Daily News Briefs: May 1, 2012

Here's what we have our eye on today:

• Hyundai says it will add a third shift to its only car assembly plant in the U.S. The Montgomery, Ala., assembly plant currently builds the Sonata and Elantra. The new shift rotation will allow Hyundai to increase production by 20,000 vehicles for the remainder of 2012, said the carmaker. Hyundai will hire 877 new employees, increasing total plant employment to more than 3,000 people.
• As Hyundai continues to increase sales, which may exceed 650,000 in the U.S. this year, sister company Kia is suffering in the shadow of the successful Korean phoenix, according to Bloomberg News. Kia has seen its own sales increase sharply — it will likely exceed 550,000 this year in the U.S., double the sales pace of 2008 — but the smaller Korean carmaker is increasingly using incentives to move the metal, says Bloomberg. While Hyundai has decreased incentives by 26% this year (to $823 per vehicle), Kia has increased its incentives by 8.5%, to $1,677 per vehicle, says Autodata. The Hyundai brand is considered by 20% of new-car shoppers, but only 9% of consumers will consider a Kia, according to Strategic Vision. Hyundai holds a 34% stake in Kia, but both maintain separate factories, finance, sales and design operations. The two also compete with each other, as would two completely independent companies.
• A short-lived strike that halted production of Chrysler's popular minivans in Canada is officially over, according to Automotive News. Early Monday morning, a strike by a parts supplier had shut down Windsor Assembly — which currently builds the Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Grand Caravan, Ram Cargo Van and Volkswagen Routan. The parts supplier, Dakkota Integrated Systems, builds the instrument panels for the minivans, says Chrysler. The strike ended after Chrysler agreed to increase wages by 50 cents an hour per year for the next three years, add four extra days of paid vacation a year, offer a $500 signing bonus, increase benefits and improve working conditions, said Auto News. Inventories of Chrysler's minivans were already below average, says the trade journal; Chrysler estimated inventories include 53 days' worth of continued Town & Country sales and 39 days for the Grand Caravan. An ideal level is 60 days, says Automotive News.

New Hyundai Sonata Coming in 2014

Hyundai plans to follow up its successful Sonata midsize sedan with a completely new model for 2014, Hyundai CEO Kim Choong-ho told Reuters.

Redesigned for 2011, the Hyundai Sonata has helped tremendously with the South Korean automaker's fast-paced growth here. Last year, Hyundai sold 225,961 Sonatas, representing 35% of all Hyundai sales in the U.S.

There's no mention of what to expect from the new Sonata. Choong-ho told Reuters that the only major vehicle launch from Hyundai in 2012 is the new Santa Fe, which will debut next month at the 2012 New York auto show. A redesigned Genesis luxury sedan should arrive late in 2013, according to Reuters.

Hyundai Motor CEO Says New Sonata Planned in 2014 (Reuters)

Recall Alert: 2011-2012 Hyundai Sonata

Hyundai is recalling more than 1,600 model-year 2011 and 2012 Sonata Hybrid sedans in dealership inventory due to a backseat center seat belt, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The recall could affect about 13,000 more vehicles pending a NHTSA decision.

The affected vehicles were manufactured starting on Dec. 2, 2010, and shipped to dealers through March 7, 2012. The seat belts in question are acceptable for use in non-hybrid Sonatas where the center seat folds flat. They're detachable to allow for the seat movement to gain access to the trunk. But NHTSA regulations don't allow this feature if the rear seat is fixed, as is the case with the hybrid version of the sedan.

Hyundai will install a fixed belt on the 1,633 Sonata Hybrid sedans that are still in dealer inventory. For the remaining 13,095 affected vehicles that have already been sold, the automaker filed a petition of exemption "on the basis that the noncompliance described is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety," according to NHTSA. This means that Hyundai wouldn't have to fix the issue in cars already sold if NHTSA allows the petition.

If the petition is denied, Hyundai will notify owners and dealers will replace the affected seat belt free of charge. Owners can call NHTSA's vehicle safety hotline at 888-327-4236 for more info.

2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Gets Lifetime Battery Warranty

To further convince customers that Hyundai knows how to build a proper hybrid, the carmaker has announced that its 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid sedan will now come with a lifetime battery warranty.

That means Hyundai will ensure that the lithium-polymer battery works for the life of the vehicle. If the battery fails, the company will replace it and take care of any recycling costs. The new warranty replaces the previous 10-year/100,000-mile warranty for the battery.

