2011 Hyundai Sonata Partially Spied in Garage

It's no secret that Hyundai is currently working on the successor of its mid-size Sonata sedan that is rumored to make its debut in production form at either the 2009 Los Angeles auto show or the 2010 Detroit Show next January with sales said to start sometime in the first half of the year. These latest photos, courtesy of a reader over from the Hyundai-Blog that appears to have snapped the test car in some kind of a garage, give us a fractional look of the new Sonata's fascia and profile. Not much to go by, but we'll keep a close eye for any newer spy shots.

Based on a newly developed platform, the next-generation Sonata will be offered with an updated engine lineup. Depending on the market, buyers will be able to choose from four-cylinder and V6 gasoline units plus the Korean firm's newly developed 2.0- and 2.2-liter turbo diesels with outputs of around 185HP and 200HP respectively.

Via: Hyundai-Blog

Hyundai Santa Fe, Elantra and Tiburon Also Recalled over Rust Problems

No sooner than we told you about the new recall on the MY2001-2004 Sonata, XG300 and XG350 models over corrosion issues of the front subframe, we learnt that Hyundai has also just issued two more separate recalls for a total of three vehicles, again for rust-related problems. In particular, the Korean carmaker issued a recall on 170,610 MY2001-2003 Elantra and MY2003 Tiburon Coupe models for corrosion and thinning of the steel in the lower control arms of the front suspension and another recall on 85,036 MY2001-2003 Santa Fe SUVs, this time for rust problems in relation to the rear suspension trailing arm.

Hyundai said that in both cases, the recalls concern vehicles originally sold or currently registered in the 'salt-belt' states of Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

If you happen to own any of the affected vehicles and want to learn more about the recalls, we suggest you contact Hyundai directly at the firm's U.S. customer assistance center at 1-800-633-5151.

New Recall on Hyundai Sonata and XG300 - 350 over Subframe Rust Issues

Update:Hyundai Santa Fe, Tiburon & Elantra Also Recalled over Rust Problems

About a year ago, Hyundai issued a rather embarrassing recall on all MY1999-2002 Sonata cars due to reports of severe corrosion of the front subframe that could lead anywhere from suspension failure to partial or even complete wheel detachment. Well, guess what; apparently the problem was more widespread than initially thought as Hyundai has issued a new recall for the same issue that now also includes MY2001-2004 Sonata and MY2001-2004 XG300 and XG350 sedans. Overall, 175,765 cars are being recalled in the States.

Hyundai said that the recall concerns vehicles originally sold or currently registered in the so-called "salt belt" or "snowy" northern states of the U.S. due to the large quantities of salt used to de-ice roads. According to the Korean automaker, the road salt may result in a progressive corrosion of the front sub-frame leading to the thinning or perforation of the sub-frame steel.

As was the case with the previously recalled MY1999-2002 Sonatas, Hyundai dealers will check out the thickness of the front sub-frame and inspect for corrosion damage. If there's a serious problem, the front sub-frame will be replaced with a new sub-frame incorporating additional holes in the upper and lower panels.

Hyundai said that if the front sub-frame does not require replacement, the dealer will add drainage holes to the sub-frame and will treat the sub-frame with rust-proofing material to arrest the corrosion process.

Needless to say that in either case, the procedure will be performed free of charge. If you have more questions, we suggest you contact Hyundai's customer assistance center at 1-800-633-5151.

Mysterious Hyundai Sedan Scooped in Korea

A reader of the Korean-based Bobaedream forum has uploaded a series of photographs depicting a barely camouflaged Hyundai test-mule. We're not quite sure of what to make of it, but it appears that it is most likely based on the rear-wheel drive Genesis sedan. And how did we come to this conclusion, we hear you ask? Well, we simply compared photos with the Genesis and we found several common design cues like the shape of the roofline and windowline as well as the rear-end styling.

Plus, the car featured in these photos looks quite different than the next-generation Sonata scooped here, which could have been a reasonable assumption. Having said that, we gather that this mid-size sedan could be a Chinese-market version of some sort of the Genesis. Of course we could be completely wrong, but there's no point of making anymore speculations without having more information.

Via: Autoblog.com , Source: Bobaedream