2012 Hyundai Sonata Se 2.0 Turbo on 2040-cars

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Hyundai Group design chief wants more differentiation between models and brands

Luc Donckerwolke, the man who oversees design at Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis, is determined to get more differentiation into the model range. He not only wants greater visual separation between all the models in the range, he also wants more distinction between Hyundai Group cars and others in the respective segments, and global distinctions so that a Hyundai in China doesn't necessarily look like one built for North America. He told Autocar, "We will not have a global design language because otherwise it's too rigid. [The alternative is] more work, but it's more flexible." Donckerwolke gets an extreme look at the results of homogeneous design, because an enormous number of cars on the road in South Korea are Hyundai Group products. "[Our] core task is to differentiate the design philosophy of the three brands, not least because we have a big [around 70%] share in Korea. We need to differentiate each model, otherwise the landscape is too homogeneous." Top-down, each brand gets a design brief. Hyundai will be Hyundai's "sexy, seductive and sensuous, sporty, eager and stylish," holding onto its value proposition while adding emotion. Kia will be "young, challenging and cool — cooler than before," said brand design chief Byungchul Juh, with Donckerwolke adding that it's about "streetwear — bold, fresh and young." And Genesis is "haute couture." Donckerwolke characterizes the design philosophy as not "Russian dolls but ... chess pieces, with a look that reveals its own charismatic character. For example, Kia's used to be about the tiger nose grille, separate headlights and the lower intake. Now it's going to be more of a mask that will deliver sportiness and a presence." Kia designer Juh said, "There will be a distinct version of tiger face for each segment, and we'll keep the tiger nose grille. In principle it's the same, but there's a different interpretation for each segment, and more of a 3D feeling. We're moving from a nose to a face." The sketches we've seen of Kia's coming small global crossover take a first step, and we're told the next Sportage will make more impact than the new Tucson. As for Hyundai, the next Sonata will "be the design flag-bearer." We wait to see how much of the vehicle all of this affects. But right now, look at the 2020 Elantra and Sonata from the front three-quarter; ignore their front fascias, and they're two sizes of one sausage.

2015 Hyundai Genesis revealed in renderings

We're currently in Seoul, South Korea, checking in on the 2015 Hyundai Genesis at the automaker's headquarters. We can't yet offer any driving impressions, but at least we can share a few renderings of what the new sedan will look like.
As you can see, practically everything above the beltline has been carried over almost untouched from the HCD-14 Genesis Concept we saw earlier this year. The front-end styling, on the other hand, is a complete departure from current Hyundai design language. Note the large, upright grille and the more dynamic headlights and fascia.
There's still no word as to when Hyundai will officially debut the 2015 Genesis, but it won't be a long wait.

Is it time for the car-based trucks to return?

Back in 1957 Ford began producing the Ranchero. In 1959 the El Camino made its debut. In time, other manufacturers would execute their own version of the "Car Truck" anomaly. Dodge, Subaru, and Volkswagen would all join in the category before eventually ceasing production for the United States. Although production ran longer overseas, including Australia, where the "utes" were very well received, in the United States the last ute offering, the Subaru Baja, would cease production in 2006. The manufacturer offerings were very diverse. Powerplants ranged from 4 to 8 cylinders. The number of driving wheels were also diverse. Some were 2 wheel drive, others 4 wheel drive. Even more differentiation could be found in how the manufacturers decided to pursue the utility portion of their vehicle by providing either a unibody architecture for improved mileage, or a solid chassis for extra load bearing capacity and better towing ratings. Here's a brief (not comprehensive) production history of ute history in the United States... Chevy El Camino/ GMC Caballero: 1959-1960 then 1964-987 Dodge Rampage/ Plymouth Scamp: 1982-1984 Ford Ranchero: 1957-1979 Subaru Brat: 1978-1987 Subaru Baja: 2003-2006 Volkswagen Rabbit Sportruck: 1978-1984 That brings us to 2017. Trucks are huge sellers for manufacturers. However, miles per gallon ratings are huge concerns for those same manufacturers. So, automakers are looking to increase the efficiencies of their products to make them more palatable to the increasingly green conscience buying public. Enter a ute revival. A reborn unibody ute would meet that need as it would have the mileage numbers more closely tied to a car than a truck. It seems that I'm not the only one thinking this way. Hyundai has identified the emptiness of this car truck niche, looked at its own portfolio, and recognized the lack of pickup trucks. Fixing that emptiness is one of their concerns. So, they have viewed the active traditional pickup market, while also watching the unibody Ridgeline sales over in the Honda camp and determined that the niche needs to be filled with their own twist. They are rumored to have green lighted the 2019 Hyundai Santa Cruz for sales beginning in 2018. Hyundai's twist however, is that their vehicle would be based on a crossover chassis, possibly the Tucson. Remember, this is a rumor. So, it could change to a red light from the manufacturer or just as easily change to a Genesis chassis overnight.