Motor News

Hyundai Motor America has agreed to pay a cash penalty of $54 million and other fines that could add up to $140 million. Kia Motors America was also fined and could pay as much as $70 million.
This is the result of an inquiry by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) into its recalls of the 2011–2014 Sonata and 2013–2014 Santa Fe Sport SUV, as well as Kia vehicles from 2011–2014 model years.
Hyundai has created a dedicated engine recall website as part of the agreement, to ensure owners get timely information.
Hyundai Motor America announced today that it has reached an agreement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) following an investigation into the way it conducted a recall. The problem involved the automaker’s 2.0- and 2.4-liter Theta II engines in the 2011–2014 Hyundai Sonata and the 2013–2014 Santa Fe Sport, in which metal debris created during machining operations at the factory led to premature bearing wear and potential engine failure.

NHTSA Looking into Hyundai and Kia Engine Fires

NHTSA’s investigation concluded that the automaker did not recall 1.6 million vehicles subject to the problem “in a timely fashion,” as Reuters reported today, and that Hyundai did not give out accurate information about the recalls.
Total penalties include a $54 million fine to be paid first, an agreement to put $40 million into improving safety operations, and a potential additional $46 million fine that may be levied later depending on how well Hyundai meets NHTSA’s requirements in the newly issued Consent Order.
Kia, through a separate Consent Order, was fined $27 million in cash penalties plus a potential later fine of $27 million, and the requirement to pay $16 million for safety process improvement. This is related to a separate recall including the 2011–2014 Optima, 2012–2014 Sorento, and 2011–2013 Sportage, also with the 2.0- and 2.4-liter Theta II engines, NHTSA’s order said.
The company will set up new IT systems “to better analyze safety data and identify potential safety issues,” and it will set up a new field testing and inspection laboratory in the U.S., Hyundai said.

2012 Hyundai Sonata.
Hyundai

Hyundai said that it has issued a second recall for recalled vehicles that have already had their engines replaced. The move is made “out of an abundance of caution,” and the company said it will “inspect and confirm proper reinstallation of the fuel tube to the high-pressure fuel pump.”
Hyundai has created an engine recalls website for consumers who need more information about this recall. The site also covers a recall involving more Hyundai and Kia models that calls for a software update. The Hyundai website and NHTSA recall website also allow owners to find out if their vehicles are included.
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The Morgan 3 Wheeler, which looks vintage but has been built only since 2011, is being discontinued early in 2021.
The company has already sold all 33 limited-run copies of the final P101 3 Wheeler, priced at $59,000 in four styles called Belly Tank, Aviator, Race Car, and Dazzleship (pictured above).
Morgan plans to bring back the 3 Wheeler with a European-emissions-compliant motorcycle engine in the near future.
While the Morgan 3 Wheeler is about as English as it’s possible to be without saying “Tally ho” or knowing the minor rules of cricket, this eccentric retro-trike has used an American heart since it was launched in 2011. Which is the reason it is about to retire, in its present form at least: the air-cooled S&S V-twin motorcycle engine is unable to meet forthcoming European emissions standards.

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The British sports-car maker has announced that production of the current 3 Wheeler will end early next year, with the celebratory edition wearing one of four eye-catching liveries to see it out in style. The company says that all 33 production slots of the limited run P101 have already been allocated, so if you want one you are too late.
While Morgan has four-wheeled models to sell in other parts of the world, the 3 Wheeler’s demise seems to raise an existential threat to the brand in America, where it has been the only vehicle that Morgan’s tenacious dealers have been able to offer for some time. The company has already told us it is hoping to bring its new BMW-powered aluminum-framed models to the U.S. under federal replica car legislation and we have already driven both the Plus Four and Plus Six in Britain. We’re also assured it will be launching a new three-wheeled model after what we’re told will be a brief gap, one that will be fully type approved for the U.S.
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Next 3 Won’t Be an EV
This won’t be a version of the electric 3 Wheeler the company started work on a few years ago—the stylish EV3, which replaced the S&S motor with a 20.0-kWh lithium-ion battery pack wrapped in stylish brass conductive cooling fins. That was canned before reaching series production, and although Morgan insiders say that electrification of all of its models will happen in the medium-term future, we’re told to expect the next-gen 3 Wheeler to launch with a combustion powerplant capable of passing European emissions, most likely a water-cooled motorcycle engine.

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Morgan

The 21st-century 3 Wheeler was inspired by the cars that Morgan started out building more than a century earlier and became one of the company’s most successful models of all time, selling more than 2500 examples. (Morgan typically makes just 850 cars of all sorts a year.) We drove a 2013 3 Wheeler on a tour of some of California’s abandoned towns, a memorable story written by the late Davey Johnson that is well worth another read.
The runout P101 3 Wheeler gets disc wheels in place of wire spokes and Hella driving lamps which we’re told have been positioned carefully to reduce turbulence around the front suspension. Black or white paint is offered, with the option of one of four graphics packs: the Belly Tank is inspired by lake racers and features what is described as a “distressed effect”; the Aviator brings RAF bomber–inspired nose art; the Race Car brings stripes and roundels; and the Dazzleship, seen here, carries a version of the Art Deco patterns that were intended to disguise the size and course of British warships from enemy submarines.
Morgan admits it could easily have sold out a much larger allocation of the P101. We’re told that 10 will be coming to buyers in the U.S., with the trike’s official MSRP a hefty $59,000.

