Subaru BRZ vs Mazda MX-5 vs Hyundai Genesis Coupe

In our ongoing $25k sports car poll, the Subaru BRZ has taken a clear lead with 20 percent out of more than 6,100 votes cast up until today. Oddly enough, its Scion FR-S twin has only managed to gather 7 percent (despite being the same car), the same as the Hyundai Genesis Coupe 2.0 Turbo, which is still enough to place both higher than the Mazda MX-5 that has secured 4 percent of your votes.
Why do mention these cars specifically? Because Road&Track magazine brought together the Subaru BRZ, Hyundai Genesis Coupe 2.0 Turbo and the MX-5 soft-top roadster to find out which of the three ticks the most boxes for enthusiasts looking for a fun, rear-wheel drive sports car without breaking the bank.
As you would expect, we won't spoil the video by telling you the outcome. However, once you've seen it, feel free to hop over to the comments section to voice your thoughts.

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Hyundai is Thinking About Making Genesis a Separate Luxury Brand

Korean carmakers have made impressive progress in the last decade. From below-par products that were chosen by people who wanted a new car and couldn’t afford anything pricier, Hyundai and Kia models quickly become competitive in most segments. And we're not the only ones who say this; even VW's boss is wondering why his company's products can't match Hyundai’s quality in certain areas.
No matter how good a car is, though, preconceptions die hard. For certain people, the badge on the hood says a lot about not only the car, but themselves as well; no quality survey, iPad manual, road-test review or 10-speed auto transmission is not going to change that in the foreseeable future
If you can’t change the people, you can surely change the badge, though. Toyota, Nissan and Honda have gone down that road by launching premium divisions like Lexus, Infiniti and Acura. This has worked more than well, at least in the U.S.
And this is the dilemma Hyundai is facing right now, according to a report from Autonews. If some buyers choose to ignore its upmarket offerings like the Genesis or the Equus because they sport a round “H” badge instead of an “L”, a three-pointed star or a white and blue roundel, why not launch a new brand?
Dave Zuchowski, executive vice president of sales for Hyundai Motor America, acknowledges the issue: “There’s a conversation going on within the company that says, ‘Does having the Hyundai badge on the premium vehicles sell more units, or does it restrict us from selling more?’.”
The question becomes difficult to answer because Hyundai sales are on the rise anyway: in the first year of production, Hyundai sold 3,193 units of its US$60,000 Equus sedan. That’s 893 more than the company expected.
On the other hand, Zuckowski admits that even though Genesis sedan and Coupe sales have increased by 13 percent in 2011, many buyers have chosen to replace the Hyundai logo with the optional Genesis winged badge.
If it gets the green light, the new division will include rear-wheel drive saloons and coupes and adopt the Genesis brand name and an alphanumeric naming system for its models.
Contrary to Lexus and Infiniti, there would be no different dealership network and the new sub-brand would be sold through Hyundai’s existing network.
While Zuchowski noted that the company hasn’t made a final decision yet, if it gets the go ahead, the launch could coincide with the new Genesis and Equus sedans, which are expected next year as 2014 models.
Mind you, creating a luxury sub-brand is not necessarily a recipe for success. In 1992, Mazda planned to launch the Amati luxury division in response to Acura, Lexus and Infiniti. The plan never took off, and the Xedos name that was applied to the European Mazda 6 in 1992 didn’t make any difference, so it was ditched five years later.
And, of course, we all know what happened, at a more upscale level, to a certain German premium manufacturer when it decided to challenge Bentley and Rolls-Royce…

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Rhys Millen Steals Genesis Coupe Drift Car in a Ford F-150 from Hyundai Headquarters

Hyundai's creative division has come up with a driftaluscious short film starring Rhys Millen, his Genesis Coupe racecar and the company's soon to be demolished, old Hyundai Motor America headquarters building in Fountain Valley, California.

The South Korean carmaker tells us that the idea for the movie actually came from one of its Service Technicians, Dustin Loranger, who posed the question:
"Why not put Rhys Millen, his Genesis Coupe drift car, and our abandoned HQ together for a unique drift demonstration in a unique industrial setting?"
If you're wondering about the outcome, hop over the break to watch the 5-minute long video.

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