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Rebecca Cook / Reuters
Hyundai Vice President Seong Hyeon Park and John Krafick, right, CEO of Hyundai Motor America, pose with the 2012 Elantra after it was named the North American Car of the Year.
By msnbc.com news services
The Hyundai Elantra has won the North American Car of the Year award.
The award was announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, which holds media previews this week and opens to the public on Jan. 14.
The Land Rover Range Rover Evoque won the North American Truck of the Year.
Fifty automotive journalists voted on the winning vehicles from a group of finalists. Car finalists included the Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra and Volkswagen Passat. Truck finalists were the BMW X3, Honda CR-V and the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque.
A vehicle must be all new or substantially changed to be eligible.
This is the 19th year for the awards. Organizers accept no advertising, though automakers capitalize on the marketing value of the honors.
Automakers will unveil more than 40 new cars and trucks this month at the auto industry's annual trade show in Detroit. While there will be a few wild concept cars, like a tiny pickup from Smart, there will also be many models that will go on sale this year.
Last week, Hyundai reported its sales rose 20 percent in 2011. Top sellers for the year included the Elantra, which saw a 41 percent increase in sales over 2010.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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It also has the best Warranty of all the car manufacturers. 10 Years on the powertrain and 5 years Bumper to Bumper
Wait?!? How did they do that without Trillions of dollars of Obama's stimulus money?
Obama's? Oh, you mean the bailout that Bush authorized and mandated the next administration to pay out in September of 2008?
Soooo Johnfreyan - It was actually Bush who "saved" the Auto Industry. Obama doesn't spin it that way.
Wow, I see proof all over the internet that capitalism is wrong. The vast majority post without a clue, just like how they'll vote. Bush bailed out the banks. Look up TARP....Obama bailed out the auto industry with LOANS that must be paid back.
You mean Bush's trillions of stimulous dollars!
Yeah, you could say that...Bush finally did something right.. too bad at the end of his presidency and after he bankrupted our nation through his tax cuts and wars!
More fascist lies. Bush signed TARP which was a LOAN program that was paid back with interest. It was Obama's trillion stimulus that was flushed down the toilet while unemployment went up.
Obama stole GM from it's investors, gave a big chunk to his UAW crony's and kept the majority for government. Funny, I thought it was communism that owned the means of production, not capitalism.
Free market capitalism is the ONLY system that works. What Obama is practicing is crony capitalism, punishing his enemies, (Boeing, Gibson guitars, Humana, etc.), and rewarding his friends, (Solyndra, Sun Power, Fiskar, etc.).
Capitalism is right, what you are seeing all over the internet is socialism is failing miserably. It is completely bankrupting us.
When I took advantage of the $4500 clunker trade-in in 2009, the warranties were the deciding factor in purchasing my Elantra. It has proved to be an excellent car for the money.
After my 2001 Hyundai experience I will never buy another one again. They can burn in hell.
A warranty in nothing when their dealers are a pice of crap.
Show the car dummies, it is not about the guy!
Reliable, affordable and has a great warranty? Yep, that's the formula for Car of the Year.
Say it ain't so Joe, not the firestarter Chevy Volt from obama motors? Guess obalmer doesn't carry as much weight with the car voters as the nobel committee...
hey MR-392541 the chevy Volt won last year, it's not eligible to win again this year. check your facts first before you embaress yourself again with your ignorance.
Sorry to bum you out, but the Volt won North American Car of The Year LAST year, so it was not eligible. Please try to keep up.
Wow Jim, can they recall that vote? Car of the year last year, hah, that's even funnier, glad I missed that because I would have puked, and that aint no fun.
With a record like this, maybe the "Elentra" will start spitting fireballs out of it's exhaust and starting tailgaters on fire.
Chevy Volt, car of the year. Ha, I can't stop laughing. How many have the sold? How many were to dealers claiming the tax rebate again and pocketing the cash? You can't make this stuff up, what a waste of time, money (taxpayer's by the way) and effort.
What's next, obalmer motors going to bring back the stanley steamer?
I have to laugh when people blame the government bailout of the auto industry on Obama when it was George W Bush that started the whole thing...
The Volt may have won last year, however it still cost 40k, way too expensive for an experiment!
yep...stupid follows stupid!!! it ain't funny either. somebody better do something quick!!! if Ron Paul isn't elected...we are doomed. his platform for anybody that doesn't know....Go By The Constitution!!! makes sense to me.
