I had a fun-spirited conversation with Hyundai Motor America's President and Chief Executive Officer Jong Eun Kim at the L.A. Auto Show last week as we watched his sister company, Kia, unveil the Soul. Today we learned why Mr. Kim was in such a good mood - he's heading back to Hyundai Motor Company headquarters in Korea.
John Krafcik has been promoted to Acting President and Chief Executive Officer and will be responsible for implementation of strategic direction and management of the company's operations. Krafcik, who joined Hyundai in April 2004 from Ford Motor Company, moves up from his post of Vice President of Product Development and Strategic Planning.
Former BMW North America and Volvo Cars North America President, Vic Doolan told me at the L.A. Auto Show that the Hyundai Genesis sedan is "one hell of a motor car". Those sentiments are also found on Edmunds.com CarSpace pages.
The sizzle around the 2009 Hyundai Genesis sedan, which went on sale in the summer, continued at SEMA in Las Vegas a few weeks ago with three variants brought to us from RKSport/Hyundai America Technical Center (HATCI), RIDES magazine and DUB magazine.
The RKSport Genesis with a white body and black hood and roof has a Hyundai-developed screw-type supercharged 4.6 liter Tau V8 engine taking the stock 375 horsepower up to 460 horsepower enabling a zero to sixty dash in 4.9 seconds, not bad for a luxury sedan. With cylinder deactivation, similar to some GM and Chrysler engines, the Genesis achieves 18 miles per gallon in city and 27 miles per gallon on the highway matching the fuel economy of the Genesis 3.8-liter V6 engine.
The RKSport/HATCI Genesis has a modified hood, polyurethane front lower fascia, rear lower fascia, left and right side skirts, plus a composite rear roof spoiler and trunk spoiler. RKSport partnered with other aftermarket companies to add TSW alloy wheels, a Baer performance brake package, K&N performance air intake, Eibach lowering springs and a Magnaflow performance exhaust.
DUB magazine's all white Genesis also carries the 4.6-liter Tau V8 engine along with 5-spoke white wheels, black and white leather interior, custom lowering kits, 22-inch wheels, an upscale audio and video system and DUB emblems and tinted windows.
Hyundai told me that 70% of the Genesis sedans sold have the V6 engine while just 30% have the V8, possibly because the V8 models started arriving in early October. That may be a blessing because people may be more friendly to the V8 with gas prices back under $2 a gallon.
Subscribe
Recent Posts
Archives
Categories
Links
Leave a comment