Hyundai's New Elantra GT and Elantra Coupe

So you want to see the newest additions to Hyundai's Elantra range on film, do you? If the answer is yes, follow the break to watch the first videos of both the Elantra GT, which is the North American version of the European market i30 hatchback, and the Elantra Coupe that is based on the sedan model sold in select markets around the world. For more information regarding the two newly introduced Hyundai models that premiere at this week's 2012 Chicago Auto Show, visit our previous posts on the Elantra GT here and the Elantra Coupe here.

VIDEO

the North American Car and Truck of the Year Finalists

For the past 18 years, a committee of journalists from U.S. and Canadian magazines, radio and TV stations, websites and newspapers meet once a year and vote for the North American Car and Truck of the Year [NACTOY]. You'll have to wait until January to find the winners for the 2012 edition of the North American Car and Truck of the Year, but the three finalists for each category were announced on Thursday in Detroit.
The car candidates in alphabetical order are the new Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra and the U.S. market VW Passat, which recently won Motor Trend's 2012 Car of the Year award.
We're not sure how the enlightened committee defines the word "truck", but the final shortlist in this category includes the new BMW X3, Honda CR-V and Range Rover Evoque.
The jurors have until January 6 to vote among these vehicles, with the final results to be announced on January 11 during the 2012 Detroit Motor Show.
So far, domestic automakers have won the North American Car of the Year award 10 times, European automakers four times, Japanese automakers three times and a Korean manufacturer only once.
On the truck side, domestic automakers have won the award 12 times, Japanese automakers four times and European automakers twice.
For those of you wondering, here are the vehicles that made it to the jurors’ short list this year:
North American Car of the Year:
Audi A6
Audi A7
Buick Verano
Chevrolet Sonic
Chrysler 300/SRT-8
Fiat 500
Ford Focus
Hyundai Accent
Hyundai Elantra
Hyundai Veloster
Kia Rio/Rio 5
Scion iQ
Subaru Impreza
Toyota Camry
Toyota Prius V
VW Beetle
VW Passat
North American Truck of the Year:
BMW X3
Honda CR-V
Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
Mercedes-Benz M-Class
Mini Countryman
Nissan Quest
Saab 9-4X

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Mid-Size Cars Sales Fall as U.S. Buyers Downsize to the Smaller Cars

For decades, mid-size sedans like the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Ford Taurus have been best-sellers and the most common sight on American roads.

But the trend is starting to change. According to J.D Power and associates, an increasingly large number of buyers are downsizing and choose small cars such as the Chevrolet Cruze or even the Honda Fit.
In fact, J.D. Power forecasts that, for the first time in two decades, compact cars will outsell mid-size models by the end of the year. Moreover, it projects that by 2015, compact and sub-compact cars will have a 20% share in the U.S. market, while mid-size models’ share will shrink down to 14%.
For example, Hyundai’s Elantra sales increased by 46% in the first 10 months of the year, while America’s long-time favorite car, the Toyota Camry, has recorded a 9 percent drop over the same period.
Rising gas prices and uncertainty over the current economic climate are not the only reasons for this surprising turnaround. In fact, the new Camry sells for less than the previous model, and its average fuel economy is 40 mpg compared to the Elantra’s 35 mpg.
 
Still, the Camry sticker price is US$5,000 more than the Elantra. Moreover, today’s compact cars are no longer a cheap, low-tech choice for those who couldn’t afford, or weren’t willing to shell out more money for mid-size models. Now they are equal, or sometimes even superior in some respects to larger models.
For example Mara Landers, an assistant professor of mathematics at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, California, used to drive a 1998 Civic that was so poorly equipped it didn’t have a radio. The 2009 Civic she traded her old car for came with power windows, keyless entry and a digital dashboard display, making Landers feel that “the new Civic really feels like a luxury update of the old one.”
Even interior space is no longer an issue. The 1992 Toyota Corolla was 17 inches (43 cm) shorter than the 1992 Camry. But today’s Corolla has increased in size, narrowing the gap to its larger sibling to just 10 inches (25 cm).
It all adds up: smaller cars offer all the amenities of larger models, comparable space, better fuel economy – and they are cheaper. So why pay more for the same thing, except for a few inches in length and perhaps more power that you may never use?
Story References: Lake County Sun / J.D. Power

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