Jim Nagy, uh, you must be ignorant of the proper spelling of the word EMBARRASS... just letting you know.
Larry, I didn't see anything in MR392541's post about the bailout--all I saw was his reference to Obama's deal with his buddy Immelt at GE to "redistribute" millions of taxpayer dollars, while at the same time preparing to shift production of Volts to China to take advantage of the Chinese subsidy of $19,000 per car for vehicles manufactured there. The Volt, whose development was pushed by the Obama administration, bankrupted GM, but in exchange for the Volt being manufactured in China, GE is buying thousands of Volts, taking advantage of the U.S. tax subsidy of $7,500 per car as well, and building charging stations in China. As Obama's "Jobs Czar", Immelt assists in making federal policy decisions that benefit GE tremendously--such as helping to write the "spendulus" bill of 2009. This allowed them to qualify for the loopholes and incentives they included in the bill--such as paying no taxes in 2009 or 2010, despite billions in profit--not to mention $80 billion in TARP loans. None of this should be surprising, since GE owns MSNBC, which helped spew the drivel that got Obama elected--did anyone really think this would go unrewarded? Of course, GE also manufactures the machines used for the bone density testing that is part of Obamacare, but after Obamacare was passed, GE moved all of these jobs to China also, closing their 115-year old plant in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Oh by the way, GE received a waiver from Obamacare, although they did get $36 million for the "Early Retirement Reinsurance Program" in Obamacare. GE also lobbied for passage of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which outlawed incandescent bulbs--and then promptly closed the 140-year old bulb factory in Winchester, VA in September 2010, moving production to--you guessed it--China, where compact fluorescent bulbs full of mercury are now manufactured. You might feel a little sorry for GE since they have to deal with the new EPA regulations--oh wait--they received an exemption in February 2011 after the regs were passed in January.
That $40K is before you get your $7K tax credit and I'm sure the horse & buggy generation told Karl Benz the same thing when he first drove his experiment. The more vehicles like the Volt get sold, the sooner the $8K battery price will come down making them more affordable for more people.
MR-392541, you must have the attention span of a gnat. Only last week did they announce they recalled all 8000 Volts sold. There is no Volt sitting on a dealer floor, they're all SOLD before delivery/manufacture.
Hey Jim....You got a reference for that? I remember when Chevrolet won M/T truck of the years for like 4 years in a row......
Voter-in-LA, 12,000 of the Volts are to be purchased by GM--at a cost to the taxpayers of $90 million thanks to the $7,500 per vehicle subsidy. Thanks for voting!
Voter, I have a long memory, shame you believe the bull. Fact is some dealers are taking the tax credit then selling the car to consumers, consumers apply for the credit only to find it's already been taken. Go do a little research, letch.
@MR-392541…What's it like to hate so much that you can't see anything else but?
When it's Obama....it's deserved.
Obama deserves to be sent home to Chicago to replace the crook who just got sentenced to Prison
Peter, I don't hate anyone. I do however, take exception to a baffoon who never ran a business, has lived off the government dole his whole life, couldn't beat a black panther reject for a state seat, being in charge of the worlds largest economy and making a hash out of it.
On one hand I laugh that america is this stupid, on the other I cry for the same reason.
Please do not attack fellow vine posters. It goes against the COH of the vine.
Simply agree to disagree.
Have a nice day! : )
you mean like that baffoon little w ??
Shill, I wasn't that big a fan of that guy either, but for other reasons. Fallujah being one of them. He should have iced that little turd when he had the chance and Iraq would have been over 2-3 years earlier.
Rockyroad: Excellent comment!
Isn't it amazing how some people spend their time "commenting on other's comments, and even 'other's spelling'... instead of commenting on the article itself.
As if that isn't pathetic enough, as you pointed out, some go way beyond "commenting" and "specialize in attacking other's posts" and "attacking the individuals" too. Granted, most of those "attackers" expose their staggering ignorance for other's to see, but still, it detracts from the civility.
I try to comment on the "article itself" and often add a lot of cynicism, but make it a point to ignore those who attack me for my comments.
If I read comments I agree with, I will offer "compliments and positive feedback" to those posters, like I did with yours. That does not mean that anyone is supposed to agree with me, but if more posters tried a similar approach, it could add a lot of civility and maturity to the blogs.
Like, here's an idea for them, "Why not comment on the article?"
