The death of 2005 IndyCar Champ and two-time Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon at the Las Vegas Indy 300 prompted an outpouring of sorrow throughout the racing world, and sparked debate over whether small ovals like Las Vegas, originally built to host NASCAR events, are safe for open-wheel, open-cockpit cars racing three wide at more than 220 mph.

BMW’s new 3 Series debuts this month. It’s lighter and longer than its predecessors, and is powered by the first four-cylinder BMW in years, with a claimed 240 horsepower and 260 lb.-ft. or torque.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) named the 2012 Fiat 500 a Top Safety Pick for good performance in front, side, rollover, and rear impact evaluations, and for having electronic stability control as standard equipment. The only other minicar to earn the Top Safety Pick award was the Ford Fiesta.

About 11,000 people are killed each year by drunk drivers, and the majority of those drunks are men, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Men were responsible (or irresponsible, depending on how you look at it) for 81 percent of drunk driving incidents in 2010.

Cash-strapped Swedish automaker Saab has been bailed out by racing car enthusiast Alex Mascioli, whose North Street Capital LP put up a $10 million equity investment and a $60 million loan to find Saab’s reorganization.

Kelley Blue Book says Hyundai held onto its No. 1 brand-loyalty ranking for the second consecutive quarter in 2011. Hyundai scored 48 percent, with Toyota right behind (47.9) and Subaru in third (45.9). For the first time since KBB began tracking brand loyalty, Honda is out of the top five, in sixth place with 44.2 percent.

And finally, this will either cheer you up or make you furious. This video purports to show an illegal street racer (whatever that is) being crushed in California. Or maybe it’s a prototype of a new drive-in low-rider conversion service. Your choice.

We recently tested the Hyundai Tucson and came away quite impressed with its sharp design, overall value and high quality. So we couldn’t wait to test the all-new 2011 Hyundai Elantra, designed to fight it out in one of the toughest, most competitive segments in the market—the compact sedan.

You’ve got heavy hitters like the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, and Mazda 3 all vying for your eye and your dollar, along with new and stylish competition in the Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze. We wondered how one of Hyundai’s newest products would fare.

Quite nicely, we determined. In fact, we may have to give the nod to the Hyundai Elantra as tops in its class—with a few caveats.

One thing that needs no explanation is the styling. The 2011 Hyundai Elantra is downright gorgeous. Contemporary and curvy, some of the lines seem borrowed from its stunning sibling Sonata (say that fast three times!), but the aggressive front and rear give it a look uniquely its own. Our tester, an Elantra Limited model finished in a deep glossy black, and crouched over handsome 17-inch wheels looked like a million bucks.

The driving experience continues the bucks-up feeling. All Hyundai Elantra models are powered by a 1.8-liter 4-cylinder that put out a smooth 148 horsepower. It’s no speed demon, but if you don’t mind using the manual mode on the automatic, you scoot around just fine. Most impressive, even the models with the 6-speed automatic are rated at 40-mpg highway—pretty much the magic number in fuel efficiency these days.

Another nice surprise was the Elantra’s ride. Unlike the stiff-legged ride we’ve experienced on most other Hyundai and Kias, the Elantra was noticeably soft and smooth. Combined with low interior noise on the road and you’ve got a comfy cruiser for any trip.

The Hyundai Elantra interior is a nice place to spend time, with handsome, modern gauges, a swoopy center console with easy to decipher climate controls, and super driver-friendly navigation system. Quality of materials is quite good, and the standard leather on the Limited model was quite luxurious—even if the seat cushions were a tad soft to our liking. More...

Unless you’ve been under the proverbial rock, you probably know that Hyundai and its sibling Kia are on a roll. What were once last-chance options for new car buyers have become top-drawer competitors in just about every segment they enter.

The Hyundai Tucson is a perfect example. Designed to compete against the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and similar small SUVs of the world, this little crossover offers a winning combo of features and value with an extra dash of style.

Designed in Hyundai’s Frankfurt design studio, the 2012 Tucson has a definite European flair. It’s a sleek, curvaceous design that makes the current RAV4 and CR-V look blocky by comparison. (By the way, early photos of the next generation CR-V, due soon, look much more aggressive as well). Our tester was the top-of-the-line Limited model, which includes unique 18-inch alloy wheels and fog lights—a perfect partner to the rich Garnet Red exterior.

The drive is equally sporty. While the base Hyundai Tucson GL model features a 2.0L four-cylinder, upscale GLS and Limited models get a more powerful 2.4L with 176 hp, and it’s commendably smooth and responsive—a real step up from Kia’s engines of just a few years ago. The 6-speed automatic has a manual mode that really wakes up the performance (and yes, probably eats more fuel), and we used it most of the time.

The 2012 Hyundai Tucson features the same firm ride we’ve noticed in all Hyundais and Kias: It’s never harsh, but if you want pillow-soft, we’d look elsewhere. The tradeoff for the firm ride is excellent handling with good response and lots of grip. More...

Some surveys produce surprises. Others merely affirm the obvious. For many years, marketers have known that certain automotive brands and models appeal to young shoppers, while others are the province of “mature” folks.

