Wow! This is the new Genesis X Concept, and to say it’s a looker would be a huge understatement. And it’s not just a flashy design study either, at least not from what we could gather during its recent global debut in Los Angeles. The Genesis X Concept could be (could be) the next benchmark.

Getting On The Map

Every so often, a “new” car company fires something like the Genesis X Concept off. The world takes notice, and that’s it: that car company is no longer the new kid at school. I remember this from the 60s and 70s. As a car industry, the Japanese plugged along with solid, goofy little offerings like the Toyopet. The Big Three and the Europeans would condescend and pat them on the head. “There, there. Aren’t you cute!”
Then boom! Toyota dropped the 2000 GT and Datsun dropped the 240Z. In more recent times, it’s Nissan giving us the GT-R, Acura the NSX, and Mazda the MX-5. Add to that the rise of brands like Lexus, which proved the Europeans were not the only ones who could produce sporty luxury cars. And people have Noticed.

Fast forward to today and to South Korea. Oh sure, as nice as they are, Hyundai and Kia are a derivative of sorts, aren’t they" Not very original. Sometimes, they seem like a knock-off of what Japanese brands have tried to do in the U.S. for years. And literally the same stuff I heard pundits saying about Japanese cars back in the day, they’re saying about...