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Aston Martin has debuted its DBX SUV in the U.S. at the Aston Martin Residences in Miami.
The 65-story, sail-shaped tower holds 391 apartments, priced from $970,000 to $50 million, with completion scheduled for 2022.
Seven penthouses and 38 Signature Residences come with the buyer’s choice of a limited-edition DBX or a DB11, or the three-story penthouse comes with the final Aston Martin Vulcan.
For the owner who has said, “I love my Aston Martin so much I could live in it,” the English purveyor of grand tourers would like to turn your attention to Miami. The Aston Martin Residences next to the Miami River, overlooking Biscayne Bay, are the automaker’s first wholesale luxury residential development, a 65-story, sail-shaped tower with 391 apartments. The tower isn’t scheduled for completion until 2022, but it enjoyed its christening when it hosted the debut of the DBX SUV in the Americas.

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Aston Martin

There should be plenty more examples of the DBX at the residences soon enough. Buyers of the 38 Signature apartments and seven penthouses will get to choose a housewarming gift of either a DBX Riverwalk Edition or DB11 Riverwalk Edition. Spec’d by Aston Martin’s executive VP and chief creative officer Marek Reichman, the Riverwalk Editions are limited to 45 examples just for this building. If you’re reaching for your calculators, know that Signature accommodations run from $5.3 million to $7.7 million, while single-level penthouses start at $14 million.

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At the top of the sail sits a three-story penthouse, taking up 27,191 square feet and costing $50 million. Instead of a welcome-to-the-neighborhood carrot cake, that owner will receive the final Aston Martin Vulcan as spec’d by Reichman. The Vulcan was the carbon-fiber-bodied, track-only beast powered by a 7.0-liter V-12 with 820 horsepower, limited to 24 units and priced at $2.3 million.

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Aston Martin Vulcan.
Aston Martin

Elsewhere among the luxury, in addition to a four-story suite of Sky Amenities such as a virtual golf room, chef’s kitchen, and two cinemas, the Aston Martin Residences will incorporate a deep-water superyacht marina with direct access to Biscayne Bay. Aston Martin hasn’t released a boat since the AM37 four years ago, but we can see that changing now.

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As of writing, the residences are more than 60 percent sold. For jet setters with business in New York and wishing to stay on brand, there are five Aston Martin–designed residences at 130 William Street in Manhattan, and Aston Martin’s Galleries and Lairs service will soon complete the $7.7 million, 6000-square-foot Sylvan Rock house about 80 miles outside New York City that’s offered with a matching DBX in Onyx Black.
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Last week, we revealed our 10Best picks for 2021, which got us thinking about the history of the competition. We challenged the Window Shop crew to look at every winner since 1983 and pick their favorite. If you’ve watched this show before, it won’t surprise you that we all chose different cars since we rarely agree with one another about anything.
We invited former editor-in-chief and now contributor Csaba Csere along for this one. Csere attended every 10Best event from 1983 until just a few years ago. With performance and value on his mind, he puts up a 2005 Chevrolet Corvette (C6). Thinking along the same lines as Csere, contributor Jonathon Ramsey picks a fifth-generation Vette, but we can’t understand why he chose the garish Indy 500 pace-car version.
The other three choices come from Germany and trigger digressions about such things as the model names of Blaupunkt radios, how to reset the trip odometer in the Porsche 944’s interior, and why Car and Driver uses the term “naturally aspirated” instead of “normally aspirated.” If you watch to the end—or just skip ahead—you’ll see a rare consensus when we select the best of 10Best.
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The new GT3 version of the 992-generation Porsche 911 is almost here.
It will have a naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six with over 500 horsepower.
There are also some notable interior and exterior changes to the GT3 compared with the standard 911.
Porsche aficionados seem to love everything that comes out of Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, but that doesn’t mean the company won’t listen. And when we spent a few hours with Andreas Preuninger, who heads the development of the new 2021 Porsche 911 GT3, we got the feeling that he keenly listens to the customers. In fact, he is their best ally against those who would prefer to neuter the quintessential 911, to take it into the mainstream and make it more digestible.
You can’t exactly tell what the new GT3 will look like thanks to the slight camouflage up front and in the rear on this prototype. But our sources tell us it looks cleaner than ever, with a lower front air intake that resembles a jet engine. The rear wing is mounted at the top; it looks unusual, and it’s said to provide an aerodynamic advantage over a conventionally mounted wing.

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Porsche

Open the door, and the new instrument cluster addresses a major criticism of the 992: While the two outer gauges are hidden behind the steering rim in the regular 992, the GT3 features a specific GT mode that places all important information directly to the left and right of the central analog tachometer.
Happy news come from the powertrain department. The naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat six is a notch up from the previous 911 GT3 and even from its superior evolution, the 991 Speedster’s engine with its single throttle valves. The sheer responsiveness and agility of the engine is a marvel, not to mention its expected 500-plus-horsepower rating and 9000 rpm redline.
The engine is mated to either a precise six-speed manual—which we like better than the standard 992’s seven-speed manual gearbox—or a seven-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission. Preuninger’s team has listened to customers very closely, and as a result, the manual’s rev-match system can be turned off entirely.

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Moreover, the unfortunate gear selector of the regular 992’s PDK box, which resembles an electric shaver, has been replaced by a grippy shifter that features a separate gate in order to select gears the way god intended: Push to downshift, pull to upshift, like in a race car. Preuninger likes to use the console-mounted shifter in spite of the nicely executed, wheel-mounted paddles. So do we.

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Porsche

The chassis features a major change in the form of a race-inspired multilink front suspension setup—a 911 first. There are no electronically controlled engine mounts on the new model. They were deemed unnecessary, just like the extra weight they would have added.
Meanwhile, Preuninger has further derivatives on his mind. There will be another iteration of the GT3 Touring, which does such a marvelous job of giving just the slightest hint of its awesome performance. This time around, both the regular GT3 and the Touring will be available with both transmissions. And we can safely assume there will eventually be a GT3 RS again. The customers will love them all.
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