2012 Hyundai Sonata Limited Sedan 4-door 2.4l on 2040-cars

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The Hyundai Genesis is dead! Long live the Genesis G80!

Hyundai's big news at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show isn't even about Hyundai at all. It's about Genesis, the Korean automaker's new luxury brand that officially kicks off with the G90 flagship. But over the next few years, Genesis will add a number of models to its range, and the next is the G80 – the rebadged version of the existing Hyundai Genesis sedan. That's what you're looking at here. Look closely, and you'll see the new Genesis wing emblem, and some "G80" badges on the rump. The official transition from Hyundai Genesis sedan to Genesis G80 happens this summer, with the 2017 model year car. We don't expect the G80 to be too different from the existing 2016 sedan, though Hyundai officials tell us some more Genesis announcements will take place at the New York Auto Show in March. Hyundai already confirmed a smaller Genesis G70 sedan will come to market, as will a sport coupe and luxury SUV. See the new G80 in the images above, check out the all-new G90 flagship here, and watch the Hyundai/Genesis press conference from the 2016 Detroit Auto Show below.

Hyundai Mingtu revealed on billboard ahead of Shanghai

The so-called Hyundai Mini-Sonata now has a proper name. Called the Mingtu in China, this new sedan will slot in between the compact Elantra and midsize Sonata, and it sports a pretty nifty look.
We've known for a while now that Hyundai is working on a more mature version of its Fluidic styling language, the first fruits of which showed up in the latest Santa Fe, and the Mingtu seems to take that refined appearance to the next level with a refined look of creased lines, a chiseled fascia and a smooth greenhouse.
There's no indication that this car will be offered in the US market, but it's certainly possible that some of its styling elements will carry over to the next Elantra or Sonata. In any case, expect a range of 1.8- and 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines to be announced for the Chinese market when the Mingtu makes its official debut at the Shanghai Motor Show this weekend.

BMW, Hyundai score big in JD Power's first Tech Experience Index

While automakers are quick to brag about winning a JD Power Initial Quality Study award, the reality, as we've pointed out before, is that these ratings are somewhat misleading, since IQS doesn't necessarily distinguish genuine quality issues. JD Power's new Tech Experience Index aims to solve that problem. The new metric takes the same 90-day approach as IQS but focuses exclusively on technology – collision protection, comfort and convenience, driving assistance, entertainment and connectivity, navigation, and smartphone mirroring. It splits the industry up into just seven segments, based loosely on size, which is why the Chevrolet Camaro is in the same division (mid-size) as Kia Sorento and the Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class is in the same segment as the Hyundai Genesis (mid-size premium). It makes for some screwy bedfellows, to be sure. Still, splitting tech experience away from initial quality should allow customers to make more informed and intelligent decisions when buying new vehicles. In the inaugural study, respondents listed BMW and Hyundai as the big winners, with two segment awards – the 2 Series for small premium and the 4 Series for compact premium, and the Genesis for mid-size premium and Tucson for small segment. The Chevrolet Camaro (midsize), Kia Forte (compact), and Nissan Maxima (large) scored individual wins. Ford also had a surprising hit with the Lincoln MKC, which ranked third in the compact premium segment behind the 4 Series and Lexus IS. This is a coup for the Blue Oval, whose woeful MyFord Touch systems made the brand a victim of the IQS' flaws in the early 2010s. But Ford and other automakers might not want to celebrate just yet. According to JD Power, there's still a lot of room for improvement – navigation systems were the lowest-rated piece of tech in the study. Instead, customers repeatedly saluted collision-avoidance and safety systems, giving the category the best marks of the study and listing blind-spot monitoring and backup cameras as two must-have features – 96 percent of respondents said they wanted those two systems in their next vehicle. But this isn't really a surprise. Implementation of safety systems from brand to brand is similar, and they don't require any input from users, unlike navigation and infotainment systems which are frustratingly deep.