As part of its efforts to move the Genesis Coupe out of the lineup in the least noticeable manner possible upscale, Hyundai has canceled the turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder that accounted for approximately half of its sales.
Automotive News reports that the 3.8-liter V-6 will be the sole engine available in the Coupe for the 2015 model year. Doing so will "allow us to reposition the coupe with a more premium performance buyer" according to company spokesperson Derek Joyce. However, a V-6 coupe with "adjusted" equipment will be made available to offer a cheaper GenCoupe to buyers who might have taken the 2.0 in the past.
It's difficult to interpret this as anything other than the beginning of the end for Hyundai's Mustang competitor. The Coupe has always been an oddball product, sharing a name with a mostly unrelated sedan in true Cutlass Calais fashion, and it's never done much volume. Presumably the company is sick of warranty hassles from young buyers turning up the boost on the turbo, but that's the price you pay to recruit those kids into your brand for a lifetime. Ask Subaru. It's also hard to see how it's an "upscale" move to settle on a single engine then cut equipment to make the car nearly as cheap as it was before, but that's how marketing people earn money; by marketing ideas like that to the automotive press.
You know what would be a truly brilliant upscale move? Dropping that five-liter from the R-Spec sedan into the Genesis Coupe. And by "upscale" I mean "redneck", and by "redneck", I mean "brilliant".
from The Truth About Cars http://ift.tt/Jh8LjA
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