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Hyundai hires actor Paul Rudd as pitchman [w/video]

The Dude abides, but his deep voice is going to be coming from your TV a little less. After seven years of his earthiness, laid back actor Jeff Bridges is no longer the voice of Hyundai in the brand's advertising. He has been replaced by comedian Paul Rudd who is already narrating the new commercial for the 2015 Hyundai Sonata.
"We were looking for a voice that could be recognizable and relatable to a new generation of car buyers," said Steve Shannon, vice president of Marketing, Hyundai Motor America, in the company's announcement of the deal. "Rudd can be serious, humorous, informative and entertaining all at the same time."
According to Hyundai spokesperson Derek Joyce speaking to Autoblog, the deal with Rudd goes for the next three years. "He's our tier one voice, and that's going to affect tone" in the company's ads," Joyce said. The first spot with Rudd is titled Co-Pilot, and it stars a backseat driver losing out to the Sonata's navigation system and safety features at every turn. Rudd isn't physically in the commercial but does the ending voiceover. The company wouldn't say when the next ad with the new pitchman might debut.

2015 Hyundai Sonata found uncovered in Korea

Hyundai is locked and loaded to debut its redesigned, 2015 Sonata at the New York Auto Show next month. For one enterprising Korean photographer, however, the reveal just couldn't come soon enough.
A South Korean website called Bobaedream.co.kr unceremoniously published some images of what would appear to be a completely undisguised example of the new Sonata. Korean Car Blog quickly followed up on the leak, claiming that the car in question was fitted with Hyundai's 2.0-liter turbocharged GDI engine, making 274 horsepower, and connected to an all-new, seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
Whether that information came from a reliable insider source (as the photos would suggest) or was just a best guess, we can't say. But we can see what direction Hyundai is headed in with the Sonata. The front end seen in the spy shots is more or less what we'd already seen in the last teaser picture, with a new headlamp design helping to set off a prominent grille. The grille does seem to have some element of the strong, graphical surround from the teaser, too, though it's not as defined in these low-resolution pictures. Sheetmetal on the hood and bodysides seems cleaner, straighter and less fussy than in the current car, too. As for whether or not this is the Korean-spec car or the one destined for the US market, that's unclear, though we have been told that the two cars do look very similar.

2013 Hyundai Santa Fe probed by NHTSA over axle failure

According to Reuters, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched a preliminary evaluation of the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe after receiving two complaints of broken front axles on vehicles with fewer than 5,000 miles on their odometers. Naturally, a broken axle could result in the loss of control of the vehicle, especially if it occurs at high speed. It's not immediately clear if the investigation centers on the five-seat Sport, the seven-seat model or both.
No actual recall has yet been issued, and "no safety defect has been identified," according to a statement Hyundai released to Reuters, which added, "Hyundai will, of course, take any actions necessary to ensure the safety of our customers if the information gathered during the investigation indicates that action is appropriate."
We suppose you could sum up the report this way: 2013 Santa Fe owners, stay tuned.