If GM’s board had simply hired away the entire management team at Hyundai back in ’08 – and fired everyone at the Renaissance Center in Detroit – it would saved taxpayers a lot of money. Those guys – the Hyundai guys – know what they’re doing. One brilliant design after the next. It’s almost...
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The obvious often isn’t until someone makes it so. For instance, adding a real-sized rear door to a sporty coupe – as Hyundai has done with the Veloster. Much better than one (or even two) quarter-sized rear doors, as in cars like the old Saturn Ion – and more recently, the Mazda RX8. It’s...
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Here’s the good news: Hyundai’s rear-wheel-drive Camaro (and Mustang) fighter gets a significant power bump for 2013 – from both its standard turbo four and its optional V-6. There’s also a new eight-speed automatic on the roster – available with either engine. Ok, the bad news: It appears likely there will never be a...
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Hyundai has proved it can build an almost BMW M5 for about half the price in the form of the 429 hp $46,500 Genesis R Spec. In fact, for $400 less than the base price of an entry-level, four-cylinder engined 5-Series (the $46,900 ’12 528i) you can buy a V-8 R Spec with four...
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If you go test-drive a new economy compact – any new economy compact – you will discover something the car industry would probably prefer to keep quiet: There are no latter-day Chevettes or Pintos. There’s nothing embarrassing about any of them. You might want to spend more to get a high-performance car, or maybe...
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If you go test-drive a new economy compact – any new economy compact – you will discover something the car industry would probably prefer to keep quiet: There are no latter-day Chevettes or Pintos. There’s nothing embarrassing about any of them and more than that – there’s nothing shitty about them, either. You might...
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Hyundai thinks it has solved the Access Problem that’s always been a problem for sporty coupes. The 2012 Veloster doesn’t merely have three doors – that’s been done before. It has three different-sized doors. The functional problem is the third door might be on the wrong side (the passenger side) of the car. And...
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Want to make a BMW (or Benz) guy cry? Show him your new Hyundai Genesis R Spec. Tell him about the 429 hp 5 liter V-8 (and 5.2 second 0-60 time). Ask him about his $61,700 BMW 550i (or maybe his $59,790 Benz E550). Now show him your Hyundai’s $46,500 window sticker. Better have...
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Hyundai is becoming a juggernaut. The Korean automaker isn’t content merely to be competitive. It intends to dominate. Last year, the new Sonata cold-cocked the mid-sized family car segment, with features such as a standard 200 hp engine that also delivers 35 MPG on the highway wrapped up in one of the sharpest sheetmetal...
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Hyundai is trying to pull a Lexus with its new Equus. Back in 1989, Lexus kicked Mercedes and BMW in the nuts with the LS400 sedan. The LS was every bit as nice as a top-of-the-line Benz or BMW – maybe nicer. And best of all, it cost less. A lot less. On the...
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