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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.

Jaguar and Land Rover now offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

The 2019 Jaguar I-Pace will come standard with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality, and the connectivity feature comes as a roughly $300 option on select and appropriately equipped 2019 Jaguar and Land Rover models, the joint automaker said. It comes via Jaguar Land Rover's Smartphone Pack, which is available on all 2019 and future models, but with conditions. The car in question must have the 10-inch InControl Touch Pro touchscreen or split-touchscreen Touch Pro Duo infotainment systems, plus navigation, InControl Apps and Wi-Fi connectivity. Those are included on some upper trim levels and available as separate options on others. So basically, depending on trim level, you could be looking at a simple $300 add or a long-line of other extra charges just to get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There are other new features coming for the InControl Touch Pro system as well, including voice command for navigation, major graphic refreshes for certain screens, new shortcut buttons on the home screen for key navigation, media and phone functions, and changes to the user experience in the media screen. Jaguar and Land Rover first introduced the InControl Touch Pro for 2016, enabling users to learn whether they have enough fuel or battery range to get to a searched-for destination and share their destination, current location and ETA with others via email or text message when using the on-board nav system. The Touch Pro Duo first debuted on the 2018 Range Rover Velar and will be standard on the 2019 I-Pace electric crossover, plus the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. It features interlinked dual upper and lower touchscreens. In terms of the trim level availability mentioned earlier, a JLR spokesperson tells us that Smartphone Pack is available on all 2019 Jaguar F-Pace trim levels. It is available separately starting with the F-Pace Prestige trim level, but on the base F-Pace and Premium versions, you have to also get the optional Connect Pro Pack, Navigation Pro Pack, and traffic sign recognition and adaptive speed-limiter pack. Yes, it is a bit complicated. JLR recently released a touchscreen infotainment system designed to blend in with vintage models that retails for $1,796 before taxes. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Range Rover Sport SVR, Mazda CX-3, this week's news | Autoblog Video Podcast #533

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Reese Counts. We'll talk about the latest news and discuss a couple of the cars we've had in the office, the Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR and the Mazda CX-3. We also have a look behind the scenes of a video we shot in Iceland. And of course, we'll help choose a new vehicle for a listener in our "Spend My Money" segment. Autoblog Podcast #533 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown This week's news Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR Mazda CX-3 Iceland behind-the-scenes look Spend my money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Podcasts Land Rover Mazda Crossover SUV mazda cx-3