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Where is Hyundai's upscale Genesis brand going, and what is it, anyway?

"Genesis is the beginning, where everything sprung from. That's where the light is, and that's where we see ourselves." Manfred Fitzgerald. A genesis is an origin story, a new start. So when Hyundai had accomplished its original mission of achieving near parity with the top Japanese marques in the middle-class car market and decided to attempt to move upscale into the profitable luxury automotive sector a few years ago, it made some sense that this was the moniker it bestowed to its spinoff brand. "Genesis is the beginning, where everything sprung from," says Manfred Fitzgerald, the global brand chief. "That's where the light is, and that's where we see ourselves." But now that genesis has turned to germination. A pair of production sedans have been launched, the G80 and G90 luxo-barges. A smaller, 3 Series-fighting sedan, the G70, was previewed as a concept in last year's New York Auto Show. And now, last week in New York, the brand showed something in the all-important crossover category, the GV80. Powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, it's a look ahead at what Genesis' SUV line could be like, though the fuel-cell element faces hurdles. View 2 Photos "We have great resources with our brand partners in fuel-cell technology, so when it came to alternative propulsion, this was a natural," says Fitzgerald. "Not just for the US market, but looking at this globally, this is the best technology, but there are a lot of pain points to overcome, especially in terms of infrastructure." Genesis has promised us a handful more cars by 2020, including a coupe and another crossover. Expansion into additional vehicle realms ought to help flesh things out a bit. Though the brand can't really flesh things out any less. Only Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Smart, and Bentley sold fewer cars so far this year, and two of those brands are a century old and Italian, one is a century old and extremely exclusive, and the other is irrelevant in the United States. Given that company, where does that place Genesis? After a recent test drive in a G90, we have to say that we're not sure. The styling is acceptable, if a bit derivative and anodyne. The level of delight is quite lackluster. And the ride is cushy, quiet, and competent, but no better than a contemporary Buick. In a category in which excellence and exquisiteness are the point of entry, what does Genesis represent, what is its category-killing feature or component or capability? "We are known for being audacious.

Hyundai officially names 3-row SUV the Palisade, to be revealed at LA Auto Show

The reports we've been hearing about Hyundai's new three-row SUV are right, it's going to be called the Palisade and be revealed at this year's Los Angeles Auto Show. Coming for model year 2020, it'll be Hyundai's new flagship SUV with eight-passenger capability. For those counting, that's one more than the Santa Fe XL it will be replacing. Hyundai released one teaser image for us to check out, but it doesn't tell us much of anything about the big SUV. We've been seeing plenty of spy shots of the truck over the past few months that do give us an idea of what to expect, though. Based on the Grandmaster Concept, the three-row SUV looks like it has a luxurious interior. Spy shots show split headlight modules and a large, cascading grille too. It's going to be big. Hyundai tends to name its vehicles after exotic locations, and this one is no different. Palisade refers to the Pacific Palisades, an affluent neighborhood on the coast of Southern California. You might be more likely to see Bentleys and Range Rovers roaming the streets in this area, but Hyundai is adopting it nonetheless. We'll be able to say more come LA Auto Show time, but for now, Hyundai says the Palisade will be available in the summer of 2019 for the U.S. market. When the Palisade does arrive, it will be facing a crowded market of others all elbowing for the same piece of pie. Coming out with a large SUV never seems like a bad idea these days with how the market always receives them, but we'll see how well Hyundai can teach everybody to look for the Palisade nameplate instead of the Santa Fe XL now. Related video:

Mad Max homage is amazingly weird, great

Hyundai Germany and content producer Endemol Beyond are back with a cinematic-themed encore, this time for the Hyundai Tucson. Their first act came last year with a ten-minute video that recreated scenes from 70 movies, all for the purpose of highlighting the European i10 hatchback. The length is cut in half this time, but all four minutes focus on one film: Mad Max: Fury Road. It features mild mannered "Nilz" as a trepidatious Max Rockatansky on the run from Warboys and their model cars. When Imperator Furiosa shows up with some forced perspective, things get even more, how do you say, interesting, as everyone battles through to a metallic blue Valhalla. It will make sense when you watch it. Kind of. The tagline is "Change is good." We have no idea how that's meant to fit in, but maybe we'll cotton on with the coming videos that pay homage to TRON: Legacy, Drive, and Inception. Right now we just think this video is wild. And worth a watch.