CEO Duke Hale said the company plans to have agreements signed in 250 markets before its sales launch. Eventually, it expects to have about 325 locations.

Angela Zepeda, senior vice president and managing director at Innocean, the automaker's agency of record, replaces Dean Evans and will be responsible for all of Hyundai's marketing and advertising activities in the U.S.

The marketing whiz behind Hyundai's sometimes cheeky and sometimes moving Super Bowl ads is leaving with many laurels to rest on. But that's not how he operates.

Evans, responsible for a series of aggressive initiatives, will pursue a new business opportunity, the company said Friday. COO Brian Smith will fill in on an interim basis.

Hyundai's Grappler concept takes the whimsical design to extremes for the Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas next month, and is a showcase for aftermarket accessories.

The automaker released a fairly revealing teaser photo for the next generation of the subcompact it will present at the Tokyo Motor Show this month. But Honda is also making it fairly obvious that the hatch won't be coming to the U.S. for the time being.

While the succession to a fourth generation of Smith auto retailers has mostly gone well, it has taken a lot of planning to keep the business in family hands through wars, recessions and several brand changes.

Hyundai and Kia followed the market downward in September, but incentive spending was down and transaction prices were up. The Genesis luxury brand continued to deliver sharply higher sales.

The appointment of Robert Grafton comes five months after Hyundai named former Nissan executive Jose Munoz as global COO and North American CEO.

The 14 percent drop followed an all-time sales record the previous month, which soaked up significant consumer demand.

The new marketing push comes as Acura is preparing to roll out redesigned cars and crossovers with edgier styling and better performance.

Capistrano Volkswagen and Capistrano Mazda stand out thanks to the core promises of the Smileage Guaranteed program.

Caught in the middle are automakers, which already face softening U.S. sales, U.S.-China trade tensions and pressure to invest billions in future-oriented technologies.

The company will introduce the electrified version of the popular crossover into U.S. production at its plant in Greensburg, Ind.

With multiple body styles and trims, the family of compacts continues to be the star of the show over at Honda in a truck-obsessed market.