By Frank S. Washington

SUPERIOR TOWNSHIP, MI ? I came here to test drive the new version of Hyundai?s bread and butter car, the 2011 Sonata sedan. The Korean automaker sells more Sonatas than any other model.

I found a couple of things of note about the new Sonata which has been on sale for several months. First, there has been an increase in horsepower. The 2011 Sonata?s 2.4-liter four cylinder engine generates 198 horsepower (it notches up to 200 horsepower for the SE dual exhaust model) and 184 pound-feet of torque.

There was also a fuel saving six-speed automatic transmission and a six-speed manual gear box. The automatic is rated at 22 mpg/city and 35 mpg/HWY while the manual get 24 mpg/city and 35 mpg/HWY.

I didn?t get a chance to drive the manual transmission. But I found the 2011 Sonata with the automatic to be smooth and pretty quiet. However, I do think that Hyundai?s engineers should work on bringing the RPM range for torque maximum lower.

Once, I needed to really accelerate and the Sonata could have been a little quicker. Still, I did get where I needed to go without a mishap. That?s my powertrain peeve.

Anyway, rather than produce a V6, Hyundai will produce a 2.0-liter turbocharged four cylinder engine that will join the lineup later this summer. That represents a continuation of the automaker?s effort to have the most fuel efficient lineup in this market.

Although the 2011 Sonata is rated as a midsize sedan based on its exterior dimensions, the interior was very spacious. My driving partner pointed out that width creates comfort in passenger cabins, not length.

We managed to get in all three models with an automatic transmission and really didn?t find anything to gripe about. We found ourselves in cars with two-tone interiors ? one we liked, one we didn?t and the third one we were sort of so-so about.

The point is that tastes are subjective and Hyundai provides a decent number of colors to choose from: there are 10 exterior colors and four interior color schemes. There was something else I noted about the 2011 Hyundai Sonata. It is pursuing a trend that was talked about a while ago when gasoline prices were on the rise.

What?s happening is the advent in the U. S. of small well equipped cars like in Europe. In the case of the Hyundai Sonata, it can be equipped with satellite radio, Bluetooth and Bluetooth streaming audio, a sunroof, push button start/stop, a navigation system, rearview camera, IPod and USB jacks, CD/MP3 players, a seat warmers and of course a premium audio system.

Some of this equipment is standard and some of it is optional. No matter, this is the sort of equipment that was unheard of in a vehicle that cost less than $30,000 a few years ago. And in the case of the 2011 Sonata, it can be had for a lot less. There are three models: the SE, the GLS and the Limited.

Base prices start at $19,915 for a GLS with a manual transmission and base prices top out at $28,115 for a Limited model with a navigation package.

The 2011 Sonata looked like it had been sculpted from a solid piece of metal, it had the silhouette of a coupe and the interior layout focused on the center stack that was prominent but did not dominate the interior of the car.

The raked roofline prompted me to get in the back seat to check out headroom. It was snug but at least I could sit up straight and my head did not brush up against the headliner. There was also a fair amount of hip and leg room.

(AP) — Hyundai will allow customers who bought a car to return it if they suddenly lose income.

In a bid to woo skittish consumers, the South Korea-based automaker will cover the depreciation on a returned leased or financed vehicle for those who find themselves unable to make car payments.

The “Hyundai Assurance Program” only applies to customers stricken by misfortune outside of their control, such as losing their employment, becoming disabled or losing their drivers license for medical reasons.

Customers also must have made at least two payments on the car already. In addition, Hyundai will only refund the depreciation on the returned car up to $7,500 and the program is complementary for the first 12 months of leasing or financing.

Hyundai, which launched the program on Friday, said the program is aimed at consumers too nervous to spring for a new car in the difficult economy. The slump in consumer confidence was one of the biggest factors behind the collapse in new vehicle sales in 2008.

In the Motor City, which is arguably Los Angeles, they’re holding an Auto Show. And the word as well as the color is green. That translates into good for the environment and easy on the wallet at the gas pump.

Hyundai has been making headway in this market will joined the fuel efficiency fray as well as hybrid fight.

They sent me highlights of that they showed last week. Oh, they call their gas sipping technology Blue Drive:

Blue Drive At-a-Glance

• Hyundai plans to lead all automotive brands in the U.S. in fuel economy by achieving a fleet average of 35 miles per gallon by 2015.
• Hyundai will begin building a gas-electric full hybrid edition of the next-generation Sonata for the North American market in 2010. This Sonata will use a parallel hybrid drive system and lithium polymer battery technology – leapfrogging competitive in-market nickel-metal hydride and planned lithium-ion applications.
• Near-term, high mileage “Blue” editions of Accent and Elantra will join the Hyundai Blue Drive family in 2009.
• An all-new crossover, shown in concept form with a 2.0-liter Theta turbocharged GDI four-cylinder engine, is green lighted for the U.S. market.
• Long-term, the Hyundai Blue Drive family will be expanded to include Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV).

Frank S. Washington