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Hyundai's 2015 Genesis Super Bowl commercial is Dad-approved

Super Bowl commercials allow advertising and marketing execs the opportunity to let their hair down, have a bit of fun and get silly. That's why Audi's ad features a mutant, CGI-animated dog, GoDaddy's spot features a beefcake Danica Patrick and Kia has recruited Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus, from the Matrix films. Hyundai, meanwhile, didn't seem to get the memo.
It's not that its spot is bad, but it does feel a bit boring, playing a lot like Hyundai's non-Super Bowl advertisements - in other words, not something we're going to be talking about next Monday around the water cooler. Called Dad's Sixth Sense, the 30-second clip shows off the 2015 Genesis Sedan and its auto emergency braking system, after showing dad's saving their kids from what we imagine would be fairly painful, and in some cases horrific, accidents (tackling a hot barbecue, anyone?).
We've got the full spot down below. Keep your eye out for it on Super Bowl Sunday.

370-hp Veloster by Fox Marketing rounds out Hyundai's SEMA lineup

Hyundai is certainly bringing the horsepower wars to Las Vegas next month. We already know that its SEMA lineup includes a 1,000-horsepower Genesis Coupe, but now the company has announced that it is teaming up with Fox Marketing to create a 370-hp Veloster Turbo.
Keeping the Turbo's 1.6-liter engine, this show car gets an extra 169 hp by adding a bigger turbo and intercooler, cat-back exhaust and nitrous and methanol injection... oh, and the engine runs on 101-octane racing fuel. The brakes have been upgraded with six-piston calipers and bigger rotors, while the suspension now includes adjustable coil-overs. And since this is SEMA, this Veloster Turbo gets the requisite flashy exterior styling.
Scroll down for the full press release, but we'll have some better shots of this Veloster in just a few weeks.

Hyundai Group design chief wants more differentiation between models and brands

Luc Donckerwolke, the man who oversees design at Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis, is determined to get more differentiation into the model range. He not only wants greater visual separation between all the models in the range, he also wants more distinction between Hyundai Group cars and others in the respective segments, and global distinctions so that a Hyundai in China doesn't necessarily look like one built for North America. He told Autocar, "We will not have a global design language because otherwise it's too rigid. [The alternative is] more work, but it's more flexible." Donckerwolke gets an extreme look at the results of homogeneous design, because an enormous number of cars on the road in South Korea are Hyundai Group products. "[Our] core task is to differentiate the design philosophy of the three brands, not least because we have a big [around 70%] share in Korea. We need to differentiate each model, otherwise the landscape is too homogeneous." Top-down, each brand gets a design brief. Hyundai will be Hyundai's "sexy, seductive and sensuous, sporty, eager and stylish," holding onto its value proposition while adding emotion. Kia will be "young, challenging and cool — cooler than before," said brand design chief Byungchul Juh, with Donckerwolke adding that it's about "streetwear — bold, fresh and young." And Genesis is "haute couture." Donckerwolke characterizes the design philosophy as not "Russian dolls but ... chess pieces, with a look that reveals its own charismatic character. For example, Kia's used to be about the tiger nose grille, separate headlights and the lower intake. Now it's going to be more of a mask that will deliver sportiness and a presence." Kia designer Juh said, "There will be a distinct version of tiger face for each segment, and we'll keep the tiger nose grille. In principle it's the same, but there's a different interpretation for each segment, and more of a 3D feeling. We're moving from a nose to a face." The sketches we've seen of Kia's coming small global crossover take a first step, and we're told the next Sportage will make more impact than the new Tucson. As for Hyundai, the next Sonata will "be the design flag-bearer." We wait to see how much of the vehicle all of this affects. But right now, look at the 2020 Elantra and Sonata from the front three-quarter; ignore their front fascias, and they're two sizes of one sausage.