Genesis

A couple of years back, I had the opportunity to test drive the car then known as the Hyundai Genesis, and I thought it was an absolutely brilliant premium mid-size sedan. Hyundai had such confidence in the new Genesis that it recently spun it off into its own brand, focused exclusively on luxury vehicles.

I’ll just start out by saying that I’m not the buyer that most luxury carmakers aim for. I don’t care how comfortable a car is, or how high its economy rating is, or if my butt has hot and cold air blowing on it.

With the rise of full-size SUVs and Crossovers, full-size sedans have taken a hit in sales in just about every market – except the luxury market. The BMW 7 Series, Mercedes S Class and Lexus LS are still big sellers.

I’m still not sure how I feel about Hyundai trying to move upscale and make luxury cars. Toyota, Honda and Nissan were able to do it with Lexus, Acura, and Infiniti, so I guess Hyundai can do it with Genesis.

Hyundai has made an interesting (but not unexpected) announcement that will see the company spin off one of its nameplates as an entire sub-brand. We had a look at the 2015 Genesis 5.0 coupe last summer and the car was impressive.

Hyundai has helped a little girl tell her dad the most important message any kid can deliver; that she loves him. The catch is that the girl’s dad is an astronaut on the International Space Station.