Pricing: 2009 Hyundai Genesis

Hyundai has announced pricing for its all new Genesis flagship sedan. The base price for the 3.8-liter, 290-hp V6 model will be $33,000 and the 4.6-liter, 375-hp V8 model will start at $38,000. Both prices include a $750 shipping charge. Standard safety equipment includes electronic stability control, eight air bags, and active head restraints.

The Genesis is Hyundai‘s first entry into the rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan category, and it is equipped to compete with more expensive models from Cadillac, Lexus, Infiniti, and Mercedes-Benz.

The South Korean automaker has made great strides in our reliability and testing the past few years and for 2008, two of its vehicles made our Top Picks list: The Hyundai Elantra SE small sedan and Santa Fe midsized SUV.

We’ll see if Hyundai can continue the trend with the Genesis when we put it through the paces at our test track in the coming months. For more information on this new sedan, see our preview and video.

The Genesis will arrive at Hyundai dealerships in July.

—Liza Barth

Talking cars with teens

Empowering your teen to be safe behind the wheel depends on a foundation of good parenting, not just rules, as was expressed recently at the 2008 Lifesavers Conference. Held in Portland, Oregon, numerous seminars at this annual safety event dealt with serious issues concerning teenagers, driving, and drinking. Participants included representatives of SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, the National Safety Council, and numerous government officials and academics.

From the deep immersion in automotive safety and teen risks, we assembled the following tips and advice to help families send their young drivers down the right road.

Lecturing doesn’t work. Teens have heard all the sermons before.

Keep the messages positive. Point out how mutual respect works in everyone’s self-interest.

Teach your kids to listen by listening to what they have to say.

Set a good example. If you don’t buckle up, why would they? If they see you drinking and driving, they’ll think it’s OK.

Look at your own drinking habits. What do they say about you?

Talk and listen positively and persistently. Don’t throw in the towel.

Read between the lines. Some things are hard to say directly.

Try to understand the teen’s world.

Praise your kids for doing little things, the sort of things you might think are taken for granted.

Lighten up. Let there be humor, whenever possible.

If you’re looking for a solution to a behavior issue, ask the teens what they think should be done.

Use logic and love.

Talk about results as the consequence of decisions rather than actions. Good decisions get good results.

Give teens the power to make decisions. That way, teens can feel they’re taking control of their own lives, acting responsibly because they want to.

Don’t be afraid to say no or set boundaries.

Thorough driving instruction can help prepare teens to be lawful, responsible motorists, however it takes living the values you espouse to nurture safe, courteous drivers.

Learn more about kids and car safety in our special section.

—Gordon Hard

Personal picks—Convertibles, round 2

Back in April when we published our picks of the recent crop of drop-tops, a reader posted this comment: “With 75% of VW Beetle convertible buyers [being] women and 68% Camry Solara convertible buyers women, it would have been nice to hear what your women testers thought of these cars.”

Fair question. So we tracked several female Cars staffers and asked them which convertibles they’d most like to see in their driveways. Here are their responses:

Jennifer Stockburger: The truth is, with two little kids, coupes and convertibles are a bit tougher to classify than other vehicle types into my "Personal Picks." But, if I fast-forward a few years to a time when moving child seats and backpacks in and out won’t be such a concern, I think I’d have to go with the Volkswagen Eos.

From the first time I saw it on the show floor at the New York Auto Show a couple of years ago, I loved its styling and hoped performance would come to match it. Following our testing, it not only proved a good performer, but included many really well thought-out additions that set it apart from the rest. Things like the sunroof, the iPod dock and the really nicely finished interior make you want to show this car off. It’s easy to love. The biggest thing to get used to, for me, would be the initial lag in the throttle response. Though the car does seem to be marketed toward a younger driver, who’s to say that a middle-aged Mom (like me) won’t be just as happy in it?

Shawn Sinclair: The first car I owned was a 1976 MG Midget. Once I got most of the Lucas parts replaced and worked out a few other problems, the car was a blast to drive. In this convertible group, I find myself migrating toward the VW Eos and the BMW 328i. I really liked the Eos even though it has a few quirks. Regarding the BMW, it’s a nice car to drive, but if I had $50K to spend on a convertible, it would be a Chevrolet Corvette. However, the model that trumps them all is one with a reasonable price and is fun to drive: Look no further than the Mazda Miata.

