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Genesis cars win accolades, offer value — so why are sales so bad?

My high-school buddy Brent Cormier was so smitten with the Genesis G80 when he saw it at an event I hosted at SXSW in 2016 he bought a used 2013 Hyundai Genesis a short time later and fell in love with the car. "It surpasses my every expectation," said Cormier, a self-described "renaissance man" who owns and runs a real estate agency with his wife Laura, is a food service executive chef and part owner of Austin-based Thin the Herd Guitars. "I was locked into Mercedes and Audi for 10 years," he added. "And felt trapped in an endless pit of maintenance costs." After owning the Genesis over the past two years — including using it as an Uber and Lyft driver to earn extra cash — Cormier learned what some frugal luxury sedan buyers and a handful of car reviewers have discovered: Genesis offers great bang for the buck compared to other premium brands and can compete with the best in terms of performance, features and comfort. Hyundai's luxury brand also earned a prominent third-party endorsement last week when for the first time Genesis topped J.D. Power's 2018 APEAL study, surpassing German luxury-performance icon Porsche. The APEAL study (which stands for Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout) "measures owners' emotional attachment and level of excitement across 77 attributes," ranging from performance to comfort, and asks nearly 68,000 owners of new 2018 models to score vehicles on a 1,000-point scale. In its second year ranked as a stand-alone brand, Genesis earned an APEAL score that bumped it up 15 points to 884 and helped push it past Porsche — and past BMW, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volvo, Cadillac, Land Rover and Lexus, in order of ranking. Last month, Genesis also topped J.D. Power's Initial Quality Survey (IQS) for the first time this year. And both its models were awarded Top Safety Pick Plus ratings by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, among 11 Plus ratings in all for Korean vehicles. Despite high J.D. Power rankings and great reviews, Genesis U.S. sales were off 50 percent for the first six months of 2018 compared to 2017, and in June Genesis sold only 796 vehicles — the first time U.S. numbers dropped below 1,000 in a month. Part of Genesis's APEAL and IQS success can be attributed to its small product lineup: just two models, the G80 and G90 sedans, with a third, the 2019 G70, launching later this year. And while those numbers may help in J.D.

Audi RS Q3 is funky, chunky, spunky forbidden fruit [w/videos]

After salivating over the Audi RS6 Avant last night, we're happy to see yet another RS-branded Audi here on the show floor at the Geneva Motor Show. Meet the RS Q3, Audi's first ever high-performance crossover, showing what's possible when the Ingolstadt automaker brings its best sporting bits to its smallest CUV.
Powering the RS Q3 is Audi's 2.5-liter turbocharged five-cylinder engine - the same one found in sweetie-darlings like the TT RS and RS3. Output is rated at 310 horsepower and 309 pound-feet of torque, sent to all four wheels via the automaker's seven-speed S-tronic dual-clutch transmission. Weighing in at just over 3,800 pounds, the RS Q3 is indeed a porky little pig, but no matter - that forced-induction fire will propel the small crossover to 62 miles per hour in five and a half seconds. And that's with launch control, too.
The RS Q3 certainly looks the part of a proper sporty Audi, with exaggerated air vents and bulgy, aggressive bits all around. Honestly, we like the way the RS package has translated to the Q3 form - this design really works well on the smaller CUV package. Inside, performance-minded fittings like a flat-bottomed steering wheel, upgraded gauges and sport seats bring the whole RS pack full circle. We'll admit, we're definitely intrigued by this little guy.

Audi bringing TT Clubsport Turbo concept to Worthersee

Is the world ready for an Audi TT with 600 horsepower? Well it had better be, because that's exactly what Ingolstadt has in store for this year's GTI-Treffen at Worthersee, Austria. Billed as a "technology concept," this TT show car packs a 2.5-liter inline-five with two electric turbochargers. Audi is developing electric turbos for its diesel engines, but has found a performance application here in a gasoline engine. The result is a whopping 600 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque, driving all four wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. Weighing in at 3,078 pounds and with those electric turbos spooling up quick, it's said to reach 62 in 3.6 seconds en route to a top speed of over 192 miles per hour. In a TT. The turbos are powered by a 48-volt electrical system, juiced by a compact lithium-ion battery in the trunk that can store regenerated power. It's also got a coilover suspension and electric jack to get over obstacles like curbs and speed bumps. The whole thing rides on 20-inch alloys with a two-tone finish, with carbon-ceramic discs to keep it all in check, and as you can see, a rather aggressive-looking widebody aero kit. All of which makes for a rather stunning concept, even if its encroachment on the R8 means it will likely never see production. Related Video: Ingolstadt/Reifnitz, 2015-05-08 Tremendous thrust right from the start: the Audi TT clubsport turbo technology concept car - Premiere at Worthersee: show car has 2.5 TFSI and electric biturbo - 441 kW (600 hp) and 650 Nm (479.4 lb-ft), 0 to 100 km/h (62.1 mph) in 3.6 seconds - Development chief Prof. Dr. Hackenberg: "Technology close to production readiness" Wide add-on parts, a powerful rear wing and a power output of 441 kW (600 hp) – the Audi TT clubsport turbo impresses with its power and design. From May 13 to 16, Audi will be showing its technology concept car on the Worthersee Tour in the Austrian town of Reifnitz. The inspiration for the show car came from the successful Audi 90 IMSA GTO of the late 1980s. A new technology is making its debut under the hood. The car's electric biturbo adds even more dynamism to the driving experience with its spontaneous response. "The electric biturbo signifies a new dimension in driving enjoyment; it boosts sprinting ability and torque and enables high peak power," explains Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Audi Board Member for Technical Development. "In our TDI engines, we are close to production readiness with this technology.