Men Free Blog

Two things revealed at this year’s New York Auto Show had our salivary glands working overtime. The first was the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, which proved that at least one automaker (and now, two and possibly three) is getting hip to the idea that a rear-wheel-drive, two-door coupe with a turbocharged four-cylinder is needed in the marketplace. The second was over at the Kia booth, where Hyundai’s sub-brand revealed its Koup concept, powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter gasoline direct-injected (GDI) four-cylinder. According to Kia, this new mill makes 290 hp and 289 lb.-ft. of torque and could power several different models in both automaker’s lineups.

Fast-forward to yesterday when we received a couple of tips about a green Genesis Coupe shown at the Busan Auto Show in South Korea. The coupe supposedly shared display space with the same THETA turbocharged GDI 2.0-liter on a separate stand, causing some members of GenFans to assume that the 290 ps (285 hp) engine was fitted to the green coupe. However, the “380GT” badge on the back reveals that the coupe is actually powered by the run-of-the-mill 3.8-liter V6.

We called up Hyundai to ask about the engine and the Coupe on display. Their response: “We’re not commenting on it at this time.” While we understand that certain cards have to be kept close to one’s chest, it would have been easier just to tell us that the coupe on display and the engine at its booth have nothing in common. Since they’re remaining disconcertingly tight-lipped, can we assume that the turbocharged 2.0-liter GDI will find its way into the Genesis Coupe in the future? We hope so. And with Hyundai’s recent announcement that direct-injected engines are going to find their way into several of its models, it adds that much more fuel to the fire.

[Sources: Hyundai, GenFans]

Read

Acura rolled out the 2009 RL at the Chicago Auto Show, so the appearance of the Honda version of the car, badged Legend, isn’t the most searingly-hot news. What is frightfully obvious when you set eyes on the Legend is that the Honda version looks about a billion times better without the shield-style grille that afflicts the Acura in the most tacked-on fashion. Equally puzzling – and not a recent development – is why Honda trashed the established and respected Legend name for the anonymous and innocuous RL for Acura’s top-tier sedan.

Competition in the RL’s segment is brutal, and the same criticisms of the current model apply to its replacement. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the RL, mind you, it’s nicely styled, and well appointed – although when faced with the preponderance of rear-driving V8 competitors, the RL can’t claim superiority by chassis layout alone. Packing the 3.5-liter V6 that yanks the Accord around with authority, there’s no need for a V8, nor is RWD a necessity with Acura’s chassis wizards on the job, but buyers might remain unmoved.
[Source: Car Fanatic via World Car Fans]