Liza Barth: I agree with Jennifer that choosing a convertible would be the last car type that I would think of considering since I have a toddler and another baby on the way, but it may be something to consider in another stage of life. The Eos is definitely a car I could live with (if it were just my husband and I driving, since the back seat is snug). I also like the BMW 328i as it was fun to drive and has a sporty feel, but I can’t imagine spending $50k on a car with a small trunk and cramped rear seats. I guess I’m just too practical.

Tips for a safe prom night

For some, "prom night" is an American rite of passage, famous for teens' jumping off the behavioral deep end. This is a time when well-worked-out parental boundaries are put to their severest test. Many parents face formidable adversaries: peer pressure, hormones, and others' expectations. But parents can do many things to keep prom night safe—free of drugs, alcohol and other risky behavior—without wrecking the night for everyone concerned.

For everyone to survive said prom night (and to minimize the number of parental gray hairs), the name of the game is foreknowledge. This means know your kids, their friends, and, most of all, their plans. Make a list of their friends' parents’ phone and cell numbers, and talk with other parents well before the big night. Double-check the plans for the night: Is he/she attending the prom alone, with a date, or with a group? Is there a pre-party planned? An after-prom party? Where? And have an agreed-upon curfew. Make sure everyone’s cell phones are powered-up and ready to go.

All-night post-prom parties are popular. Make sure they occur in a setting you approve of, such as at the school or a YMCA gym. If it's at a private house, make sure there is to be an adequate adult presence and no alcohol or drugs.

Under no circumstance should it be acceptable for the teen to ride with a driver who is under the influence. To eliminate drunk-driving problems, you and other parents might chip in for a limo. Or maybe line up a designated driver (acceptable to all concerned) to shuttle the kids around in your car. In any case, make sure your teen has cab fare, and a cab company phone number, in case of need. Make sure the teen truly feels free to call home—at any time of the night or early morning—for a ride or other assistance without fearing repercussions.

The nonprofit Century Council, an organization dedicated to eliminating drunk driving, has these additional tips:

Work with the school to have food served during the prom.

Know all the "hot spot" destinations.

Take stock of the alcohol in your home.

Know who is driving—if it's a limo, check their policy on alcohol in the vehicle.

Discuss the school's prom rules with your teen and the consequences for violating them.

Encourage (and demand) seat-belt use—the best fashion accessory.

Do not rent hotel rooms for prom-goers.

Communicate with other parents and school officials.

Stay up for prom-goers' return home.

For suggestions on how to manage a prom party at your house, read the advice at FamilyEducation.com.

—Gordon Hard

Average gas prices—May 26, 2008

Gas prices rise again with no end in sight.

National retail fuel price averages

Price

Change from last week

Regular gasoline/gallon	$3.94	↑ .15
Diesel fuel/gallon	$4.72	↑ .22

Regional regular gasoline prices

Price

Change from last week

East Coast	$3.94	↑ .14
-New England	$3.98	↑ .14
-Central Atlantic	$3.95	↑ .12
-Lower Atlantic	$3.92	↑ .16
Midwest	$3.95	↑ .15
Gulf Coast	$3.83	↑ .14
Rocky Mountain	$3.85	↑ .17
West Coast	$4.03	↑ .15
-California	$4.10	↑ .15

Source: Energy Information Administration, 5/26/08

Indian automaker is first to enter automotive X Prize

The funny thing about the Progressive X Prize to develop a 100 mpg vehicle has been that no major automakers have bothered to enter. Until now.

Giant Indian automaker Tata, which has become famous for the designing the $2,500 Nano microcar, has thrown its hat in the ring.

The company plans two entries, one in each competition class, Alternative and Mainstream. In the Alternative class, Tata is expected to enter an electric microcar in the Alternative class, which requires a minimum range of 100 miles, and 2-passenger capacity. In the Mainstream class, which requires a 200-mile range and 4-passenger capacity, Tata is designing a hybrid.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that there are no major U.S. automakers participating in the competition. Years ago, Amory Lovins, founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute who was promoting a hybrid car made with lightweight carbon fiber, said innovation in mass producing efficient cars was unlikely to come from traditional automakers. They have too much invested in manufacturing plants designed to work with steel and metal, he said.

Instead, he forecast that most innovation in fuel-efficient cars would come from small companies of the type starting up frequently in the Silicon Valley.

So far, this competition seems to bear out that prediction. Although now we might now add overseas-maker Tata as stepping up.

Produced in India, Tata’s cars are not subject to the same safety standards cars must pass here. So the company has experience making smaller, lighter cars that may get better fuel economy.

In the X Prize competition, entries will be expected to include all modern safety features and to prove in a computer simulation that they can perform well in crash tests.

