2011 Hyundai Elantra is Top Safety Pick

Findings released this week from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that, across the board, small, fuel-efficient cars are getting safer.

Six of 13 small cars the industry group tested won the Top Safety Pick award, and none earned a "poor" rating in any of four tests.

The top picks included the 2011 Hyundai Elantra

This year's findings are a marked turnaround from just a few years ago when similar tests from the Virginia industry-funded group delivered frightening displays of crash test dummies slamming into windshields, and air bags deploying too late.

In 2006, only three small cars earned the Top Pick designation - the Honda Civic, Saab 9-2X and Subaru Impreza.

David Zuby, the institute's chief research officer, points to the Hyundai Elantra as a specific example of how far vehicle design in smaller cars has In 2001, the Hyundai Elantra was at the bottom of the list when it came to frontal-crash protection. Five years later, by 2006, the car was still performing poorly, earning the lowest score in the side crash test, even with side air bags added.

Fast forward to this year when the newly released 2011 Elantra came out on top in every one of the institute's tests.

"We hope that this makes a difference to people who are shopping in the market for smaller cars," Zuby said.

By ANNA WILD, KIMBERLY BERRYMAN and KATIE KINDELAN

Meet Airyn Simpson Our eBay Sales Expert

We are having a lot of fun on eBay right now and you guys should join us over there if you are looking to sell or buy a used car.

Here is the link to our page: Just click here.

Sometimes things just work out... like when we decide to commit to a new cool way to do business (eBay) and then discover the perfect person to do it really well.

Airyn Simpson has gone from Sales Assistant to Resident eBay expert in a matter of days for one reason only: She will do whatever it takes to match a person with the car they are seeking.

Want a story? Here's one from yesterday...

She was asked about a particular part located on the underside of a vehicle we had on eBay. The buyer was curious about its condition. So Airyn told him to wait a few minutes and she would call him back.

So she goes outside, finds the car, CLIMBS UNDERNEATH THE VEHICLE, and snaps a photo of the particular part.

She took the picture on her phone so she could then send it directly to the customer.

How cool is that?

ALOT of companies say they will do whatever it takes to service a customer but very few are really willing to literally get down and dirty to do it. And that is because it takes special folks like Airyn to make that happen.

Thanks Airyn for all you do for our customers and for being such a special member of The OC Auto Team!

Fun Hyundai Ad

Hyundai - Angry Bosses - (2009) :30 (USA)

The Four OC Auto Team Promises

So why would you want to work at a car dealer anyway?

Isn't it a lot of pressure and not a lot of fun?

Well, we don't see it that way and a lot of companies say this, but we really mean it:

We're a team at The OC Auto Team.

OK, easy to say... but what does that mean?

It means we believe in coming together to do GREAT things.

Not easy things, not simple things, not even good things...GREAT things.

Because nobody can do anything great alone.

So we strive to achieve great things by making four promises to our customers and teammates.

1. Provide every customer with ENGAGED TEAM MEMBERS. Team members that will listen to you, communicate honestly and treat you with respect. We expect our teammates to do the same for each other.

2. Create a loyalty experience for the customer. Make the visiting experience a memorable one, one that makes you feel good..so good that you will want to share it with others. We will work hard to earn the customer's loyalty and we will create a workplace that builds loyalty among the members of our team. We know it's a two-way street. That your loyalty depends on ours.

3. Support our neighbors with community service. To serve our community is an honor and we are duty bound to assist wherever and whenever we can. We will be Servant Leaders to our teammates and never ask a team member to do something we wouldn't do.

4. Always think of the Big Picture. We don't just want to serve you or our teammates for one day or one moment. We want you to be a part of something ongoing, something special because of its consistency, principles and values. And it starts with the feeling of being privileged to serve and believing that we can meet and exceed the needs, wants and desires of all our customers and teammates.

That's it. That's the plan. If you'd like to be a part of it...let us know!

If Fortune Says We're Hot I Guess We Are

You can't do much better than this article and video from the digital version of Fortune Magazine.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/05/10/autos/hyunadai_kia_success.fortune/

The Most Exciting Savings we have ever offered on selected NEW Hyundai Models....happening right here, RIGHT NOW!

We're a bit overstocked and find we need some room...our growing pains can mean huge savings to you!

I would give anything right now for a drum roll...hold on to your car-seat!!
1) 2010 Genesis (011450), MSRP is $28,375. Your price is $23,785. Your savings=$4,590.00!

2) 2010 Veracruz (HB54391), MSRP is $34,220. Your price is $27,485. Your savings=$6,735.00!

3) 2011 Santa Fe (018455), MSRP is $28,250. Your price is $23,480. Your savings=$4,770.00!

4) 2011 Genesis (126196), MSRP is $43,985. Your price is $37,263. Your savings=$6,722.00!

5) 2011 Genesis (055142), MSRP is $23,535. Your price is $20,429. Your savings=$3,106.00!

6) 2011 Genesis (047255), MSRP is $24,490. Your price is $21,293. Your savings=$3,197.00!

7) 2011 Tucson (176304), MSRP is $19,740. Your price is $17,998. Your savings=$1,742.00!

8) 2011 Tucson (120077), MSRP is $19,795. Your price is $17,998. Your savings=$1,797.00!
Photo N/A at this time

9) 2011 Tucson (222447), MSRP is $25,045. Your price is $22,949. Your savings=$2,096.00!

10) 2011 Tucson (222937), MSRP is $25,950. Your price is $23,633. Your savings=$2,317.00!

11) 2011 Tucson (225333), MSRP is $26,815. Your price is $24,595. Your savings=$2,220.00!

April Social Media Wrap-Up

Have you visited our Facebook page?

Or discovered us on Twitter yet?

We are having a lot of fun using these tools to connect with you and offer special deals and events that can only be accessed through these sites.

April was a particularly fun month as we wrapped up our Social Media Songwriting Challenge on Facebook and also offered another $200 Gas Card to one lucky winner.

The Songwriting Challenge was a contest to create a jingle that we will actually use on TV and radio as well as an opportunity for someone to win $2,000!

We have close to 20 submissions which is amazing if you see how many people are on our Facebook page and the fact that each person had to write a jingle, record it, make a video of it and then upload that video to Facebook. That's a lot more work than just clicking the LIKE button!

We have such a great community of Orange County Hyundai supporters and we are continually amazed at how talented and enthusiastic you all are.

Thanks for giving us such a great month and here's to an even more fun month of May!