Now and then, a new vehicle with a youthful image–such as the Nissan cube or Scion xB–winds up tempting plenty of older buyers, distorting the conventional wisdom by a bit. On the whole, though, middle-aged and older people steer clear of the cars perceived as youthful. Younger new car buyers, in contrast, aren’t likely to sign up for models that are known to attract a mature audience, such as Buicks, Chryslers, and Volvos.

Demographics have gained strength, judging by the results of a recent study of “Generation Y” shoppers (age 18 to 27) by TrueCar.com. Numerically massive, this study reviewed the purchase behavior of more than 4 million car buyers, in 2009-10.

Top 10 "Youth" Brands

With a 21.2-percent score, Scion was the brand most preferred by Gen Y customers, followed by Mitsubishi at 20.3 percent. Mazda ranked third by quite a distance, getting 10.7 percent. Next in line were Nissan, Volkswagen, Kia, and Hyundai. Honda, Toyota, and Subaru filled the 8th to 10th spots.

Top 10 "Youth" Models

In order, the top 10 models for Gen Y buyers included the:

When making their purchase, Gen Y buyers got the biggest discount off Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) from a Ford dealer, when buying the Focus coupe. Scion tC customers paid almost precisely the MSRP figure, and xD buyers obtained only a slight discount. Honda Civic Si buyers also paid a sum not far removed from MSRP. More...

Four times a year, Experian Automotive presents a report on the state of the auto industry. Among other issues, the report reveals which makes and models are doing well, and which have been fading.

Looking back at the first quarter of 2011, compared to that same time frame in 2010, Jeffrey Anderson, Experian’s director of consulting & analytics, placed Hyundai at the top. Between those two quarters, Hyundai showed the biggest gain in market share of any make, growing from 7.7 percent of the total in 2010 to 8.7 percent in 2011.

Nissan ran second, rising from an 8.1 percent share in the first quarter of 2010 to 8.7 percent a year later. General Motors exhibited a comparable gain, but Toyota, Chrysler, and Ford declined a bit. Specifically, GM had a market share of 19.1 percent, with Ford second at 16 percent, and Toyota scoring in third place with 14.3 percent. Honda came next at 10.5 percent, ahead of Chrysler at 9.4 percent.

New-vehicle registrations in the first quarter of 2011 were up 15 percent over the same period in 2010. Hyundai scored the highest gain, at 30.5 percent. Nissan ran second with a gain of 22.8 percent, and Chrysler rose by 14.3 percent. Honda also fared well, with a 13.6 percent increase. More...

For starters, we think this 2011 Hyundai Elantra looks terrific wearing—like its size-larger Sonata stablemate—the Korean maker’s new “Fluidic Sculpture” sheetmetal. Its hexagonal grille, swept-back headlamps, strong body-side character lines, muscular wheel arches and wraparound taillamps give impressive presence, while its low, sweeping roofline contributes to a (highway) fuel-saving low drag coefficient of 0.28. Available front fog lights, side repeater mirrors and 15-, 16- or 17-inch alloy wheels complete its distinctive look.

Riding on a 106.3-in. wheelbase, two in. longer than the outgoing Elantra’s, it’s 0.9 inches longer and 1.8 inches lower than before without sacrificing headroom—except in back, where the sloping roofline can cramps taller occupants. Still, Hyundai says its 110.4 cu.-ft. cabin gives EPA-rated midsize room surpassing that of the new Chevrolet Cruze and Ford Focus as well as the somewhat smaller Toyota Corolla, Nissan Sentra and (previous-generation) Honda Civic. Its long front seat tracks also offer great front seat legroom, and its 14.8-cu.-ft trunk beats Civic’s and Corolla’s.

The 2011 Hyundai Elantra is powered by an all-new 148-hp aluminum 1.8-liter four, which replaces the previous 2.0-liter, with electronic throttle control, Dual (both intake and exhaust) Continuously Variable Valve Timing (D-CVVT) and a two-stage (long and short) Variable Induction System (VIS). Even without the benefits of direct fuel injection, it delivers 29 mpg EPA city and 40 highway—the latter number up 18 percent from the previous rating—with either the base six-speed manual or available six-speed Shiftronic automatic.

Its interior reflects Korean automakers’ newfound attention to detail in materials, craftsmanship and ergonomics (ease of use). A tilt/telescoping steering wheel is standard, front and rear (a segment first) heated seats are available, and storage capacity is easy and ample. Also standard is a 60/40 split rear seat.

We found the 2011 Hyundai Elantra a strong compact competitor in just about every way. Styling is subjective, but we like its distinctive, sporty appearance inside and out. On the road, it’s far from fast (a bit under nine seconds 0-60), but seems fairly peppy despite its impressive EPA fuel-economy ratings.

Its ride/handling balance compares well to Honda’s new Civic, but it’s not as sporty-agile as Ford’s new Focus or as quiet-refined as Chevy’s Cruze. Its energy-efficient electric power steering lacks the feel of a good hydraulic unit, but it aims the car where you want it to go with little effort, adequate feedback and fair precision.

If a fuel-efficient, yet family-capable, compact sedan is what you need, this all-new 2011 Hyundai Elantra—starting at about $16K—deserves a good look along with its better-known domestic, Japanese and European (Volkswagen Jetta) competitors.

Visit our Hyundai Research Center for more details on standard features and options, pricing, and photos.