It seems impossible to fathom that I am the only perpetual car shopper who is always looking for that next fun auto. While there may be many who do not consider themselves perpetual car shoppers many may believe themselves to be car aficionados or appreciators of fine autos. For those of you who, like myself, have put off the purchase of that next fun ride, as well as for those of you who appreciate the promise of the next cool auto, I have compile MY list of the Most Lustable New Cars for 2008. If you have put off buying that new car for a while these are the cars that I feel will make all the waiting worth the while. Some of these cars are still coming from their concept stage and have yet to be road tested by people outside of the manufacturers engineers, so for some their ranking is based on the Promise of what the car will be.
There has been plenty of talk and speculation about Hyundai’s Genesis Coupe Concept over the past many months, but Hyundai put all that to an end with the cars unveiling yesterday evening. …or did they? In a stunning coat of orange and black and its vented hood the Genesis Coupe Concept appears ready to hit the streets even though the final production version of the car will not be revealed until the New York Auto Show in March.
Here is the official unveiling from LA as captured live by AutoBlog:
More about the Genesis Coupe Concept after the leap.
Hyundai’s heavily anticipated Genesis Coupe concept was caught at a promotional junket fully exposed and beneath the lights. The balcony view managed by the mystery photographer gives us the first glimpse of what Hyundai is scheduled to unveil at next months LA Auto Show. The replacement for the Tiburon shares a bit of its predecessor features, enough to maybe say they are siblings, but the design of the Genesis appears more prepared to take on the other cars on the market.
Improving their chances to compete, more than even the rear-wheel drive feature, will be the two engine packages that have been discussed for Hyundai’s new coupe.
Hyundai looks to send out teasers of hope with their high gloss rendering of the Genesis Coupe Concept. It is being said that Hyundai will be ready to unveil their new rear-wheel drive coupe at the LA Auto Show in a couple weeks, and if the rendering is an indication of the direction Hyundai is taking then there could be some genuine interest there. The Genesis Coupe is reported to be powered by a 3.6L V6 even though some would like to see a V8 squeezed in between the front fenders. Either way if the performance is right a missing cylinder or two could be easily forgiven. If they are aiming to compete with the Infiniti G37 then they will certainly need more than a coupe posture and a sloped hood. Does the rendering of the Hyundai Genesis Coupe Concept leave you wanting more or have you already seen enough?
Chrysler has announced temporary closures on 3 of their manufacturing plants and Ford has announced a slowdown on one of its as slow sales are making an impact in production. Well now one of the Asian manufacturers is facing its own slowdown in both sales and production. Hyundai has announced that they will be putting a halt to production at their Montgomery, Alabama plant where the slow moving Sonata is assembled.
Compared to last years sales the Sonata is a good 2,000 cars behind the prior years numbers.
After years of selling the Tiburon with its 172-hp top-of-the-line engine package Hyundai is starting to buy in that horsepower sells sports cars… or in their case what had been sport-y cars. So for their much discussed rear wheel drive concept car it is now being reported that a 300-hp version will be available. Ofcourse for those Hyundai purists who are put off by so many horses a lesser powered engine will still be available.
To help their RWD concept car reach 300-hp Hyundai will be employing a 3.6 liter V8 engine.
At this years Frankfurt Auto Show that begins on September 13th Hyundai will reveal their first vehicle designed from the ground-up that was built specifically around their fuel cell technology. The i-Blue is an electric vehicle that is fueled by Hyundai’s 3rd generation hydrogen fuel cell technology clothed in a CUV auto armor that represents the future forward thinking behind their alternative technology.
The i-Blue is a bold step toward future design and future fuels while following suit with the theme of this years Frankfurt Auto Show: “See What is Driving the Future.” Hyundai’s R&D team have developed a hydrogen fuel cell that is more compact than prior generations while building a safe, crossover-styled body around it.
Hyundai’s i-Blue is their current design that is to help transition us over the next decade toward the greener technology of hydrogen. Yet to many of us hydrogen fuel cells still seem quite a ways away from being close to taking over for the combustion engine as what motivates the majority of todays cars. Despite the advantages that Hybrids, Plug-in EV’s and alternative fuels may have by being more road ready today the exploration toward hydrogen fuel cells is still an important one.
There are two other supposedly radical designs that Hyundai is planning to reveal at the Frankfurt show. Hyundai’s Volester is said to be a roadster aimed directly at the Y-generation with what seems to be some futuristic designing cues. The i-30 Crossover Wagon is designed as the exact opposite of the Volester. With the i-30 Hyundai is returning to the 5-door hatchback model that is an important segment in the European market. More significant details and photos of all 3 of the vehicles Hyundai plans to unveil at the Frankfurt Auto Show are sure to come in the weeks ahead.
If the word streaming out from the HyundaiExchange is any indication Hyundai is looking to break-out strong into the luxury sedan market. Hyundai’s recent emergence into the limelight of the auto industry is not by accident and is not going to fade away. They already have one of the best warranty programs for their new cars and now they are planning to introduce what they hope will be one of the best luxury sedans on the market. The primary means (besides style and quality) by which Hyundai plans to get their Genesis sedan to the top will be with a new 380-hp engine and a lower price than their competitors.
Hyundai realized a milestone recently when they reached the mark of 5 million cars sold in America. It is no small achievement for the auto manufacturer from Korea that faced daunting quality issues when it first came to the states in 1986. The milestone is even more impressive when you consider that Hyundai had just made it to 4 million cars sold in 2005.
Since 1999, and under the leadership of the then newly hired Chairman Chung Mong-koo, Hyundai has worked hard to turn their image around. Today they rank ahead of Toyota for quality and further the perception of assurance to their customers by offering the best auto warranty on the cars they sell in the U.S.
With designs like the Santa Fe and Sonata selling well there is no reason to believe that Hyundai will not reach their goal of 550,000 cars sold in America in 2007. With some surprising and innovative designs coming in the years to come Hyundai will certainly continue to make their mark on the world market.
