Elantra Redesign Imminent

What goes on inside the mind and heart of the car enthusiast when he hears that they are going to redesign the car he is so proud to own? What did the 2004 Civic owner feel when he saw how cool the 2006 was going to be? Did his heart skip a beat? Did his teeth grit just a little? Did he feel his car was suddenly less desirable? Or does he badmouth the new design as not being as good as the one he owns.

It looks like it is time for 2007 and 2008 Elantra owners to face that situation earlier than we thought.

Though there has been no announcement when there will be a new Elantra sedan in North America, a face-lifted Elantra debuted at the Beijing Car Show last month. This is a substantially different car than the one sold in other parts of the world. The made-in-China-for-China Elantra has luxury touches like leather trim even on the doors, auto climate controls, wood trim shift knob and USB. So it is a little more upscale.

However there is no reason not to believe that when the time comes to refresh the Elantra for the rest of the market, that they won't borrow this design in whole or in part.

Major changes:
1. Larger more expressive headlamps that vaguely resemble those on the Genesis Coupe.
2. New grill which will remind some of early '00's Acuras. A little less hard edged though.
3. Redesigned lower air intake and fog lights.
4. New tail lights to match the new headlamps
5. Chrome door handles and side molding

The changes introduce more straight lines and concave curves that break up that "too round" look that certain people complained about. It has a racier face than the current model. Overall I like the meaner, cooler look. The side molding I think clashes with the wavy character line . And I don't like the tailights that much (the white eyeball reverse light makes it look like a Corolla again-- albeit an angry Corolla). The chrome stripe in back is extraneous. But it is definitely cooler.

I would guess 2010 is when Hyundai may choose to launch a refreshed version of my beloved Elantra. And then officially I will be driving a "late model" car and not a "current model".

CD Player Acting Stubborn

Odometer: 5566
MPG: 25.4

This morning when I tried inserting a CD, the slot would not take it. It was kind of tight like something was clamping down the CD. Tried jiggling, turning the stereo on and off, inserting it gently but with firm pressure. It would not take the disc.

When I came back from driving a few hours later, I decided to try it again. This time it took the CD fine. Though I did hear some weird skipping sound when the CD played. It is faint. I had to turn the volume down all the way to hear it. It is not disruptive, but it might indicate the CD player is not operating perfectly.

If it does this again, I will definitely bring the car in. This is the second time it did this.


Found this Elantra commercial with similar execution to the cute spots that introduced the Toyota Yaris in the USA. I don't really see anything useful communicated about the vehicle though. It's just cute.