2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo: February 2013

2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo: February 2013 I just couldn't bring myself to lead this post with the image you see on the right. The winter months have not been kind to our matte gray 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo, and since you can't just run the thing through your local car wash, our oddly shaped little hatchback has spent more days dirty than clean. It breaks my fleet manager heart to see one of our test cars covered in schmutz so frequently, but let's be honest – the last thing anyone wants to do when it's 12 degrees Fahrenheit outside is play with a hose and spend a good amount of time hand-washing a car.

2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo: February 2013

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo profile

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo front

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo rear

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo rear 1

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo cockpit

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo six-speed manual shifter

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo rear reflector

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo door detail

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo front seat detail

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo rear seats

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo touchscreen interface

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo exhaust

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo engine detail

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo grille and badge

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo taillamp

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo 1.6-liter turbo engine

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo rear seats 1

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo front fascia

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo 18-inch wheel

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo door handle

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo center stack

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo cargo area

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo gauge cluster

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo headlamp

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo hood detail

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo mirror

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo badge

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo front seats

Long-Term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo interior

Moral of the story: If you live in a cold-weather state where you expect to get regular doses of the white stuff, matte paint probably isn't for you. Not to worry, though, as the Veloster Turbo is offered in plenty of pretty, car wash-friendly colors.

We'll have a lot more to talk about regarding the Veloster's cleanability in forthcoming updates, and we're even planning a trip to the Dr. Beasley's office – the company that created the special matte paint detailing kit for the Hyundai – to have their experts show us how it's done. For now, let's spend some time talking about what we've learned about the turbocharged hatch during its honeymoon phase here in the Autoblog Garage.As a daily driver, the Veloster Turbo is a pleasant little thing – easy to use while bobbing around town and comfortable enough to not warrant complaint after longer stints behind the wheel. Plus, moving or standing still, this car turns heads like you wouldn't believe. Even to my trained eye, I often find myself doing a double-take when I've parked the car for the night, just to look back for one more glance. I even got two hearty thumbs-up from fellow Velosters driver (base cars) out on the road. That three-door configuration has proved to be fairly functional thus far – not so much for passengers (ingress and egress is easier than a normal coupe, but less useful than a traditional four door), but having an extra door to throw things in the rear seat is incredibly useful. All good things in terms of the overall package.During one leg of an already long weekend of driving, a friend's six-year-old kid was riding along in the back seat. When he got into his car seat, without even being asked, he said, "It's not big enough for my head." In other words, there's not a lot of rear head room in the Veloster.

2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo: February 2013

Only a few of us have driven the Veloster as of this writing, but we're already having debates about at least one of the Veloster's driving aspects. For example, I find the six-speed manual shifter of our test car to be pretty objectionable in terms of overall user engagement – I think the throws between gears are short, sure, but the act of moving the stick isn't pleasing. It's notchy, and not in a good way, and the short, stubby stick feels flimsy. It's noisy when clicking between gears, too. I seem to be the only person having this issue, however, as senior editor Seyth Miersma has now called me an fool on several occasions – he praises the Veloster's 'box, citing short throws and solid engagement. I'll be curious to see how the rest of the staff regards it as the months progress.One issue, though, is that there's a lot of wind noise inside the cabin while driving on the highway – enough so that when my phone rings via Bluetooth and I'm driving above 60 miles per hour, I feel like I have to shout just so the person on the other end can hear me above all the racket. I recently had a phone conversation with editor-in-chief John Neff while driving the Veloster, and he noted that he could barely hear me over all the racket. Some of the issue could also be placement or quality of the mic, too.Since the car's delivery in mid-January, we've added just over 2,500 miles to the odometer and according to our handy-dandy logbook, we're averaging 26.8 miles per gallon in relatively mixed cold-weather driving. That's slightly lower than the EPA-estimated 28 mpg combined rating (24/35 city/highway), but quite admirable considering how enthusiastically we tend to drive. We'll see how that changes over the coming months.

Next up on the Veloster's docket: A few weeks down in Ohio with boss man John Neff. Stay tuned for his thoughts in next month's update, and keep your eyes locked on our Facebook and Twitter feeds for on-the-fly impressions.

