Later this year, Hyundai will be the first mainstream automaker to launch an augmented reality owner's manual app. The Hyundai Virtual Guide app is the brand's modern take on the traditional owner's manual, allowing consumers to use their smartphone or tablet computer to get how-to information for repairs, maintenance and vehicle features.
At launch, the Hyundai Virtual Guide is compatible with the 2015 Sonata model, and will soon become available for additional models. The new app recognizes more than 45 major features of the Sonata and is available for free download on the Apple App store and Google Play.
Hyundai used quality consumer survey results to determine the top difficult-to-use features to incorporate into the Virtual Guide. The app also contains 82 how-to videos, six 3D overlay images that appear once users scan areas of their vehicle like the engine bay and more than 50 informational guides.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7506058-hyundai-virtual-guide-app/
Hybrids have a safety edge over their conventional twins when it comes to shielding their occupants from injuries in crashes, new research by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, shows. On average, the odds of being injured in a crash are 25 percent lower for people in hybrids than people traveling in nonhybrid models.
The new finding is more good news for green-minded drivers who don’t want to trade safety for fuel economy. Not so long ago, car buyers had to choose between the two because fuel-efficient cars tended to be smaller and lighter. Now, consumers have more options than ever when it comes to picking an environmentally friendly — and crashworthy — vehicle.
For more information, go to: www.iihs.org
Flooded vehicles have finally stopped arriving at the Royal Purple Raceway east of Houston. Some 23,000 now await processing and retitling to be auctioned off for parts or to be scrapped. That is just one of several insurance industry salvage locations where more than 422,000 insured vehicles damaged by Harvey have been taken for processing. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), these totals surpass the number of claims that resulted from Hurricane Katrina (approx. 300,000) and from Superstorm Sandy (250,500).
In addition, more than 215,000 claims have been filed following damage to vehicles from Hurricane Irma in Florida.
These insured vehicles will be processed and rebranded with a salvage title and sold at online auctions to dismantlers who will save usable parts or have the vehicle crushed and sold for scrap.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/76652512-nicb-reports-record-number-of-hurricane-flooded-vehicles/
The Honda Accord, Volvo XC60 and the Lincoln Navigator were crowned as the winners of the 2018 North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year (NACTOY) awards today at the North American International Auto Show.
The awards are among the most prestigious in the industry because they are chosen by a panel of more than 60 jurors from print, online and broadcast media across the United States and Canada. Votes were tallied confidentially by Deloitte LLP and remained sealed until they were announced today by NACTOY officers, President Mark Phelan, Vice President Matt DeLorenzo and Secretary-Treasurer Lauren Fix at Cobo Center in Detroit.
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8244251-north-american-car-truck-utility-vehicle-2018/
Honda recently delivered 2013 Fit EV battery-electric vehicles to Google Inc. and Stanford University as a part of the Honda Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program. Along with the city of Torrance, Calif., each participant is now conducting general testing as well as providing specific feedback related to the future introduction of electric vehicles. The Honda Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program participants are the first recipients of the 2013 Fit EV in the United States.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/honda/54311
The Honda CR-V has won Motor Trend Sport/Utility of the Year for 2015.
The CR-V claims the title with a long list of vehicle enhancements for 2015, including its improved fuel economy and uncompromised driving dynamics, thanks to the inclusion of Honda’s Earth Dreams Technology™ powertrain, the launch of an all-new Touring trim, the debut of Honda Sensing™ assistive and driver safety technologies and the CR-V’s excellent value for money paradigm.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7258851-honda-cr-v-named-2015-motor-trend-sport-utility-of-the-year/
The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) today released a national analysis of vehicle theft which compares annual statistics for thefts, population and vehicle registrations from 1960 through 2013. Just released FBI crime figures for 2013 show that 699,594 vehicles were reported stolen last year–a 58 percent reduction–from 1991 when vehicle theft reached an all-time high of 1,661,738.
Over the years, the single-vehicle family–long the norm in America–became the exception as it gave way to families with multiple vehicles. In 1960, there were 74,159,209 vehicles registered across the nation whose population that year was 180,671,158. Registrations as a percentage of that population stood at 41 percent. In 2012, that figure increased to 80.8 percent as registrations climbed to 253,639,386 distributed within the nation’s 313,873,685 in population.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go http://www.multivu.com/players/English/70506513-national-insurance-crime-bureau-historical-look-at-vehicle-theft-in-united-states/
The Hertz Corporation (NYSE: HTZ) announces the company’s new protocol for rental car maintenance and cleanliness, Hertz Certified Clean & Safe, which is being rolled out to all Hertz airport and suburban locations in the U.S. For the first time, the company is sharing with customers each step taken, which includes a 35 point checklist, to prepare every car and verify the vehicle is certified clean and safe before it’s rented. Once the vehicle is certified, a card signed by the representative preparing it for rental is placed on the vehicle’s steering column to reassure the customer it has been certified clean and safe.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7257855-hertz-launches-certified-clean-and-safe-rental-vehicle-program/
Just over half of 2018 model vehicles evaluated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety are available with headlights that do an adequate job of lighting the road at night and limiting glare for oncoming drivers, but most good-rated headlights are optional or bundled with other features that can raise the price of the vehicle.
Since IIHS released its first headlight ratings for passenger vehicles in 2016, most manufacturers have focused on improving this key safety component. That year, only 2 of 95 headlight systems on 2016-model vehicles evaluated earned a good rating.
For the 2018 model year, the best-available headlights on 32 of 165 models evaluated earn the highest rating of good, and the best-available headlights on 58 models earn the second-highest rating of acceptable. Thirty-two models have only marginal-rated headlights, while poor-rated headlights are the only ones available for 43 models.
Raminator, a monster truck sponsored by the Ram Truck brand, has broken the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® record for the Fastest Speed for a Monster Truck at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. Hitting a record speed of 99.10 miles per hour (mph), Raminator and Driver Mark Hall secured the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title at 8:44 a.m. (CT), breaking the previous record of 96.8 mph.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/71011510-raminator-and-hall-brothers-racing-shatter-guinness-world-records-fastest-speed-for-monster-truck/
GAC Motor, China’s only automaker exhibiting at the 2017 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit from January 8 to 22, 2017, three groundbreaking new models including the first electric vehicle GE3, new SUV GS7 and concept car EnSpirit. Its GS7, a blockbuster mid-sized SUV, is designed with the company’s most innovative technologies and forward thinking concepts.
At the international showcase for the best of automotive industry, GS7 has drawn wide attention from industry professionals, experts, media and guests. The model is destined to continue the company’s legacy in the new era for SUVs opened by their best-selling GS4 which was also released at NAIAS back in 2015.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/8018651-gac-motor-gs7-naias/
