2008 Hyundai Elantra Se Sedan 4-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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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.

This is the Genesis I've been waiting for

In November Hyundai finally confirmed everyone's years long suspicion and announced the creation of its own global luxury brand, naming it the obvious choice, Genesis. The press release revealed a few important details, the biggest probably being that six models will be under the new brand by 2020. We can already account for at least two of these models as newly branded Equus and Genesis sedan models (possibly the coupe as a third) but we are left wondering for the rest. There is a strong argument for the Azera, as it was recently cut from Hyundai's line-up and the obvious choice of bringing in some ever important crossover models, especially while remembering the Veracruz experiment. The newly minted luxury name adds another player to an ever crowded high-end market, but a growing one, where there is room for deviation from the pack. Can Hyundai fill that niche and crack a historically expensive market to enter? I think so. Part of the Genesis plan is in crafting a proper luxury buying environment, what it calls its "hassle-free customer experience." It is unclear if this will mean fixed market pricing and no-negotiating terms but we can certainly draw that conclusion. As much as consumers claim they don't want to hassle, past attempts at fixed pricing have had mixed results. Though, with the emergence of Tesla as a real luxury contender using that kind of pricing model, maybe it's something thats time has finally come. When Hyundai introduced the Equus to the American market they placed an emphasis on the customer experience, requesting that each Equus qualified Hyundai dealership assign an "Equus Champion" to specifically handle all Equus inquires and follow a meticulously designed sales process. This salesperson had to take extra online training and pass multiple choice tests to maintain their position to sell Equus. Hyundai knows that customers buying a $60,000 vehicle expect a different experience than those buying a $30,000 one. The former group is more in tune to the concierge experience, a complete envelopment of the buyers attention and needs. Hyundai achieved this with personal on call attention from the Equus Champion, who went so far as picking up the customers vehicle well after purchase, dropping off a Genesis sedan loaner, and taking care of the entire vehicle service process (included free of charge of course) without barely any customer involvement.

Hyundai shocks Korea with mid-engined Veloster concept

There are many things we love here at Autoblog, but one of the quirkiest is the mid-engined hot hatch, whether it's the Renaultsport Clio V6 or the Volkswagen GTI W12-650 concept. Unfortunately, we can never seem to get our hands on one - the former never having made the transatlantic journey and the latter remained strictly a concept. And now we've got one more to salivate over.
It's called, simply enough, the Veloster Midship concept, and Hyundai is unveiling it this week at the Busan Motor Show in South Korea. As you might have guessed, it's essentially a Veloster with the engine - a 2.0-liter Theta turbo four producing 296 horsepower - mounted behind the two seats. It's also got a lightweight aluminum suspension, a reinforced chassis and extreme aero to help that mid-mounted turbo engine do its thing.
The project was undertaken by the same team that developed the initial i20 WRC rally car, but unfortunately as Hyundai itself says in the press release below (released with the solitary image above), "The Midship is a concept only to explore possibilities for the Veloster chassis and is currently not related to any future production model." Which is a bit of a shame, but hardly a surprise.