Kia Launches All-New 2019 Optima at New York International Auto Show

Kia made great waves among us car guys and car gals earlier this year when they unveiled the stunning Kia Stinger, a high-performance, rear-wheel-drive sedan clearly aimed straightaway at the enthusiast driver.

But let's face it: most people who are drooling over a stinger are probably pretty unlikely to buy one. More practical choices, like the Optima, are much more probable.

So is any of that exciting vibe trickling down the lineup from the Stinger, the presumptive flagship of the marque, to spice up the models your average Joe or Jane might buy?

Meet the All-Electric Genesis Essentia, a GT Coupe Concept Unveiled at New York International Auto Show

 Genesis, the new luxury spinoff marque from Hyundai, revealed their new Essentia Concept at the 2018 New York International Auto Show. The Essentia in all-electric, high-performance gran turismo luxury coupe that the company says is designed around an "Athletic Elegance" paradigm, providing a vision of future Genesis product performance and technology.

"We understand our obligation as a luxury car manufacturer to create objects of desire, sparking passion and inspiration by emphasizing a culture while exceeding expectations in terms of technology and connectivity, bringing our outside world seamlessly to the inside of the vehicle," said Manfred Fitzgerald, a former Lamborghini executive who now heads up the Genesis brand globally. "This is what the Genesis Essentia Concept is all about, and we are thrilled to introduce our interpretation of an all-electric, two-door Gran Turismo here in New York."

Mazda's Updated CX-3: An Example of What Tasteful Design Can Do for a Generally Boring Category—the Crossover

The crossover, or CUV, is not an automotive category that we're crazy about. We don't try to make that a secret around here. That said, it's also no secret that, at least relatively speaking, we are crazy about what Mazda has been doing design-wise recently. And the updated 2019 Mazda CX-3, which, interestingly, Mazda positions as a movement toward its next generation of vehicles, is a nice, if not earth-shattering, of what tasteful design can do for a category that, overall, is, well, shall we say somewhat lacking in the excitement department?

Hot Hatch or Haute Hatch? Meet the 2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback

The new 2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback.

Our regular readers have no doubt gathered by now that we are, to say the least, ambivalent toward the "hot-hatch" trend. 

Yes, some of them, like the Hyundai Veloster, are pretty cool. It's just that, depending on generational factors, it can be hard to shake the images of Chevettes and Dodge Omnis that come to mind when you hear the word "hatchback."

But, just for the record, we're sharing the news that Toyota Motor of North America announced Friday that they will unveil their all-new 2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback at the New York International Auto Show (March 30-April 8, 2018).

In a rather syrupy, purple-prose-laden press release worthy of the Bad Pitch Blog, Toyota characterized the new 2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback as "Toyota's newest, stylish, and most technologically-advanced small car."