Sure, it might be easy to drift a new Hyundai Genesis coupe, which is a rear-wheel-drive sports car meant for performance. But can famed race driver Rhys Millen get the back wheels of the 2009 Cars.com New Car of the Year, the Hyundai Genesis sedan, smoking in circles? Check out the video above to see if he has the goods.
Rhys Millen and teammate Stephan Verdier put on a drifting clinic for us at a rally in Elkhart Lake, Wis., last week. The two devastated a slew of tires all in the name of good fun. If you just ate lunch, you may want to watch this video in about an hour.
Last week, Cars.com’s editors took part in a rally at the Road America racetrack in Elkhart Lake, Wis. There were dozens of new cars on hand to take on the track or local roads. More so than in past years, we were surprised by many new models, and not always in good ways. Here’s what resonated most.
The Genesis coupe — shown in a Hyundai Super Bowl spot hot-dogging around Georgia’s Road Atlanta racetrack — arrives at dealerships late this month. It’s a rear-wheel-drive two-door, but can it compete with genuine muscle cars — specifically the Nissan 370Z and Detroit’s latest Mustang/Camaro/Challenger set? Hyundai thinks it can, but it also says that isn’t the car’s main goal.
At the Chicago auto show, product manager Derek Joyce said the Genesis coupe instead “has its own space.”
“Will it compete with Detroit muscle?” he asked. “Maybe. Will it compete against front-drivers like the [Honda] Civic Si? Sure.”
The key, Joyce said, is for Hyundai to completely separate itself from the front-wheel-drive competition – a key step for the automaker to prove its performance potential. Right now, the market segment the Genesis coupe will occupy is relatively vacant.
The 2009 Hyundai Genesis won a slew of awards, including Cars.com’s New Car of the Year distinction. This year will see the debut of the 2010 Genesis coupe, which is significantly different from the sedan. Starting at $22,000, the 2.0-liter four-cylinder version tops out at $26,750 with the Track Package.
The coupe is also available with a 3.8-liter V-6, starting at $25,000 with the basic six-speed manual transmission. If you really want to get your kicks in, though, you can upgrade to the Track model, which has a ZF six-speed automatic Shiftronic transmission, for a cool $31,000. None of these prices include a $750 destination charge.
The 2010 Hyundai Genesis coupe goes on sale late this month. Check after the jump for full pricing information on all the different packages and engine options.
For our first ever Car of the Year award, the editors of Cars.com have picked the 2009 Hyundai Genesis. Our editors test-drove all the newly introduced and redesigned models for 2009, and from that pool of about 60 cars chose their favorites based on features, driving quality, mileage and overall value.
You can read all about our pick here and we’ll post about the internal debate on how the Genesis took the top prize later on. For now, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.
2009|Hyundai|Genesis
Hyundai will air not one but five commercials during this year’s Super Bowl broadcast. Aside from being a rather impressive display of a healthy marketing budget, Hyundai hopes to capitalize on the Genesis’ recent win of being named 2009 North American Car of the Year.
The ads also pump up Hyundai’s new Assurance program, but the real kicker is watching the 2010 Genesis coupe careening around a racetrack to a Smashing Pumpkins tune. What Billy Corgan is doing writing music for a Genesis ad remains unclear, but luckily nothing about the spot makes you “mellon collie” or “infinitely sad” (I know, that was terrible).
Watch the Genesis-Smashing Pumpkins spot after the jump.
Going green is all the rage these days, but Hyundai has devised a unique way to make the purchase of a 2009 Genesis sedan truly environmentally friendly. The Korean automaker will join forces with Carbonfund.org to offset the entire first year of emissions for all Genesis sedans sold in the U.S., based on an average of 12,000 miles driven per year. This includes all Genesis sedans sold since the car hit the market in June.
As part of its Hyundai Blue Drive initiative to improve its environmental record, Hyundai will offset 93,170 metric tons of CO2 through conservation and reforestation efforts in the Brazilian tropical savannah of Cerrado — one of the world’s principal eaters of carbon dioxide.
The project will preserve or reforest 3,000 acres of tropical forest in the region, which is also home to countless rare and endangered plants and animals that make it a biodiversity hot spot.
Interestingly, based on current sales figures, Hyundai’s plan has it overbuying on its carbon offset. It’s sold only 5,127 sedans through November, which is roughly 1,000 a month. Extrapolating this (and assuming similar sales for ’09), the company would only need to offset approximately 70,000 tons of CO2 to make good on its promise.
No doubt the tropical forest will not complain about the error.
It seems Hyundai is going to follow up its 2008 Super Ads for the Genesis sedan with spots for the upcoming Genesis coupe. While the sedan ads were a tad sedate, ranking low on most people’s ad meters, the company says the coupe ads will feature precision driving by famed racer Rhys Millen, teamed with music. In the first commercial, the music will be supplied by classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma, while a secret guest artist will be featured in the second ad.
The title of both commercials is “The Epic Lap.” Shot at Road Atlanta, the racetrack didn’t do much damage to the car. The company says the Genesis only needed a new set of tires after three days of filming.
The all-new 2010 Hyundai Genesis coupe won’t go on sale for months, but that hasn’t stopped the company from releasing full specs and trim levels for the new two-door. What’s impressive is not just the two engine choices, but an array of trim levels that should suit most buyers. We’re not sure how it will stack up against the competition in terms of price, but in terms of specs it’s right on the pulse of a variety of sports cars, like the Ford Mustang, Honda Civic Si and Nissan 350Z (soon to be 370Z).
There are two engine choices: a 210-hp, turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that will get 30 mpg on the highway, and the same 310-hp, 3.8-liter V-6 found in the Genesis sedan. There was no mention of the coupe’s efficiency with that engine, but the sedan gets 27 mpg on the highway while weighing 300 pounds more but having 20 fewer horses. Torque is rated at 223 pounds-feet for the four cylinder. It’s not listed for the V-6. For comparison, the Civic Si features a slightly less powerful four-cylinder and gets 29 mpg on the highway, and the V-6 Ford Mustang has nearly identical power and gets 26 mpg.
We break down the seven trim levels below in extreme detail, with standard equipment listed according to Hyundai. We’ve considerably trimmed their marketing terms and deleted some features that aren’t of note. Pricing will be announced closer to the car’s on-sale date.
Cars.com LinksCategoriesReal-Life Car Reviews
Recent PostsFind an Automaker
|
|
Cars.com Home |
About Cars.com | Employment Opportunities | Become a Cars.com Dealer
|
|
By using this site, you agree to our terms of service ©2009 Cars.com | Privacy Statement |
| Visit our partners: Apartments.com | ApartmentHomeLiving.com | Homescape.com | CareerBuilder.com |
Recent Comments