2014 Hyundai Elantra Limited on 2040-cars

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Joyrider nearly collides with kids, chased down by cops

A 14-year-old joyrider was able to outrun police in Utah but couldn't make it around a protective parent in a pickup truck. According to KSTU Fox 13 News in Utah, the thieving youngster's grandfather reported the white Hyundai Veloster missing, and police were already searching for it. As it turns out, his grandson had taken it and was driving like a crazy person. He even sped through a park where children were playing and into a neighborhood (video below).
Eventually, one of the parents at the park had enough. When the Hyundai appeared to be coming back to the park, he hopped into his pickup to stop the out of control teen and put himself in harm's way. After the violent way he was stopped by an oncoming truck, the kid might think twice about stealing any more cars. Bystanders got most of the incident on cell phone videos, including the crash, and you can scroll down to watch them and the news report for a little more backstory.

Hyundai Motorsport tests its performance at the WRC Rally Finland

Autoblog joined Hyundai to check out the Neste Oil Rally Finland, where thousands of kilometers of lightly traveled, rolling gravel roads have turned out decades of astonishing racing and cold-blooded drivers. Even though the World Rally Championship is well tamed from its feral Group B days, Rally Finland is still the drivers' favorite, with the fastest speeds and the biggest jumps.
It's the rookie year for the Hyundai Shell World Rally Team, run by Hyundai Motorsport out of Alzenau, Germany. The squad entered the season aiming for podiums in the second half and looking to get its three cars to the finish at every race for maximum development data. It's already outdone itself, Thierry Neuville scoring third places in Mexico - where he used a bottle of Corona to fill his radiator - and Poland.
Denis Giraudet told us that the rally's sternest challenge is not one of heart, though. Giraudet isn't part of Hyundai Motorsport, he was our guide and he's been in the sport as a co-driver for more than 30 years; he won Rally Finland with Juha Kankunnen in 1993 in a Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD. Giraudet said the race tests that particular confidence that comes from about 18 inches below the heart: "Here, you have to go all out. If there's a problem, it's usually between the steering wheel and the seat."

Hyundai's zombie obsession is just good business

In case you somehow missed it, Hyundai has enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with The Walking Dead, the critically acclaimed zombie apocalypse show that entertains the masses while they're waiting for the next season of Game of Thrones. Fans of the show will recognize Rick, Michonne, Carol, Maggie and Glenn's mint green Hyundai Tucson, a staple vehicle for the crew of survivors, but the relationship between manufacturer and show goes far beyond that. There's a whole line of Zombie Survival Machines, as well as a special-edition production model (shown above). Heck, even Hyundai's post-LA Auto Show party featured actors staggering about as startlingly realistic walkers (TWD's name for zombies).
So what is it about the dead that quickens the pulse of Hyundai's marketing department? Ward's Auto has a great interview with Steve Shannon, the brand's US vice president of marketing. In it, Shannon describes the sudden nature of the tie-in between the show and the automaker, while describing how the company's corporate overlords in South Korea saw the results of the deal. It's an interesting insight into automotive product placement, as well as Hyundai's marketing philosophy and plans for the future (spoiler alert: the Tucson, which has had a role in the show for several seasons, was seemingly abandoned at the end of season four).
Head over to Ward's and have a look.