The contest is expected to begin on the streets of New York City in September 2009.

—Eric Evarts

Check out our previous coverage of the Automotive X Prize:
Automovie X Prize find sponsor
Automotive X Prize entries still up for grabs
Auto X Prize announces the teams competing to build 100-mpg car
Auto X Prize to reward 100-mpg car

Discuss the Auto X Prize in the Consumer Reports forum.

Just In: Smart ForTwo

Sometimes events converge together:
Wednesday: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) releases crash test results for the Smart ForTwo.
Thursday: We take delivery of our Smart.
Friday: The start of my annual pilgrimage to the Carlisle (Pennsylvania) Import and Replicar Show.

The result: A 1,000-mile road trip in our Smart over a three-day weekend.

It won’t come as a big surprise that a Smart isn’t really an optimum long-distance road trip car. The tiny two-seater is intended as a fashionable urban runabout; it’s a fairly common sight in big cities in Europe where parking is at a premium and low-displacement engines avoid big taxes. But now the second-generation ForTwo is on sale here in the United States, where people drive longer distances and the roads are filled with hulking SUVs.

My wife thought (once again) that I was a bit nuts for taking the Smart on this trip. The aforementioned crash test results helped me feel a bit better; the 1,800-pound Smart did quite well in the IIHS offset- and side-impact tests. Still, watching the crash videos, it was disheartening to see the car bounce dramatically away from the frontal-offset barrier, suggesting a risk for moving into oncoming traffic or tripping off the road. And the IIHS was quite clear in their press release that minicars have the highest relative accident death rate on the road.

Everything is relative. When I stopped to fill up the Smart during a rainy night on I-95 (you do that often with such a puny 8.7-gallon tank), I pulled into the pumps behind two people on a BMW motorcycle. Even though they had full riding safety gear, I felt a bit bad for them—they’re a lot more exposed than I was in my airbag-equipped transportation pod. (Plus I had a roof.) Surprisingly, you don’t feel that vulnerable in the Smart; the high seating position puts you at a decent height relative to other cars and the airy and roomy-enough-for-two cabin doesn’t feel as squished inside as you’d think. Just don’t look over your shoulder.

It’s a disappointment that this tiny car lacks daytime running lights—given its size, you can use all of the help to be seen you can get. And don’t expect slower-moving vehicles to get out of the way when you come up behind them to pass; the Smart doesn’t exactly enforce lane discipline from other drivers.

But once people see you, the Smart is one of the most stared-at cars on the road. Everyone looks at you and lots of people point. Some of them laugh. You wind up waving a lot. Smarts are still rare sights, especially outside of the urban areas where most of the dealers are located.

It wasn’t a surprise that the Smart drew a lot of attention when parked on the show field at Carlisle. Every time I went back to the car, it had drawn a small crowd. (There was a lot more interest in the Smart than there was in the Jaguar XK convertible I drove to the show two years ago.) People basically had the same two questions: What is it and what kind of fuel mileage does it get.

The answer: On our not-yet-broken-in Smart, I observed 40 mpg on the required premium fuel while cruising at highway speeds. With all of 71 horsepower from the tiny 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine, the Smart keeps up in traffic but struggles to maintain speed on highway hills. You’re tempted to manually downshift the slow-shifting automated manual using the paddle shifters. When worked, this gasoline engine sounds a lot like a diesel. Still, this car is a lot quicker than the first-generation Canadian-market Smart turbodiesel we previously tested.

There is something of a debate brewing in the automotive press of whether the Smart ForTwo is fun to drive. As Lawrence Ulrich wrote in his pointed New York Times review, “The Smart has been described as fun to drive by some reviewers, but other than showing taillights to the neighborhood riding mowers, I don’t see it.”

To my way of thinking, the Smart’s fun doesn’t come from doing the normal things that make other cars fun—like super handling or acceleration—but rather that it does normal car stuff at all. Compared to every other car in this market, it seems so wonderfully improbable that this tiny car can haul two people and their luggage while keeping up (and sometimes passing) highway traffic. Plus, just as driving a big SUV can inspire some evil thoughts (Can I clear that curb in the mall parking lot?), the Smart almost begs you to find tiny parking spots or squeeze into little holes in traffic.

But just how well does the Smart do normal car stuff? We’ll let you know as we put more miles on ours.

—Tom Mutchler

Buying a Smart ForTwo

Buying a Smart ForTwo guarantees you a lot of looks. Part of that stems from the Smart’s 106-inch long diminutive size and gawky cuteness. But another reason is its rarity. Since the car only recently went on sale, there aren’t too many of them on the roads.

