NAIAS 2014: The Genesis Is Quite A Device

by Jack Baruth

Published: January 13th, 2014

naias 2014 the genesis is quite a device

Did Hyundai ever truly believe that its Genesis sedan would have the kind of industry impact legendarily enjoyed by the first Lexus LS — or even the original Acura Legend? Probably not. But just as the builders of those two cheap-luxury knockouts did, the company is electing to consolidate some gains in conservative fashion with the second-generation Genesis.

For some reason, both of the carryover engines (3.8L V6 and 5.0 V8) are slightly less powerful than they were in previous years. All-wheel drive is available now, but only with the V-6. The transmission is still an eight-speed conventional automatic.

The rest of the car is claimed to be all-new. The styling language, which for reasons known to no mortal man is called “Fluidic 2.0”, endows the relatively soft-looking Genesis with a little more curbside cred and ups the aggressiveness to compete with deep-grill entries from Audi and Chrysler. It will be quieter than the old car and it will monitor the amount of CO2 in the cabin to protect passengers from carrying too many trees in the trunk…

COME ON NOW YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN STOP LAUGHING

A lane-departure system will alternately annoy and confuse Genesis drivers of the future who will have no idea what it’s trying to do. Pricing will rise slightly but continue to be low enough for fans of the brand to claim that it’s “a screaming bargain”.

Jack Baruth

More by Jack Baruth

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 69 comments

JK43123 on Jan 14, 2014

Actually I see several 1990s Hyundais around including an Excel, still running. "Fluidic 2.0" is their last design name (Fluidic Sculpture) version 2.0, correct? John

Like Reply
WildcatMatt on Feb 10, 2014

KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Dartman EBFlex will soon be able to buy his preferred brand!
Mebgardner I owned 4 different Z cars beginning with a 1970 model. I could already row'em before buying the first one. They were light, fast, well powered, RWD, good suspenders, and I loved working on them myself when needed. Affordable and great styling, too. On the flip side, parts were expensive and mostly only available in a dealers parts dept. I could live with those same attributes today, but those days are gone long gone. Safety Regulations and Import Regulations, while good things, will not allow for these car attributes at the price point I bought them at.I think I will go shop a GT-R.
Lou_BC Honda plans on investing 15 billion CAD. It appears that the Ontario government and Federal government will provide tax breaks and infrastructure upgrades to the tune of 5 billion CAD. This will cover all manufacturing including a battery plant. Honda feels they'll save 20% on production costs having it all localized and in house.As @ Analoggrotto pointed out, another brilliant TTAC press release.
28-Cars-Later "Its cautious approach, which, along with Toyota’s, was criticized for being too slow, is now proving prescient"A little off topic, but where are these critics today and why aren't they being shamed? Why are their lunkheaded comments being memory holed? 'Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.' -Orwell, 1984
Tane94 A CVT is not the kiss of death but Nissan erred in putting CVTs in vehicles that should have had conventional automatics. Glad to see the Murano is FINALLY being redesigned. Nostalgia is great but please drop the Z car -- its ultra-low sales volume does not merit continued production. Redirect the $$$ into small and midsize CUVs/SUVs.