Hyundai says the battery has lasted up to 275,000 miles in company tests, which should be more than enough time for normal motorists. The automaker recently announced a base price of $25,850 for the 2012 Sonata Hybrid.

Editor's Note: Today, Hyundai released additional details on the lifetime battery warranty. The lifetime guarantee applies to all 2012 Sonata Hybrids. The coverage is not transferrable and does not apply to lease or commercial vehicles, or vehicles sold outside of the U.S.

2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Priced at $25,850

For the 2012 model year, the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid edges up only $55 from 2011 pricing and now comes standard with Hyundai's Blue Link telematics system, for a starting price of $25,850. That price excludes a $760 destination fee, which is $10 more than last year's fee.

The only new addition to the Sonata Hybrid is Blue Link, which is Hyundai's OnStar competitor. Blue Link is now standard across the entire 2012 Sonata lineup. The Sonata Hybrid gets a complementary six months of service of the Assurance Package and three months of the Essentials & Guidance Package — the same as the regular Sonata.

A new Leather Package is available for $1,500. Previously, leather upholstery was available only in the all-encompassing Ultimate Package. The $5,000 package included a panoramic sunroof, navigation system and an upgraded stereo. The Ultimate Package is still available, but it now costs $5,500 for 2012.

Hyundai hasn't yet announced an on-sale date for the 2012 Sonata Hybrid.

Naughty or Nice: Shifters

A proper shifter inspires confidence in the overall driving experience by adding precision to the transmission’s operation. Manual transmission shifters may automatically come to mind as potential culprits when done wrong, but automatic transmissions can drop the ball in similar ways even without a manual clutch to get in the way.
 
More Naughty or Nice Picks

Reader Review of the Week: 2012 Hyundai Sonata

“Happy with Hyundai,” from Cincinnati describes himself as a hard-working, middle-class cop who doesn’t like to waste money. After extensive car shopping, this reader decided to go with a brand-new 2012 Hyundai Sonata to replace his 12-year-old Infiniti I30. So far, Happy with Hyundai has, as his nickname suggests, had a favorable experience with his Sonata. Continue reading the full review to find out more. Once you’re done, write a review about your own car here.

2011 Hyundai Sonata: Car Seat Check

This Car Seat Check was first published in October 2010 on MotherProof.com.

The winner of Cars.com's $25,000 Family Sedan Shootout, the 2011 Hyundai Sonata doesn't hold up quite as well when we focused only on the car's Latch system. However, the midsize sedan's spacious second row easily won over our car-seat testers.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: October 2011

Falling consumer confidence hasn't deterred car shoppers, as pent-up demand raised October sales versus a year ago for all but one major carmaker. Chrysler, Hyundai/Kia and Nissan posted big gains, with GM, Ford and Honda growing modestly. Toyota was the sole loser, dropping 7.9 percent in sales. Pickup trucks, typically strong in the fall, saw continued gains, but family sedans made a comeback, taking three of October's top five slots — something not seen since May.

Detroit pickups took the top two spots, with GM's Chevrolet Silverado and Ford’s F-Series posting some sales gains. The F-Series stayed atop the sales pile this month, comfortably outselling the No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado. Six-cylinder engines account for more than half of all F-150s sold, Ford sales chief Ken Czubay said in a conference call. It gives shoppers of the soon-to-be-discontinued Ranger a truck with similar gas mileage, he said.

Despite the 2012 redesign hitting dealerships last month, Toyota's popular Camry fell 11.9 percent — dethroned for the moment by the Honda Accord, down 1.1 percent. Accord inventory is only about half of what it was in October 2010, according to Automotive News.

What's the Most Affordable Midsize Sedan?

The midsize sedan is by far the most popular car segment in the U.S., with more than 2 million sold so far this year. So it’s no surprise that some of the best-selling vehicles in the country are midsize family sedans, such as the Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima and Ford Fusion. It’s also one of the most competitive markets, with over 20 moderately priced models on sale today.

Over the past few months, the market has heated up even more. Toyota is launching the all-new 2012 Camry this month, and it will boast more features, improved gas mileage and more-affordable pricing for midlevel trims. The redesigned 2012 Volkswagen Passat is now a legitimate player in the moderately priced family sedan category, moving away from the premium category. Its starting price of $19,995 offers novel features, such as dual-zone automatic climate control, standard.

So which sedan is the best-equipped — and also the most affordable — car for the money? For this latest affordability study, we decided to pit the redesigned 2012 Camry and 2012 Passat against the 2012 Hyundai Sonata and the 2012 Fusion. All four have attractive pricing with lots of features.