Hyundai: 1,550 Sonata Hybrids to hit U.S. dealerships within days

Yep, the 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid is late for its U.S. launch party. How tardy is it? Well, the gas-electric Sonata was supposed to go on sale last December, but a last-second modification to the hybrid's pedestrian warning system delayed its debut. Hyundai supposedly delivered a handful of Sonata Hybrids in January, but dealers are telling Ward's Auto that "no one has them."

Fortunately, Hyundai intends to remedy some of the Sonata Hybrid shortage within days. According to the Korean automaker, somewhere around 900 gas-electric Sonatas sit at port in the U.S. and 650 more are making the journey across the Pacific. Hyundai spokesman Jim Trainor told Ward's that by month's end "you'll start to see the pipeline filling." Who'da thunk that removing a simple switch that disables the Sonata Hybrid's noisemaker would cause months of delays?

Photos copyright ©2011 Zach Bowman / AOL

[Source: Ward's Auto]