Victim of Terrible Parking Job Gets New Hyundai

If you haven’t seen the YouTube video of a BMW X5 playing monster truck rally with a parked Hyundai Elantra, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

As crushing as that incident was for Elantra owner Todd Jamison (pun definitely intended), he ended up getting a new car out of the deal. Hyundai Canada officials saw the footage and thought it would be good PR to hand Jamison the keys to a brand-new 2010 Elantra. The company and its digital media agency, Mighty, delivered it to him at work — on the day he was supposed to shop for a new car.

This goes to show that getting creamed by an idiot in an X5 in your local gym’s parking lot has its upside.

Hyundai Canada Gives “Worst Parking Job Ever” Victim New Car (AutoNorth via Jalopnik)

2010 Hyundai Elantra Blue Priced at $14,145

Hyundai has announced pricing for the Elantra Blue; the fuel-efficient sedan will start below all of its competition at $14,145 (not including a $720 destination fee).

It’s priced below the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic and Ford Focus, which all cost more than $15,000. Of course, the Elantra Blue doesn’t include features like air conditioning or a stereo. A convenience package with air conditioning and other basic amenities costs $1,700. When comparably equipped, the Elantra still costs in less than the Civic but slightly more than the Corolla. However, the all-new Kia Forte — the Elantra’s corporate cousin — starts at $13,695 and is based on a future Elantra platform. It also comes sans air conditioning.

The EPA has rated the Elantra Blue with a manual transmission at 26/35 mpg city/highway — a 2 mpg bump from 2009 — thanks to some clever engineering that includes a “smart” alternator management system, lower friction engine parts, engine calibration changes, revised gear ratios and a shift indicator. Only the Cobalt XFE with a manual transmission gets better mileage; the Corolla and Focus tie the Elantra Blue at 35 mpg on the highway.

To get a four-speed automatic transmission, buyers have to move up to the GLS trim level, which starts at $16,895 and gets 26/33 mpg.

The Blue trim will also be available for the lower-priced Accent, but there’s no word yet on pricing for that vehicle.

2010|Hyundai|Elantra

2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring Gets New Trims, Price

Hyundai’s 2010 Elantra Touring will have a starting MSRP of $15,995 for the lineup’s new base model, the GLS with a manual transmission. That price does not include a destination charge of $720.

The new Elantra Touring is priced significantly lower than the 2009 model, which started at $17,800. The GLS is also well-equipped, with standard stability control and a USB input.

There’s also an SE trim level, which starts at $18,995 and includes perks like a power sunroof, heated seats and a leather steering wheel.

The new Elantra Touring will hit dealerships in the third quarter of 2009, Hyundai said. Full pricing is listed after the jump.

Hyundai Says Clunkers Incentive Accounts for 7% of Sales

Last week, Hyundai announced that it would start accepting eligible “clunkers” as trade-ins, even before the federal government’s official program began allocating funds. It was part of the automaker’s recent “Assurance” campaign, and it seemed to work at least a little, with 7% of the company’s sales over that period coming from clunker-eligible trade-ins.

Almost any brand in today’s climate would be ecstatic with a sales increase of 7%. Hyundai says Ford and Dodge led the list of brands traded in, at 32% and 23%, respectively. The company also touted its own current incentives and $1.49 gas deal. According to Hyundai, with those deals in place, if you fully qualify for Cash for Clunkers a new Elantra could be had for $8,620.

Hyundai expects sales from the program to grow to about 10% for the entire month of July.

More Cash for Clunkers News

Hyundai Advances Dealers Cash for Clunkers Funds

The government hasn’t finished registering dealers for its Cash for Clunkers program yet, and rules for how funds will be distributed haven’t been released to the public or dealers. Hyundai isn’t waiting, however. The company is supplying cash funds to dealers now in advance of CARS going into effect. In fact, it already paid one car shopper last week for turning in a 1995 Ford Explorer while purchasing a new Hyundai Elantra Touring.

Hyundai is being aggressive with its latest incentives, as the company is one of the few to see sales success since the economic downturn. It’s still offering its Assurance plan, and this month it launched a gas incentive good for $1.49-a-gallon gas for a year.

You can check out our up-to-date guide to Cash for Clunkers here, as well as a full list of eligible vehicles (by mpg) here.

Hyundai Expedites Benefits of Cash for Clunkers (AutoRemarketing.com)

Details Emerge on Hyundai Cash Back, $1.49 Gas

Yesterday, Hyundai announced its new $1.49 gallon of gas incentive. Buyers of new Hyundais would get a guaranteed price of $1.49 per gallon of gas for a year rather than traditional cash-back incentives. Today, Hyundai has released which models not only get the gas offer, but also include additional cash back.

The full list is below.

Hyundai Offers $1,500 Rebate for Elantra Touring

Through June 1, Hyundai is offering $1,500 cash back on the brand-new 2009 Elantra Touring.

Treated as a separate model from the plain old Elantra sedan, the 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring offers more than just a hatchback in place of a trunk. As our reviewer Joe Wiesenfelder pointed out, the Touring comes with more passenger room and a more refined interior. The ride also impressed David Thomas, with a smooth-shifting manual transmission that’s easy to get along with.

The one sticking point for most of our reviewers was the price. At $17,800, the Touring’s starting MSRP automatically makes similar cars like the Scion xB, Pontiac Vibe and Subaru Impreza better deals. Perhaps Hyundai pays attention to Cars.com reviews, because a $1,500 rebate offer is nothing to sneeze at. Slice off a chunk of cash like that, and the Elantra Touring starts to look like quite a deal.

Cars.com Reviews the 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring

Cars.com reviewer Joe Wiesenfelder does everyone a favor in his review of the 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring, which is to explain just what the word “touring” means when attached to a car model. Turns out, the answer varies (which means no one really knows). In this case, however, the Touring is a four-door hatchback version of the Elantra. Check out Wiesenfelder’s full review to find out if Hyundai scores a hit with the Elantra Touring.

2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring Review