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Genesis cars win accolades, offer value — so why are sales so bad?

My high-school buddy Brent Cormier was so smitten with the Genesis G80 when he saw it at an event I hosted at SXSW in 2016 he bought a used 2013 Hyundai Genesis a short time later and fell in love with the car. "It surpasses my every expectation," said Cormier, a self-described "renaissance man" who owns and runs a real estate agency with his wife Laura, is a food service executive chef and part owner of Austin-based Thin the Herd Guitars. "I was locked into Mercedes and Audi for 10 years," he added. "And felt trapped in an endless pit of maintenance costs." After owning the Genesis over the past two years — including using it as an Uber and Lyft driver to earn extra cash — Cormier learned what some frugal luxury sedan buyers and a handful of car reviewers have discovered: Genesis offers great bang for the buck compared to other premium brands and can compete with the best in terms of performance, features and comfort. Hyundai's luxury brand also earned a prominent third-party endorsement last week when for the first time Genesis topped J.D. Power's 2018 APEAL study, surpassing German luxury-performance icon Porsche. The APEAL study (which stands for Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout) "measures owners' emotional attachment and level of excitement across 77 attributes," ranging from performance to comfort, and asks nearly 68,000 owners of new 2018 models to score vehicles on a 1,000-point scale. In its second year ranked as a stand-alone brand, Genesis earned an APEAL score that bumped it up 15 points to 884 and helped push it past Porsche — and past BMW, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volvo, Cadillac, Land Rover and Lexus, in order of ranking. Last month, Genesis also topped J.D. Power's Initial Quality Survey (IQS) for the first time this year. And both its models were awarded Top Safety Pick Plus ratings by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, among 11 Plus ratings in all for Korean vehicles. Despite high J.D. Power rankings and great reviews, Genesis U.S. sales were off 50 percent for the first six months of 2018 compared to 2017, and in June Genesis sold only 796 vehicles — the first time U.S. numbers dropped below 1,000 in a month. Part of Genesis's APEAL and IQS success can be attributed to its small product lineup: just two models, the G80 and G90 sedans, with a third, the 2019 G70, launching later this year. And while those numbers may help in J.D.

Ford cuts production at 5 plants, has big backload of cars including Mustang

DETROIT — Ford said on Tuesday it plans to idle five North American vehicle assembly plants for a total of 10 weeks to reduce inventories of slow-selling models. The plants affected include three assembly plants in the United States and two in Mexico, the company said in a statement. The vehicle models include the Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ midsize sedans, the Ford Focus compact car, the Lincoln Continental and Ford Mustang, Ford Fiesta and the Ford Transit van. Ford said the Cuautitlan assembly plant that builds the Fiesta would be idled for three weeks. The Hermosillo, Mexico plant that builds the Fusion and MKZ and the Flat Rock, Michigan, factory that assembles Continentals and Mustangs will be idled for two weeks each. The Michigan Assembly plant that builds the Focus will be idled for one week, and the Kansas City assembly line that builds Transit vans will be down for two weeks. Ford did not give dates for the temporary shutdowns. The factories involved employ more than 15,000 people, according to Ford's website. The company did not say how many of those workers would face temporary layoffs. As of Sept. 1, Ford had 111 days' worth of unsold Mustangs, 87 days' supply of Fusions, and a 103 days' supply of Transit vans, according to Automotive News. Dealers had enough unsold Lincoln Continentals to last 162 days. Automakers aim for 65 to 70 days of inventory of most models. Ford and rival General Motors have wrestled most of this year to rein in high inventories of passenger cars as consumers have shifted to buying pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. Production cuts slice into revenue, but also could help the automakers avoid deeper price cuts on vehicles they can sell. Reporting by Joe WhiteRelated Video: Image Credit: Reuters Plants/Manufacturing Ford Lincoln Convertible Coupe Minivan/Van Sedan ford transit inventory flat rock kansas city assembly plant hermosillo

Lincoln Corsair reportedly on track for 2020 as replacement for MKC

Last month we told you how Lincoln was considering renaming the MKC crossover as the Corsair. Now, a report suggests that the MKC replacement is on track for 2020, a year ahead of schedule. Ford Authority reports the accelerated timeline, citing unnamed sources. Ford reportedly told dealers at a meeting this spring in Orlando it was considering Lincoln Corsair as the crossover's new name, but that it could change its mind before it went into production as a 2021 model. The accelerated development of the Corsair — or whatever its final name may be — might be a result of Ford's recent decision to do away with sedans and double down on hot-selling crossovers, SUVs and pickups. Ford Authority's sources tell it that Lincoln is borrowing elements including the mirrors, front fenders, tail lights and wide stance from the Aviator Concept that it unveiled in March in New York City. The Aviator was teased with a plug-in hybrid powertrain option, and given Ford's plans to electrify its lineup, it's entirely possible the Corsair will follow that path as well. Lincoln is slowly moving away from its MK alphanumeric naming system, adopting instead exotic travel-themed nomenclature (think Continental, Nautilus and Navigator). In this case, an actual "corsair" was a pirate ship popular along the southern Mediterranean from the 16th through the 18th centuries. Ford also already owns the name Corsair, so that helps. The MKC is Lincoln's strongest-selling vehicle in China, where the brand has seen explosive growth tapping into the droves of newly created wealthy carbuyers. In the United States, Lincoln sold 27,048 MKCs in 2017, making it the brand's third-best selling model behind the MKZ sedan and MKX crossover ( soon to be renamed the Nautilus). For the first half of 2018, it had sold 12,289 units, which was down 8.7 percent from the prior-year period. Related Video: Image Credit: Lincoln Lincoln Crossover Luxury PHEV lincoln mkc lincoln aviator