2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo: February 2013

First production Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell Vehicle prepped for Geneva

First production Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell Vehicle prepped for Geneva It's at least 57 days late, but Hyundai will be bringing the first ix35 Fuel Cell production vehicle to Geneva next week. The SUV, rolled off the line in Ulsan, Korea today, even though Hyundai promised that the ix35 would start production by the end of 2012. Still, this is most concrete sign yet that Hyundai remains committed to it stated goal of making and leasing 1,000 hydrogen-powered ix35 vehicles (based on the standard ix35, aka Tuscon) by 2015. That's the year many automakers, like Nissan and Toyota, are planning to launch widespread H2 vehicles.

First production Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell Vehicle prepped for Geneva

First production Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell Vehicle prepped for Geneva

First production Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell Vehicle prepped for Geneva

First production Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell Vehicle prepped for Geneva

First production Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell Vehicle prepped for Geneva

First production Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell Vehicle prepped for Geneva

First production Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell Vehicle prepped for Geneva

First production Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell Vehicle prepped for Geneva

First production Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell Vehicle prepped for Geneva

First production Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell Vehicle prepped for Geneva headlight

Hyundai says that ix35 Fuel Cell delivery to European customers is already underway, and the vehicle finished today is one of 17 that will be going to fleets in Copenhagen, Denmark (15) and Skane, Sweden (2). Europe will be the biggest early market for the new ix35, Hyundai says, "in order to prepare the market for mass production of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles" after costs are expected to come down after 2015. At that point, Hyundai plans to offer H2 vehicles for sale.

First production Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell Vehicle prepped for Geneva

Differences between the gas- and hydrogen-powered ix35 vehicles include a refreshed radiator grille, bumper and fog lamps. The seven-inch GPS is also exclusive to the hydrogen-powered ix35. It has a top speed of 160 kilometers an hour and (99 miles an hour) and can go 594 kilometers (369 miles) per fill up. With today's production, Hyundai is laying claim to the title of "World's first automaker to launch mass production of Fuel Cell vehicles." We'll get a better look in Geneva, but for now you can see a pre-production from Paris last year.

First production Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell Vehicle prepped for Geneva

Hyundai willing to settle MPG cases, offering lump sum payout to buyers

Hyundai willing to settle MPG cases, offering lump sum payout to buyers There has been a lot of fallout from the overstated fuel economy figures that both Hyundai and Kia have admitted to. The two companies are handing out lots of cash to affected customers in the form of debit cards, and the EPA might change the way it works with automakers on fuel economy labels. Some Hyundai/Kia buyers, though, wanted more than an apology and a reimbursement, and thus they filed a number of class-action lawsuits. Thirty-eight, in fact, which were all combined into one big case at the US District Court in Los Angeles. Hyundai is now reportedly saying it is willing to settle, and Kia is deciding whether to participate or not. Both automakers declined to comment.

Hyundai willing to settle MPG cases, offering lump sum payout to buyers

2011 Hyundai Elantra front 3/4 view 

2011 Hyundai Elantra rear 3/4 view

2011 Hyundai Elantra front 3/4 view 1

2011 Hyundai Elantra rear 3/4 view 1

2011 Hyundai Elantra side view

2011 Hyundai Elantra front view

2011 Hyundai Elantra rear view

2011 Hyundai Elantra front detail

2011 Hyundai Elantra taillight

2011 Hyundai Elantra gauges

2011 Hyundai Elantra speedometer

2011 Hyundai Elantra climate controls

2011 Hyundai Elantra shifter

2011 Hyundai Elantra dash trim

2011 Hyundai Elantra wheel detail

2011 Hyundai Elantra trunk

2011 Hyundai Elantra logo

2011 Hyundai Elantra door handle

2011 Hyundai Elantra engine

2011 Hyundai Elantra grille

2011 Hyundai Elantra audio system

2011 Hyundai Elantra interior

2011 Hyundai Elantra rear seats

The details from the filing are all undisclosed, sadly, so we don't know how much Hyundai will be paying (one of the original suits said buyers were due a total of $775 million), but Automotive News says buyers can continue to get reimbursed through the debit cards or take a lump sum payment through the class-action suit. No double-dipping, folks. Earlier reports said the class-action suits were seeking to let buyers back out of leases and loans, but there is no mention of this in this week's news.

Hyundai willing to settle MPG cases, offering lump sum payout to buyers

Between Kia and Hyundai, around 900,000 vehicles were sold in the US with incorrect MPG numbers on the window sticker. Before the overstated mpg numbers were revealed in late 2012, Hyundai was already the target of a class-action suit over the mpg numbers in the Elantra.

