2014 Hyundai Accent Se on 2040-cars

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Hyundai Le Fil Rouge concept shows the future of brand's design

At this year's Geneva Motor Show, Hyundai revealed a concept called the Le Fil Rouge, which in English means "the common thread." Though the car has an unusual name, it's important for the Hyundai brand because this car represents the future of the company's design. Elements found on this concept will be applied to all future Hyundais, be they sedans, hatchbacks or crossovers, which also partly explains the car's name. Hyundai says the name also comes from how the car builds on Hyundai's past design and is a "reinterpretation" of its 1974 Coupe Concept. We're not so sure about that last part, but we think the Le Fil Rouge is a mighty handsome sedan, and its future production cars should look pretty good. Aside from a "common thread" of design, Hyundai says the car's theme is "sensuous sportiness." That seems to translate into a low-slung, curvy, coupe-like sedan form. At the front, the nose is very low, and it's dominated by a massive version of Hyundai's corporate "cascade" grille. It's actually a bit reminiscent of the recent Lagonda sedan. It appears that the grille contains lighting elements all throughout. It should be easy to translate this design into conventional radiator grilles, huge lights, or simple, blocked off styling motifs for electric vehicles. This low, wide grille leads into a long hood and front fenders with classic rear drive proportions. The hood has two large creases in the middle that lend some aggression to the swoopy shape, and there are two bright metal accent lines that run up the sides and loop up and around the windows back toward the hood. Along the side, we find a bold character line that lines up with the end of the headlight. It trails back along the car and merges with the rear panel that would likely contain the taillights. The roof also has a bit of a fastback look, ending at the trunk lid. It also contains a rear window with a double-bubble shape. It's an elegant, organic car that does some cool things with lines and curves. It will be interesting to see how it translates to production cars. Related Video: Featured Gallery Hyundai Le Fil Rouge Concept: Geneva 2018 View 9 Photos Related Gallery Hyundai Le Fil Rouge concept View 13 Photos Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2018 Drew Phillips / Autoblog.com Design/Style Geneva Motor Show Hyundai Concept Cars Sedan 2018 Geneva Motor Show

Autoblog sell-it-yourself highlight: 2012 Hyundai Genesis

It was a business model established some 25 years earlier by Honda. The Japanese carmarker was looking for a way to profit from loyal Honda owners wanting to move upscale, but not willing to move out of Honda's orbit. The launch of Acura and two models – the upscale Legend and accessible Integra – did the trick. In the past five years, Korean carmaker Hyundai has been attempting to make its own move upmarket with its Genesis sedan and, more recently, the Genesis brand. In 2012, it was the Genesis coupe and 4-door; the coupe enjoyed an Infiniti-like vibe, while the sedan had a whiff of Mercedes in its sheetmetal and value in its window sticker. Available with V6 or V8 power and prices in the low $40s to low $50s, the Genesis four-door represented bargain luxury in an America gripped by recession. Today, a pre-owned Genesis, like our example here, extends the value argument. If this Genesis has a V8, the price point is spot-on for an example in excellent condition. If, however, it's equipped with a V6, we'd hope the seller is flexible. Related Video: Hyundai Car Buying Used Car Buying Ownership Sedan

Next Hyundai Elantra GT hatchback previewed by i30 teaser

The Elantra GT hatchback looked a bit neglected after its sedan sibling was introduced last year. That said, the Elantra hatchbacks have historically been released after the sedan, and usually had significant differences between the two body styles. Based on this latest teaser from Hyundai, the hatchback will continue its unique streak. The teaser is officially for the European i30, but the i30 and Elantra hatchbacks have been the same vehicles since the late 2000s. There's also no sign of the American version being dropped or deviating from its European twin, so it seems a safe bet that this newest i30 will come here with the Elantra name. Hyundai does make it clear that this car was made with Europe in mind though, since both the press release and video tout the fact that all of the styling and development work was done in Europe. Peter Schreyer, lead designer for the Hyundai group, says this car is "the next step to how Hyundai design should be." So look for key design elements like the "cascading grille" to appear in future Hyundai vehicles. Speaking of design elements, we can actually spot a decent amount of them in the teaser image and video. The grille extends down the front of the bumper in a similar fashion to the sedan. Overall, the shape of the car looks more formal and upright than the steeply raked design of the current model. In addition, the sheet metal appears to be much less busy, with far fewer swoops and lines. The car will be fully revealed on September 7 just before the Paris Motor Show. Related Video: