317	8,887	40,315	43,793
TIBURON	1,668	1,682	5,725	7,019
SANTA FE	7,930	3,942	35,912	18,033
XG350/AZERA	2,056	2,279	10,732	11,140
TUCSON	3,454	4,279	16,711	21,128
ENTOURAGE	2,544	1,068	8,467	1,194
VERACRUZ	1,100	0	1,928	0
TOTAL	43,885	42,514	187,227	189,427