Hyundai Set to Become Sixth Biggest Automaker in the U.S. In 2011

In the realm of U.S. automotive sales, 8% is a magic number. When an automaker hits 8%, they know they’ve become one of the big guns. Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda, Dodge and Nissan have all made it, and 2011 is expected to be Hyundai’s year.

So sayeth market research firm Polk, and I’m tempted to agree. Hyundai and its partner-brand / internal rival Kia have steadily been evolving into truly world-class carmakers. They’re keenly priced, inoffensive to look at and comprehensively covered quality-wise – everything the vast majority of new car buyers want in this day and age.

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2011 NYIAS: Hyundai Pulls the Wraps off U.S. Market 2012 Accent

With fuel prices on the rise again, efficient sub-compact models like the Accent are coming back to the spotlight. At the 2011 New York Auto Show, the South Korean automaker pulled the wraps off its latest iteration of the Accent in U.S.-spec. Slated to hit dealerships this summer, the 2012 Accent is offered in both five-door hatchback and four-door saloon body styles and promises to deliver a best-in class fuel economy of 30mpg city and 40 mpg highway.

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2012 Hyundai Accent: #Pointless Sneak Peek of N.A-Spec Hatch on @Twitter

Unless Hyundai’s sneak peek has something to do with the interior décor of the 2012 Accent shown at the annual Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival, there’s really not much to say about the South Korean firm’s cropped photo-posting on Twitter.

True, Hyundai will premiere its new sub-compact for the first time in the USA at the upcoming New York International Auto Show, but it won’t be a first per se as we’ve seen the new car in Beijing, in Moscow with a different name and face and more recently, at the 2011 Montreal Auto Show in January (see the video after the break).

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Hyundai’s Futuristic Viral Ad Campaign for the New Accent [with Video]

In a very interesting melding of the virtual and real world, Hyundai has crafted a new viral ad to showcase its 2012 Accent sub-compact and highlight the brand’s new slogan “New Thinking. New Possibilities.". What makes this futuristic video intriguing is that the viral includes an actual 2012 Hyundai Accent suspended on a wall with a driver walking down the side to get into the car. At the same time, we see a film being projected on the wall creating an eye-catching combo.

See both the shorter and full version of Hyundai’s new viral of the 2012 Accent right after the jump.

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Hyundai Begins Producing Cars at its New Russian Plant

Hyundai is continuing its ambitious plan to further increase global sales with the start of production at its first factory in Russia located at Saint Petersburg. The company’s sixth newest overseas assembly plant will make the Solaris, a subcompact sedan we will come to know as the new Accent.

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VIDEO: 2011 Hyundai Accent / Verna Small Sedan

This here is the first video of Hyundai's all-new 2011 Accent sedan that made its world premiere at the Beijing Auto Show as the Verna. Sporting a new design that draws directly from the latest Sonata, the Accent / Verna also gets a new platform and a choice of 1.4-liter and 1.6-liter engines with either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission.

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New Hyundai Accent (Verna): Mini-Me Sonata Debuts at Beijing Motor Show

Hyundai staged the world-premiere of its all-new Verna small sedan, otherwise known as the Accent, at the 2010 Beijing Auto Show today. Not surprisingly, the new Accent looks like a 2011 Sonata that was left too long in the dryer, boasting the same "Fluidic Sculpture" design language in a much smaller package.

The 2011 Accent measures 4,340mm in length, 1,700mm in width, 1,460mm in height, and has a relatively long wheelbase of 2,570mm.Hyundai claims that the small sedan's overall cabin dimensions are bigger than any rivals and that it comes with a 454lt trunk that can "easily accommodate as many as four golf bags plus three small tote bags."

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2011 Hyundai Accent or Elantra Spied Completely Undisguised

Here we go again: as was the case with the spy photos we showed you back in February, this single picture of a small Hyundai sedan snagged without any camouflage somewhere in South Korea has us wondering if it's the next generation Accent (marketed as the Verna in Korea) or the Elantra.

Either way, the compact-size four-door saloon looks like a mini-Sonata sharing the same "Fluidic Sculpture" design with its larger brethren. Apparently, Hyundai has learned its German lessons well - and by that we mean the "one design fits all size mantra".

As always, you can have your say in the comments section below.

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SPY SHOTS: Is this the 2011 Hyundai Elantra or the New Accent Sedan?

Most of the times we receive spy photos from our partners, we don't have any questions or doubts about the type and make of the vehicles that we're dealing with. But once in a while, some scoops baffle us.

These spy shots were labeled as the next generation 2011 Hyundai Elantra. And while we have no doubt that it's a Hyundai, we are not at all convinced that what we're looking at here is the new Elantra. In fact, we believe that there's a possibility it may be the saloon version of the next generation Accent.

Evidently, you're wondering what made us consider the new Accent.

Well, compared to other spy shots of the Elantra here in the U.S., this camouflaged prototype that was spied in Germany appears to be more compact in dimensions and it features a less swooping roofline. Furthermore, the shape of the window frame at the rear door is also different.

A third option is that this may be the Euro-spec Elantra, but for the time being, we're leaning towards the Accent.

You can compare these photos with spy shots of the Elantra from other sites by clicking the links below, and tell us what you think.

Accent or Elantra, one thing is for sure: the styling of the prototype model is clearly inspired by the larger Sonata, and that should be something from a design standpoint.

2011 Hyundai Elantra Scoop Links: Autoblog, Worldcarfans, Edmunds