2015 Hyundai Genesis 3.8 on 2040-cars

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The last Hyundai V8 car is already here

Hyundai will end production of V8-powered cars this year, if a new report out of South Korea proves true. It would make the 5.0-liter unit found in the current Genesis G90 sedan the final Hyundai Tau V8. According to South Korean website Daum, the updated Genesis G90, expected later this year, will no longer have the 420-horse, 383 lb-ft V8 available as an option. The top-grade engine will, moving forward, be the 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6, good for 380 horsepower and edging out the V8 with 391 pound-feet of torque.  In addition, the V8 was discontinued for the updated Kia K9 recently. We knew that model as the Kia K900 in the U.S., and dropping the V8 was a moot point for us because the entire model was eliminated for 2021. We thought that the V8 might be on its way out when we saw the 2022 Genesis G90 testing under heavy camouflage. It's not surprising, considering the entire industry is moving toward smaller, forced-induction engines. According to Daum, the G90 will be redesigned with an eye toward weight reduction, chassis rigidity, and a lower center of gravity. An electric version, likely called the eG90, is expected as well. It'll almost certainly receive the quad headlight signature of two thin lines on either side of a large crest grille as well. Going even further, the site claims that the G90 will feature a rear-wheel steering system to improve cornering and high-speed stability. The V6-powered 2022 Genesis G90 is expected to debut later this year, and the electric version will follow at a later date. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Super Bowl car commercials: Follow along as we riff on them live

Join Autoblog editors Sunday starting around 6:30 p.m. ET as we react to all of the car commercials during the game. We know Hummer, Porsche, Hyundai and others will have splashy ads, and naturally, there's usually a few surprises. Whether you're a Chiefs or 49ers fan — or don't care about football — the commercials are always a highlight. And for us, the car spots are the most intriguing. Weigh in with your own thoughts in the comments section. Let's kick off.   FIRST QUARTER Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore liveblogs the first quarter. F9 We'll count this as a car commercial. The latest edition of the Fast & Furious looks like it well, will have cars. We'll punt on further comment. PORSCHE I like it. Creative. Sort of a Night at the Museum feel. The guards stage a theft and then a car chase. The Taycan looked good. Get fired up — the future for Porsche is electric. The spot is meant to illustrate how fun that can be. I don't need any convincing.    SECOND QUARTER Associate Editor Byron Hurd is liveblogging the second quarter.  HYUNDAI Hyundai checked in super early with their Sonata "Smaht Pahk" commercial, which manages to score points for being both cute and clever while also being a fairly good commercial in a vacuum. We saw it last week, so there were no surprises here, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.  Fun note: If you go to the Sonata landing page on Hyundai's web site, you can choose "plain old English" or "the Boston way" for your language; the latter will translate the page. Enjoy.  FORD Hi ho, West Coast Editor James Riswick here. Apparently, the guys in Detroit didn't get the Mustang Mach E ad featuring Idris Elba and a whole boat load of awesome old Mustangs. Pretty sure it's bound to be viewed the exact same way as the car itself: traditionalists will be aghast, while non-car people will be intrigued by a new, all-electric, crossover version of one of the few cars they've heard of.  GENESIS They're coming more rapidly now. Genesis gets some love thanks to Chrissy Teigen and John Legend; this was another known quantity, but Hyundai's luxury brand managed another solid entry here thanks to its choice of stars. Teigen and Legend got the chance to throw back to the latter's "Sexiest Man Alive" honors, which Teigen often teases him for. Another solid all-around spot.  GMC/HUMMER Are there just no surprises left? Don't tell me; I know the answer. LeBron James fronts the revived Hummer, which will be an EV sold as a GMC.

VW planning to push Hyundai for World Cup eyeballs

Adidas was an official sponsor of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but the German sportswear company got drowned out of early advertising buzz by Nike, which wasn't a World Cup sponsor. The American company's Write the Future ad put it at the top of Nielsen's study of online buzz, ahead of Adidas. The same thing happened to official World Cup sponsor Budweiser when it got drummed out of the top ten in Nielsen's buzz ratings, while Danish brewer Carlsberg - not a Cup sponsor - ranked sixth.
Volkswagen hopes to score the same goal on Hyundai during this year's World Cup in Brazil. Hyundai and Kia have been official sponsors of the global soccer federation FIFA since 2002 and are official sponsors of the World Cup through 2022. VW has "a major ad buy" planned to run on ABC, ESPN and Univision as well as digital and social media channels during the competition, which begins June 12, to promote the GTI. VW of America's VP of marketing said the Cup's attraction to young males and Hispanics makes it the perfect place to promote the hot hatch.
The sparring between Hyundai and VW has already begun. Volkswagen's Gol compact, named for the Portuguese word for a soccer goal, has been the best selling car in Brazil for 27 years, and the German company sponsors the national soccer team. When Hyundai Brazil began a promotional campaign promising to extend its five-year warranty for six if the Brazilians won a sixth world cup, Volkswagen of Brazil complained to the soccer federation, which asked Hyundai to pull the campaign. As of this writing, that hasn't happened, so we expect it'll be boots on, gloves off, on and off the pitch this summer.