Hyundai's Labor Issues Return as Kona Production Stops Prior to U.S. Launch

Hyundai Motor Company has, once again, found itself at the mercy of an unhappy workforce. No stranger to labor disputes, the company hinted that it might scale back its at-home labor in South Korea — presumably aware that the possible response would be negative, which it was. But the timing couldn’t be worse.

The Kona crossover is believed to be the model that will turn things around for Hyundai in the United States, but a new labor strike has put the export vehicle’s production on hold only a week after it started.

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Volkswagen to Slash Office Jobs by Next Year, Says Report

Like ripples in a pool of sulphur-rich oil, the impact from Volkswagen’s diesel emissions scandal keeps spreading.

In a cost-cutting measure designed to mitigate the growing financial damage caused by the scandal, Volkswagen is planning to cut 3,000 administration jobs in Germany, according to Reuters.

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Ford, Fiat Factories In Turkey Resume Production After Week-Long Shutdown

Over a week after wage disputes shut down production, Fiat and Ford report operations are back to normal at their plants in Turkey.

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UAW, IndustriALL Seek Mediation Over Mississippi Nissan Plant

The battle for Chattanooga may have come to a close for the time being, but the United Auto Workers is seeking mediation from the U.S. State Department in their fight for the Nissan plant in Canton, Miss., with Geneva, Switzerland-based IndustriALL Global Union at their side.

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  • MaintenanceCosts Good stuff. I miss my LS, although it was not as bulletproof as your GS has been, having experienced suspension issues and a premature water pump leak. Lexus knows how to do a comfy sedan.
  • Dartman Nice write up. Well maintained garaged cars easily last 15+ years (
  • Redapple2 The VW saga is well remembered. Ug. RE your Lexus, with such a long refuel interval I d burn only E 0. Some of your E 10 in the tank may be from 6 mo ago.
  • 28-Cars-Later The CD player is glorious. Edit: Also really nice job on the initial shot. I'm not sure if you had any training in photography but it looks professional.
  • Carson D I was thinking that this is such a nice car, and it is a bit of a shame that you use it so little. Then I remembered that I still have a car that I purchased new in 2007 which now has 78,000 miles and is sitting in a parking space I moved it to so my parents could park in its space when they visited about a month ago. That your 2019 Golf Sportwagen had headliner and water intrusion issues is a stark reminder that people who still buy VWs are like those people who still vote for bail reform politicians after they've been assaulted by someone who'd already been arrested for violent acts half a dozen times in two months. I knew two people who bought new Jetta Sportwagens who suffered spooling mesh headliners that became jammed, unfurled and frayed combined with leaking two-plane sunroofs...in 2009! They were also involved in a class action lawsuit about 'mandatory optional' equipment that they paid for that the cars weren't actually equipped with. I think it was Bluetooth links.