Have an excellent day :-)
Just curious ... is a "baffoon" a cross between a buffoon and a bassoon? (and yes, I do know what Bugs Bunny meant by "maroon" but I don't ever remember hearing about "baffoons" even in the direction of Mr. Fudd)
He who pays the most to the voters wins!
Um...what? You mean to tell me Hyundai has the deepest pockets?
Hyundai Motors and Hyundai Heavy Industries are essentially the same company, just two different divisions. Hyundai makes most of its money from building earth-movers, oil rigs, and the like, but they also build bicycle parts and whatnot. Mitsubishi builds electronics in addition to cars. Honda builds power sports equipment and lawn care equipment in addition to cars. That is why the Asian automakers have much deeper pockets than the American automakers, because the American automakers build cars and only cars.
I'm well aware of that, but again, does Hyundai have the deepest pockets (compared with other foreign auto makers)? I doubt it.
Hyundai obviously has deeper pockets than most automakers, and I have been to South Korea...Its not a third-world country. Nowhere near. It is a lot like America, just in a much smaller area.
GREAT! North American? Car of the Year??? These cars are all produced over seas! Korea, CHINA. Russia, Ukraine and from 2000 to the present date our good neighbor to the south peace loving El-Presidente Chavez of Venezuela!
It should just be called the Top selling car this year. Love the photo op shot of the CEO and his 'bosses' as if they worked on the production line building the cars themselves. It's a disease all corporate execs have.
@RJF-NJ the Elantra is made in Alabama next to many other Hyundai models.
@ Can
The car may be made here and employ several hundred workers in doing so...but how many of them are illegal? And where do the profits go, that's right overseas...keep fooling yourself on the whole made in America dig.
Illegal? Keep watching Faux news.
Oh and have you ever thought why foreign made cars are selling more in the States? Maybe because American brands aren't as good as they used to be? And foreign brands promise more value and the cars last a lot longer then the American models.
Have you ever been into an automotive factory of any type in the US? You wont find many illegals working. The profits should go right overseas, it's an overseas company.
I just purchased an Elantra, and I love it. The final decision came down between this and a Ford Fusion. The deciding point came down to assembly: Hyundai - Alabama, Ford - Mexico.
In this age of the world economy, corporate partnerships and easy public access to the stock market, this notion that profits go overseas is no longer accurate.
Produced overseas???
Let's see, like thousands of FORDS made in Mexico, Canada and "VENEZUELA", the land of Hugo "I Hate America" Chavez?
Chrysler got dumped by its "German owner", bailed out by the US taxpayers and sold to FIAT, an Italian company?
Hyundai of North America builds their vehicles in Alabama, right in the United States of America... cool huh? I guess some folks may not have known that "Alabama was actually in the USA?"
Hyundai's facility in "Alabama is a $1.4 billion plant, the company’s first U.S. manufacturing facility and employs more than 2,700 people with high-paying jobs and full benefits. Additionally, more than 72 suppliers have located businesses throughout North America to support Hyundai’s new plant. Altogether, these suppliers are expected to create 5,500 additional jobs with a combined capital investment of $500 million. “This new manufacturing facility reaffirms Hyundai’ commitment toward investing in the U.S. economy, as well as its commitment toward U.S. consumers,” said Chairman Chung. “American consumers have recognized Hyundai’s quality, and this plant will enable us to better serve them.”
The 2-million square-foot manufacturing plant resides on 1,744 acres of land and includes a stamping facility, paint shop, vehicle assembly shop, a two-mile test track and an engine shop, where the all-new Hyundai 3.3-liter V6 engine is produced. In May 2005, the facility marked the official start of production with its first saleable 2006 Sonata. HMMA will produce 300,000 vehicles per year at full capacity.
Ask the Hyundai workers in Alabama if they live and work "overseas?"
Hyundai's and Kia's are being made in America. I should know; I sell 'em. Great cars, great warranties just well put-together. Too bad my Chevy was made in Mexico!
And just once can we just talk about the article NOT politics........please?? Is that asking so much??
That comment was from this web site
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/exactly-how-much-does-your-car-contribute-to-the-us-economy-a-new-online-service-tells-consumers-the-jobs-and-economic-impact-of-their-auto-purchase-57121402.html
The fact is that although foreign companies like to say their car is built in American (that is a good thing) most of their parts are made in another country. I'll give Toyota credit because they have a content of US parts that are on a par with American companies although the recent tsunami in Japan shows that many of their parts are still made there.