Hyundai willing to settle MPG cases, offering lump sum payout to buyers

Hybrids, EVs driving wider acceptance of diesel, CNG and hydrogen

Hybrids, EVs driving wider acceptance of diesel, CNG and hydrogen Now that car buyers are starting to accept hybrids and EVs, there's more willingness to consider other green car technologies, including diesel, CNG and hydrogen. But the road to wider acceptance – and affordability – is being slowed by a lack of infrastructure and overlapping state and federal regulations that are sometime are at odds with one another.

Hybrids, EVs driving wider acceptance of diesel, CNG and hydrogen

Hybrids, EVs driving wider acceptance of diesel, CNG and hydrogen

That's the view of environmental and regulatory experts from three automakers, Toyota, Honda and Chrysler, who spoke speaking to an audience of journalists and policy-makers at the opening of 2013 Washington Auto Show, now underway.

Chrysler's head of regulatory affairs, Reg Modlin, said he is optimistic that investment by corporate fleets in CNG and electric will drive (pardon the pun) infrastructure development, citing that 20 states now are pushing CNG fleets. "The government has a role, but the marketplace has a bigger one," he said.

Hybrids, EVs driving wider acceptance of diesel, CNG and hydrogen

Robert Bienenfeld, Honda's manager of environment and energy strategy, is hopeful that the network of 100 hydrogen fueling stations California is planning to will "send a strong signal" for the viability of fuel cell vehicles, first for fleets, then for consumers. Honda's FCX Clarity fuel cell sedan has been leased in California for several years already.Toyota's VP of energy and environment research, Tom Stricker, predicts more collaboration between competing automakers to reduce R&D costs, such as Toyota's partnership with BMW on fuel cell research. He even suggested using natural gas to make hydrogen, and renaming the technology as "natural gas fuel cells" to bypass consumer reluctance to hydrogen.

All three agree that oil companies should ramp up production of low-sulfur fuel. "Direct injection engines need it to live," said Chysler's Modlin. Having one national standard for Tier 3 fuel will help lower prices nationwide, said Honda's Bienenfeld, adding, "if you don't have consumer support, you can't have policy." All three are optimistic that EPA fuel economy standards for 2025 will be met, although Striker describes the rules as "not really about fuel economy, but about CO2 reduction."

Honda's Bienenfeld noted that 40 years ago, cars were "1,000 times more polluting and half as fuel efficient." He predicts engines will continue to get cleaner and more fuel efficient, further narrowing the gap between conventional powertrains, including diesel and hybrids.

Hybrids, EVs driving wider acceptance of diesel, CNG and hydrogen

Honda installing wind turbines to make cars with wind power at Ohio factory

Honda installing wind turbines to make cars with wind power at Ohio factory Once the turbines begin operating later in 2013, Honda will be the first major automotive manufacturing facility in the United States to obtain a substantial amount of its electricity directly from wind turbines located on its property. The company is certainly not the only one to make its plants greener. Earlier this month, Volkswagen began operating the largest solar power installation at an auto manufacturing plant in the US at its Chattanooga, TN, facility, were the Passat is produced. Subaru, General Motors and Ford are just some of the OEMs going "landfill free" (a claim that is not without problems).

Honda installing wind turbines to make cars with wind power at Ohio factory

Honda installing wind turbines to make cars with wind power at Ohio factory

Honda is installing wind turbines at its transmission plant in Russells Point, OH that will spin and supply 10 percent of the factory's electricity needs. The turbines are expected to produce 10,000 megawatt hours (MWh) per year, while also (naturally) reducing CO2 emissions.

Both Honda and VW are known for producing energy-efficient vehicles, so producing them with renewable energy certainly fits the marketing. Globally, Honda has established voluntary goals to reduce energy use and waste from manufacturing operations by 2020. This includes a 30-percent reduction in CO2 emissions from Honda products (compared to 2000 levels), plus other significant CO2 reductions from its plants and other operations. Honda leads all automakers with twelve LEED-Certified "Green Buildings" in North America, and 10 of its 14 North American manufacturing facilities are zero-waste to landfill.

Honda installing wind turbines to make cars with wind power at Ohio factory

In Russells Point, Honda's wind turbines have blades that are approximately 160 feet long, on 260-foot towers. The turbines are being installed and managed by Juhl Wind, which will provide the wind power to the Logan County Electric Cooperative and Buckeye Power, Inc.

Honda has also led the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) rankings of overall vehicle environmental performance since 2000, and a Honda vehicle has been near the top of the America Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy's (ACEEE) list of America's greenest vehicles for 15 years.

Honda installing wind turbines to make cars with wind power at Ohio factory