An indicator that underscores the level of importance that
Hyundai ascribes to the all-new, sixth-generation Elantra, a
compact car, is found in the adhesives used. That's right: one
of the bonding methods that is being used in the production
of the car in two plants, one in Montgomery, Alabama, and the
other in Ulsan, South Korea, probably says more about the car
than any number of other things.
Sure, one could point to all of the sophisticated technology
that is available in the car, ranging from adaptive cruise
control to automatic emergency braking with pedestrian
detection, and say that's indicative. And that tech deployment
is certainly notable because, again, this is a compact car, and
compact cars, with few exceptions, tend to be overshadowed
2017
Hyundai
Elantra:
All This
and More
Compact cars were once
considered to be stepping
stones to at least a midsize
model. That may no longer
be the case and buyers
both young and old are
looking for style, content
and capability in smaller
packages (assuming they're
not going for a crossover).
The all-new 2017 Hyundai
Elantra is built to compete—
and we do mean built.
BY GARY S. VASILASH, Editor-In-Chief
in importance by midsize and full-sized cars, and so while the
larger cars get the tech, the smaller models get less in the way
of any amenities of note (although it seems, points out Dave
Zuchowski, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America, that
larger cars are giving way to crossover utility vehicles, both
large and small, so their importance is being diminished).
Still, it goes to the Dow Betamate structural adhesives from
Dow Automotive ( dowautomotive.com ) to get a powerful,
telegraphed sense of what they've accomplished in engineering
this car that has a starting price of $17,150.
In the ffth generation, there are 9.8 feet of structural adhe-
sives deployed. For the 2017 model there are 393.7 feet. You're
not thrifting a car when you are adding that much additional
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