South Korea is kicking butt! Hyundai, Kia, Samsung, Korean Air, the list goes on and on. They must be doing something right.
By the way, we should be happy for them, because they will cause us to up our game! Nothing like competition to bring out the best in people and corporations.
Ford lost because of poorly integrated technology on an otherwise outstanding car. Guess what improvements are touted in their 2013 Fusion! That's free market competition for you.
RFJ-NJ, I didn't realize that Alabama is now considered overseas? Beats the high end GM cars that are actually made in Mexico!
Assembling Asian parts in Alabama doesn't make the result "American Made" any more than shipping components to Mexico makes a Malibu Mexican made.
Under that laughable standard, absolutely nothing is "American made".
@Johnfreyan....You have finally stumbled upon the correct answer....Nothing is substantially made here anymore....and the folks that make those sorts of decisions decided long ago that corporate patriotism adds little or no value to their bottom line....And so it goes....
Isn't the Volt scheduled to be built in China? My Saturn Vue has a Mazda drive train, is that American?
If you want to see jobs return, slash government, kill the NLRB, hobble unions, reign in the rogue EPA, and dump Obama. Every single one of them is a jobs killer. Combined get's you real unemployment of 15%.
Which is evident by the attack on American companies by people on these forums. Or is it just self justification for them buying a foreign product.
We don't have much made in America anymore because people run to buy the cheapest product made in China or any slave country without realizing that they in the end just hurt themselves and their neighbors.
@ p111
The reason we don't have the jobs is because CEOs want more profit. Doing the things you mention would bring the working people into the same conditions that the common Chinese experiences now. Smog and polluted wasteland.
As its been said... the only two things that are still made here in America are beer and hookers :P
Oooooh! A sub-compact sedan! Never seen one of those before...
So where did Obama(GM) Union motors finish? Same place he's going to this November. At the BOTTOM.
and again I say......Obama didn't bail out the car companies.....George W Bush got the ball rolling!!
This is an article about a car, if your human trait is to bash 24/7 go back to the Faux Channel. They have plenty more green CoolAid for their cult followers.
That's a lie. Mullaly was just on Fox touting their all Green Ford Fusion. Fox Business has been covering it in depth.
Instead of just mindlessly parroting leftist propaganda, you might actually want to watch Fox and educate yourself. There's a reason Fox has more viewers than all other cable news channels combined.
Yeah right, Faux "fair and balanced" right here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MjRV-UTs9o
Pure lies, big surprise.
Faux has more viewers for the same reason a TV show as stupid as Three's Company was on the air for 7 years, there's a lot of idiots out there.
I've had my car six months and I love it. I don't get the advertised mpg due to the area I live. I drive about 8 miles a day total back and forth to work. I'm getting 22-24 mpg, but highway driving around 32-38. Would definitely recommend!
RJF-NJ ... give proper recognition to good ole USA .... BMW X3 (X5 and X6 as well) are built right here in South Carolina .... we Americans can build a world class vehicle ... drive one and see ... I know just how good they are, I drive one every day!!!
@ FR
Built here, but profits go overseas...see comment 7.2. We get paid the pennies to build, but the dollars in profit go somewhere else...sounds like a losing proposition to me.
Seems like no matter what you wouldn't be happy. Built here = American workers have jobs = American income taxes. Everyone always whines corporations pay no taxes so who gives a hoot WHERE those profits go?
Yup same thing applies to American corporations. We get paid pennies to build, but the dollars in profits go somewhere else....... like to the CEO's outrageous pay.
The only reason they assembly foreign cars here in America is to avoid the import duty/tariffs. Most of their parts are made elsewhere.
@Voter in LA
Obviously, it has been a while since you took an economics class or am I giving you credit for something that you haven't done? It would be better if profit from the vehicle and the production was from here - see Larry's comment on the additional lost revenue...and for the lost taxes on Corps, get real, we are so stupid that one of the largest corps in America, GE pays no taxes...i think they made 5BILLION...and they are moving overseas in 2012.
@ Had enough
I agree that the top gets paid, but maybe someone in congress can get the BALLS to actually tax that income - in the 50's those top earners paid +40% in income tax. Blame who you want for that changing to what it is today (some top wage earners pay less than 20% income tax), the fact is that it needs to change...can't see why anyone making millions would not agree to some tax breaks being phased out as income passes certain levels...no matter where it comes from.
I have a Hyundai Genesis. I've owned all of the German cars, but the Genesis is better.
