Genesis Seconds Out

2012 Hyundai Genesis 5.0 R-Spec: First Drive

I'm traveling across Nevada's Valley of Fire State Park in the Genesis 5.0 R-Spec, whose 429 horses bubble up from a new five-liter version of Hyundai's Tau V8. It's a well-considered engine, stroked from the company's 4.6-liter Tau, then re-intaked and direct-injected. The five-liter, which Hyundai will offer as an option on the top-line Equus sedan, also has electronic throttle control, consigning the old bowden cable to the Museum of Perfectly Good 19th Century Bicycle Technologies.

Outside it's 111°F, according to the nav screen, up from 109°F a minute ago. The AC's blaring out "Song of the 737s in F# Minor" against the intensifying desert heat. About 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Route 147 shows off its recent pave, courtesy of Uncle Sam. "Lake Mead Boulevard," as 147's known, is as smooth as a Luther Vandross album cut, and begs for someone to defile it with rubber frags.

So, down goes the pedal on the large Korean sedan with the new engine.

The good news, at least for buyers who enjoy smooth power delivery, is, well, it's smooth. The bad news? Despite the R branding, the new engine isn't the assertive type. It's not the high-revving screamer you hoped would one day show up in the Genesis Coupe for hunting Mustang GTs. It's a luxury engine, more befitting the Equus.

But it's no slouch; Hyundai says the 4,100-pound R-Spec can get from 0-60 in 5.1 seconds. When the pedal's planted, speed accrues like compound interest on the as-tested price of $46,535.

The engine can indeed do work. More than 300 lb-ft of its 376 lb-ft peak torque is available at 1,500 rpm. Power output is an impressive 85 hp/liter — impressive for a luxury car. But a true performance variant should reach a little further toward the 100 hp/liter mark.

The R-Spec isn't entirely about the engine, though. Chassis tuning plays a significant role. Fortunately, my driving partner on this desert burn is Wendell Collins, lead chassis engineer, who explains the goal was to make incremental tweaks that would retain the sedan's character, not to make it the fastest Genesis through a gymkhana course. Performance-wise, the point is to keep it flatter in corners and to turn in more accurately.

Those tweaks include a 19 mm hollow rear stabilizer bar and stiffer springs at the front and rear, and higher damping rates applied to the Genesis sedan's usual Sachs ASD gas shocks.

Route 147, which mainly comprises long sweepers, isn't giving us a read on the chassis's fortitude for tighter cornering. Still, in high-speed turns it conveys the pillowy feel of the base V8 sedan, and yet stays flat. Roll remains modest when it's forced into an impromptu slalom. The electro-hydraulic steering carries largely over from the base V8 model, but it's been calibrated to service the larger 19" wheels. While slightly weightier and more precise, the sensations are more remote than I'd prefer for attacking a canyon road.

Scratching “Seconds Out” Genesis « Dennysakrie63's Blog

Held by many as the best of Genesis’ live entries, this album certainly cements Genesis’ live reputation. Arguably containing the definitive performances of several Genesis classics, this album to me captures the beast that Genesis is live better than most of the other albums. Most of this album was recorded over five nights at Paris’ Palais des Sports, June 11 to 15, 1977, and includes several Genesis classics. On to the songs:

Squonk- The set opener from the Wind &Wuthering album tour gets things going in fine form. Chester Thompson, on his first tour with Genesis, propels this song along like he was the one that recorded it. It breathes a little more in a live setting, and Phil sounds great on vocals. It’s easy to see why this was the set opener. Squonk definitely starts it off right.

The Carpet Crawlers- For whatever reason, I’ve never been a fan of this song. Me, I would’ve left it off in favor of In That Quiet Earth going into Afterglow. Phil sings it well, it’s just I’ve never really liked this song. To me it doesn’t go anywhere. Plus, I think it sounds out of context being plucked from the Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974).

Robbery Assault and Battery- I’m sure Phil felt a little awkward on those first few tours having to be up at the front of the stage as opposed to being in the back behind his drums. This song’s middle section provides him with the chance to get behind his drums and rock out. I would’ve loved to see this song live to see Phil act out the lyrics, as I think they are among the funnier in Genesis’ catalog. Phil does a good job of getting into the characters, and it does translate to tape. I really love how Tony brings the mellotron into the mix at the 3:00 mark. That’s such a smooth fade in, and I love the transitions between Tony and Steve taking the lead line. I also like the double drumming after the “God always sides on the side of the bad man” section. It obviously didn’t take Phil Collins and Chester Cortez Thompsons long to find common ground.

Afterglow- The only song on Seconds Out that comes from the album they were touring for. This version is alright, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the version found on Three Sides Live. It’s still a great song, though. Tony’s mellotron work is subtle but adds the right amount of melancholy.And surprisingly,Chester Thompson took some of his fill-in drumming part from his Frank Zappa live era.It’s amazing folks !

Seconds out

Genesis and The lamb lies down on Broadway

Genesis, Chapter and Verse

The new Rolling Stone album guide

Stereo review