Hence, it’s not easy to buy a Smart. There are basically two ways to get one. You can get a $99 reservation online from Smart that holds your place in line. Problem is, lots of people are in line ahead of you. Consider that we made our reservation in October, 2007—and the dealer said we’d probably be waiting until next October to get a car. Don’t expect to make any interest on that $99 either. At least Penske, the mega dealer/rental/racing company that imports the car is trying to get more production to ease the demand.

The other way to get a car is to find an "orphan" that someone ordered but didn’t buy. Our dealer had a less cute name for this situation—a "declined" car. That’s how we wound up with our white Passion coupe. Equipped with the Comfort package (heated seats, power steering, paddle shifters, panorama roof) and some trivial options, our car was $15,355. That’s before all of the dealer profit padding we had to buy on the high-demand car (including $695 for Simoniz protection and $895 for LoJack), pushing the price up to nearly $17,000. Although dealers are strongly encouraged—with threat of losing their franchise—to not mark up the cars over MSRP, Smart enthusiast forums report that ours wasn’t the only case of a dealer padding the "orphan’s" price with such add-ons.

You’re probably doing the math by now. Even the MSRP of $15,355 seems like quite a bit of money for such a small car. (Well-equipped, yes, but still really small.) Only $30 more buys a Honda Fit automatic, a much more versatile car. With its $2,000 incentive here in Connecticut, you could get our Top Pick Hyundai Elantra SE with an automatic for $15,945 before haggling, which is much quieter, rides a lot better, and can comfortably seat four.

Of course, no one gives you a second look in a Fit or an Elantra. And the Smart’s EPA estimated fuel economy of 33/41 beats both of those cars. We’ll put more miles on our Smart and go through our full test program. Then we can figure out just where the Smart’s value equation falls in the world of small cars.

—Tom Mutchler

Discuss Smart cars in our forum.

Guide to mobile electronics

Road trips are much different than they used to be. When I was growing up, we either listened to the radio or sometimes cassettes, compromising on music the whole family could tolerate. Invariably, this meant listening to "golden oldies." Pre-Nintendo-era, our long road trips were spent sleeping, reading, and playing car games while doo-wopping. Now, it’s the 21st century and the digital age for in-car entertainment and infotainment, with technologies like GPS navigation devices, and MP3 and DVD players. All these gadgets now allow each passenger to enjoy their own musical choices or videos, plus the driver can navigate the roads more easily.

In the ever-evolving mobile electronics marketplace, there are abundant choices to enhance the road trip or every-day driving experience.

To learn about the latest, high-tech road trip gear, check out our new mobile electronic guide. There you can learn about the latest options in car audio systems such as satellite and HD radio, and MP3 connectivity; GPS navigation systems including Ratings of the latest models; and car video systems to help you take the show on the road. Plus, see videos, first looks, and more.

Let us know about your favorite new technology or car gadget in the comments below or in our mobile electronics discussion forum.

—Liza Barth

Future Honda hybrid cars take shape

Honda has revealed more information about its plans for future hybrid cars, announcing a timeline with several upcoming, fuel-efficient models.

In the past, the company has talked of a new “international hybrid” due out in early 2009, as well as the CR-Z hybrid sporty car due out in 2010. But little was known about the so-called “international hybrid” until now, except that logically it would probably be meant to compete with the Toyota Prius.

Honda president Takeo Fukui has revealed in a speech that the international hybrid would be reminiscent of the FCX Clarity fuel-cell model the company plans to lease to a few consumers starting this fall. The FCX Clarity is a family sedan about the size of the 2007 Honda Accord (a little smaller than the redesigned 2008 model). But the international hybrid will be a five-passenger car (rather than four in the FCX Clarity) and have a hatchback in place of the FCX’s trunk. It will not have the latest lithium-ion batteries, because Fukui says the company still considers them too expensive and risky for cars. He says Honda plans to build 200,000 of the cars worldwide, with 100,000 destined for America. Last year Toyota sold 181,000 Prius hybrids in the United States alone.

Honda also says it plans to build a hybrid-powered Fit by 2015, according to a report in Automotive News.

The company also announced the number of FCX Clarity fuel-cell cars that it will build. There will be 200, mostly for lease to consumers in Southern California. (Last fall, General Motors began loaning a fleet of its fuel-cell powered Chevrolet Equinoxes to consumers in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and New York metropolitan areas.)

—Eric Evarts