I have the Genesis Coupe! GREAT sports car!! 30 mpg to boot!
10 year 100,000 mile warranty!
Just bought 12 Elantra love it but not getting gas mileage published or dealer support.
Neither of these vehicles are remotely "North American".
Amusing that the REAL truck of EVERY year, the Ford F-series, will outsell both these vehicles combined 20-1.
Even the full sized, government propped up, bankrupt Chevy pickup will outsell both of the vehicles 10-1.
Hyundai has pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps to rise from toad-like disposable cars to credible, competent vehicles that are a credit to their country of origin. So...way to go Hyundai! But...putting together parts made in Asia to produce a car does not make it any more American than Barak Hussein Obama. Rover has always made high quality vehicles that leak much less oil than ordinary British products, with much less electrical system FAIL. Still not North American.
Again though, Chevy and Ford are built in other countries and they are not 100% American parts either. As I mentioned earlier, my Saturn VUE has a Mazda drive train. There is no such thing as a pure American car, parts come from all over the world.
Again I post this.
Hopefully Hyundai dealers won't be jerks and start adding $2,000.00 extra to the sticker and call it "Additional Dealer Markup" out of typical corporate greed!
Hyundai in Alabama, Kia brand plate in Georgia. This car model from Alabama. Elantra has 12% more USA parts, the Ford Taurus or Chevy Impala.
once again check your facts the Volt was developed way before the taxpayer bailout.
No, the Volt was designed prior to the bailout. It is still not "developed". The bailout money gave it an injection of cash to the unions, but it still doesn't perform as promised. The astronomical subsidies applied to it and the dismal sales that would have torpedoed any other new car make each one actually cost in the hundreds of thousands.
Edsel bad sales? No, Ford payed for the Edsel itself. Eisenhower didn't subsidize it.
Worse than Edsel by a president worse than Jimmy Carter.
P. U.
The hilarious thing is all these electrics were being developed under the Bush administration yet liberals still trash him for not supporting green energy.
Bush also eliminated the $3000 limit on renewable energy tax credits, and put 10KW of solar on the white house, yet Gore whose house uses more energy that a dozen average homes is their hero.
Here's the link for the white house info, it's the same company I bought my inverter from:
:http://www.sma.de/en/products/references/solar-inverters/isolator/the-white-house.html
Hyundai and it's sister company, Kia, have learned well that which the Japanese car companies did following WWII: Avoid cheap junk products and instead build high quality, reliable and inexpensive products and you will succeed. I leased a Kia Soul+ last month, and it's the best car I've ever owned -- inexpensive, well built, quiet, peppy, great MPG, roomy and fun to drive. My friends thought it had lost my marbles at first, but, after riding in it, they've changed their minds!
I think that they just mean cars sold in North America, not made there.
I bought the Elantra 8 months ago. I have never come close to 40 MPG, I average about 28-29 MPG and drive about 70% local, 30% highway. The car is nice and affordable but I think the milage is overstated.
And Obama won the Nobel prize. It's the times.
Why all of the political rants on a car article? Can't you let is rest? What a miserable life!
Um, the 40 mpg is a highway number...you are driving primarily city so of course you aren't going to reach that number.
When you're part of a cult that's all you can think about. Rupert Murdoch's billions hard at work.
Trashing Bush, trashing Fox, trashing republicans, will not go unanswered, sorry.
Car of the year means crap. Check over most of the last winners, most of them did not stay around long because they were losers.
Winners include the Corvair, the Vega, the Citation. Car bufs realize this award is usually the kiss of death.
I had a 2000 Elantra and said I would never by a Hyundai again. I was going to get a Chevy Eco but I checked out the 2012 Elantra and was impressed and bought it instead, no regrets great fuel milage and features was the right choice.
I bought my wife the new Sonata SE with a sunroof and a navigation package for a bit over 24k. I compared ever American or foreign car in that range and nothing came close, the look,quality, performance, and guarantee is just way over the head of everyone else,in regards to the smaller Elantra, I rented one of these not to long ago and again I was very impressed how good it looks, and the performance for that type of car is just amazing, Hyundai has come a long long way, and I for one am very impressed with the product they now offer.
Just bought their smallest, five-door Accent. Excellent quality -- very best warranty on the market, outstanding dealer staff, and I'm getting 35 mpg in regular stop/go driving. Heading out on highways, looking for that 40 mpg mark. Want to really be impressed? Look at the Equus!