AUTO PRESSROOM
Genesis, what a concept: It’s rare that an automaker will go to the trouble of building stylistically whimsical vehicles that will never see the light of day. However, at the recent New York International Auto Show in March, Hyundai’s Genesis division demonstrated the brand’s artistic proclivities. The all-electric Essentia concept features what’s called “athletic elegance”. One of the coupe’s primary visual cues is scissorstyle doors that rarely make it to the production stage (ultra exotic models excepted). The interior could best be described as otherworldly, but not far from what you might expect in a car that’s loaded with self-driving technology. Powering the Essentia are series of electric motors backed up by a centrally located battery pack extending the length of the vehicle. Is VW going trucking? : It sure looks that way after the automaker rolled out a fully finished pickup concept at the New York International Auto Show in March. The four-door Volkswagen Atlas Tanoak (based on the Atlas utility-vehicle platform) was shown alongside the stylish five-passenger Atlas Cross Sport concept, which is a virtual lock for the 2019 model year. With the apparent resurgence of midsize pickup trucks in North America, the Tanoak makes sense, even if it’s just a concept at this point. Along with the current seven-passenger Atlas, adding the Cross Sport and Tanoak to the lineup would indicate that VW is forming a sub-brand of Atlas nameplates.