2018 Hyundai Elantra Sel on 2040-cars

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Hyundai Genesis Coupe to get bigger, lux up?

With the all-new, 2015 Hyundai Genesis Sedan hitting the road, it puts the current Genesis Coupe in a rather weird spot. The sporty model is starting to get a bit long in the tooth, and for 2015, it's dropped its four-cylinder engine in the US. Hyundai isn't letting the car whither on the vine, though. Behind closed doors, the Korean automaker is rumored to be working on a new coupe to transform the vehicle from something of a pony car in the current guise into a luxury grand tourer with avante garde styling.
The next-generation Genesis Coupe would reportedly borrow its design inspiration from the Hyundai HND-9 Sports Coupe Concept from the 2013 Seoul Motor Show, according to Australian site Go Auto. The key to the new model is growing it larger to be able to seat four adults and giving it more grown-up styling at the same time. Go Auto claims that the coupe could finally get a V8 engine option and possibly a V6 and turbocharged four-cylinder in at least some markets, too. It's slated for a possible 2016 unveiling.
Even during the HND-9's unveiling, Hyundai admitted that the concept projected of the design direction for future models. Its styling was certainly a big shift from the current Genesis Coupe with more hard creases, a wide, mesh grille and butterfly doors. The show car also packed a 3.3-liter turbocharged, direct-injected engine with 364 horsepower and an eight-speed automatic transmission driving the rear wheels.

Reader Spy: 2012 Hyundai Accent hatchback caught napping

2012 Hyundai Accent hatchback - Click above for high-res image gallery
Eagle-eyed Autoblog reader James spotted a camouflaged compact hatchback sitting in a parking lot in South Korea the other day, and fortunately for us, he had a camera with him. At first glance, this is obviously a new Hyundai based on the upward sweeping crease along the side that is characteristic of Hyundai's new 'fluidic sculpture' design language.
Closer examination indicates that this is almost certainly the five-door hatchback version of the new Verna/Accent that debuted at the Beijing Motor Show in April. The wheels are the same as the ones we saw on the Verna and the side crease extends ahead of the door cut-line which differs from the Elantra that debuted a week later at the Busan show in Korea.

Hyundai Sonata's slow sales start to trigger more daring redesign

On paper, the latest Hyundai Sonata has been a winner. The sedan sold 216,936 units in 2014, around 13,000 more than the previous year, and the new model posted healthy year-over-year gains in both December and November. However, according to a report from Wards Auto, the Korean brand isn't happy with how the vehicle is doing and is planning a redesign, to be timed with the future refresh. Unveiled at the 2014 New York Auto Show, the latest Sonata has a more refined, almost luxurious air about it, and the sedan ditches the swooping styling from the previous generation. It also comes at a slightly lower base price. But the more mature design is also the problem. Hyundai Motor America CEO Dave Zuchowski told Wards during the 2015 Detroit Auto Show that the new model was "not as distinctive" as its predecessor. Previously, "people would seek us out because we look different. And we don't get that now," he said. While no details on the redesign were divulged, Zuchowski said the company was already at work on the shape. He suggested the changes would debut for the Sonata's refresh, likely in the 2017 or 2018 model years. Autoblog reached out to Hyundai about the possible design change and spokesperson Derek Joyce told us, "Dave was simply referring to our normal mid-cycle refresh where it's typical to make styling tweaks." According to Wards, the latest Sonata isn't conquesting as many buyers from other brands as Hyundai would like. The company reportedly raised incentives to get them to move. So while sales were up, the automaker was disappointed. AutoTrader senior analyst Michelle Krebs confirmed to Autoblog that incentives were high for the Sonata, but that had nothing to do with its design. "The midsize car segment has fallen out of favor with buyers who want utilities so they are carrying very heavy incentives. We expect that trend to continue and then some in 2015," she said. A previous report also claimed that the 2015 Sonata wasn't living up to sales expectations in part due to its more traditional styling. But the company shot down those claims because the sedan was still rolling out the entire range to dealers at the time. Even now, Hyundai is still adding the Sonata Hybrid and Plug-In to the lineup in the coming year.