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Hyundai in hot water over suicide-themed commercial

There's a surprisingly long and storied history of automakers creating suicide-themed advertisements. You'd think the companies and their marketing firms would have figured out by now that such ads always result in a swirl of backlash - see examples from Audi, Citroën, General Motors and Volkswagen, all pasted down below, as proof.
It seems somebody at Hyundai didn't get the message that many people don't find suicide a laughing matter. A video making the rounds on the web that was, according to Hyundai, produced in the UK, depicts a man trying to commit suicide by pumping exhaust fumes into the passenger compartment of his car. As it turns out, the self-assisted death doesn't quite go according to plan.
Scroll down below to see the ad from Hyundai, a slew of similar spots from other automakers, and an official statement from Hyundai. After that, we suggest reading this piece from our friends at AOL Autos to see how deeply such thoughtless advertisements can affect people.

Hyundai mulling four-door coupe model, V8 or V6 turbo for next Genesis Coupe

Hyundai is showing no signs of slowing down, with plenty of new product in the pipeline. This, according to a recent Automobile magazine interview with John Krafcik, CEO of Hyundai Motor America.
Krafcik admits the Korean automaker is considering adding a four-door coupe to its lineup, possibly sharing some design elements of the HCD-14 Concept (shown above in Detroit). The brand's flagship Equus luxury sedan will receive a mild refresh, bowing at the New York Auto Show, and an updated Sonata is expected to follow on its heels. The executive dismissed suggestions of an upcoming current-gen V8 Genesis Coupe, saying the present platform cannot accommodate a V8, but an eight-cylinder engine or a turbocharged V6 is a possibility for its eventual successor.
Check out what the CEO had to say about Audi, why the new Honda Accord has Hyundai reconsidering a technology, and read a followup on the company's fuel-economy fiasco in the full interview at Automobile.

Hyundai spotted testing Prius rival

That Hyundai is gearing up to go after the Toyota Prius with a dedicated hybrid of its own is no great secret. We've seen prototypes for it testing twice before. But this is our best look at the Korean challenger yet, wearing its own bodywork and in the light of day. Spied undergoing testing in Germany, this prototype dubbed AE HEV (likely for Advanced Experimental or Alternative Energy Hybrid Electric Vehicle) is still heavily camouflaged to keep it away from prying eyes (like ours). But there are still some details we can discern from underneath the cloth cladding. For starters, you can see the horizontal slates on the front grille, blue accents on the headlights, maybe even a strip of LED daytime running lights. There looks to be a spoiler at the back similar to that on the European hatchback version of the Honda Civic. Of course it's another Honda whose form this prototype seems to be emulating, and that's the Insight. It'll be interesting to see if Hyundai can succeed where the Insight failed, and take the fight to the Prius. Expect to see it emerge sometime in the second half of next year.