-Is Genesis Coupe Mustang killer?

Motor Trend(USA & CANADA) - May 2009

  Just a year ago, Hyndai pulled out the red carpet to launch the Genesis, a rear-drive, V-8 motivated luxury car with power and grace akin to that of a Lexus LS 460. Its pricetag, however, resembled the one dangling from the rearview of a Chrysler 300C. And wouldn't you know it, just as the original Lexus LS did 20 years ago, the Genesis garnered much attention, plenty of love, and due respect.

l  akin to: If one thing is akin to another, it is similar to it in some way

l  dangling from: If something dangles from somewhere or if you dangle it somewhere, it hangs or swings loosely.

l  garnered : If someone has garnered something useful or valuable, they have gained it or collected it

 In certainly got ours. In fact, had it not been for the extraordinary Nissan GT-R, the Genesis would be reveling in Motor Trend Car of the Year glory for the next seven months. Suffice it to say, the Genesis is one of several top-notch products coming from the now formidable Korean brand. Don't believe us? Well, Hyundai was one of only four automakers to sell more vehicles in January 2009 than it did in January 2008. In other words, in a month when such terms as "Great Recession" were floating around and Chrysler's sales were down 54.8 percent, GM's 48.9, and Toyota's 31.7, Hyundai's were on the rise. Baby steps? Hyundai is making giant strides.

l  top-notch(=first rate) : If you describe someone or something as top-notch, you mean that they are of a very high standard or quality

l  formidable : If you describe something or someone as formidable, you mean that you feel slightly frightened by them because they are very great or impressive.

l  float around : A rumour or idea that is floating around is often heard or talked about.

l  make strides : If you make strides in something that you are doing, you make rapid progress in it.

One such stride - and it's a big one, especially considering Hyundai's sportiest vehicle to date was the 172 horsepower front drive Tiburon - is the car you see on these pages, the all-new 2010 Genesis Coupe. Just as the Genesis sedan's mission was to boldly lead Hyundai into the luxury-car arena, the Coupe's is to unabashedly storm the sports-car field. What's the formula? Try 300-plus-horsepower, rear drive, and styling that'll startle a Town Car. But does it word? Let's explore.

l  Arena : You can refer to a field of activity, especially one where there is a lot of conflict or action, as an arena of a particular kind.

l  unabashed : If you describe someone as unabashed, you mean that they are not ashamed, embarrassed, or shy about something, especially when you think most people would be.

l  formula : A formula is a plan that is invented in order to deal with a particular problem.

l  startle : If something sudden and unexpected startles you, it surprises and frightens you slightly.

We all agreed the Genesis Coupe feels sapphire solid. Build quality seems first rate. The doors shut with a reassuring thump. Whether navigating a straight highway or a winding byway, the Hyundai comes across as tight and well put together. This overall feel for solidity, of course, is a welcome plus, as it not only gave Hyundai engineers a strong starting point, but it also provides the driver with quicker and more communicative responses.

l   solid : A solid substance or object stays the same shape whether it is in a container or not.

l  reassuring : If you find someone's words or actions reassuring, they make you feel less worried about something. `It's okay now,' he said reassuringly.

l  thump : If you thump something somewhere or if it thumps there, it makes a loud, dull sound by hitting something else.

Obviously, Hyundai has much to be proud of with its first rear-drive sport coupe. The value is unbeatable. The quality is tip-top.

The road manners are respectable. The styling, with its unique Z-shaped character line and drop-beltline rear window, is standout. Sure, there are some details - namely, the inexact manual and the numb steering - that need some fine-tunning. But for an initial effort, in a field that it's never played, Hyundai has delivered a solid, sexy product.

l  unbeatable : If you describe something as unbeatable, you mean that it is the best thing of its kind.

l  tip-top : You can use tip-top to indicate that something is extremely good

l  inexact : Something that is inexact is not precise or accurate

l  numb : If a part of your body is numb, you cannot feel anything there.

Water Ship Down

As temperatures rise and populations expand, the global trade in water is drying up.

-Fred Pearse, February 2008, SEED Magazine, USA & CANADA

 The world's food supply system is built on virtural water. Every ton of wheat arriving at a dockside carries with it, in virtual form, the thousand tons of water needed to grow it. The trade in "virtual water" - estimated at nearly on trillion cubic meters a year or twenty Nile Rivers - is one of the fastest growing in the world, and one that the global population is increasingly reliant on. Without this trade, the Middle East would have suffered repeated water wars in the past 30 years. It ran out of water to feed itself years ago.

l  Wheat: Wheat is a cereal crop grown for food. Wheat is also used to refer to the grain of this crop, which is usually ground into flour and used to make bread.

l  reliant : A person or thing that is reliant on something needs it and often cannot live or work without it.

 The US exports around a third of all the water it withdraws from the natural environment, mostly in the form of irrigated grain or the products of grain-fed livestock. Europe, on the other hand, is a major importer of virtual water. Each year, according to UN water analyst  Arjen Hoekstra, Britain imports 700 tons of virtual water per head. He cites Britain's national water self-sufficiency at around 30 percent - among the lowests outside the Middle East.

l  Irrigate : To irrigate land means to supply it with water in order to help crops grow.

l  cite : If you cite something, you quote it or mention it, especially as an example or proof of what you are saying

 The biggest virtual-water exporters are themselves running out of the precious liquid. The top two - the US and Australia - are both suffering extreme water shortages because of long-running and worsening droughts. In the American West, great rivers like the Colorado and the Rio Grande are drying up, as are critical underground reserves like the Ogallala Aquifer of the Great Plains. Lake Mead, the key reservoir on the Colorado, reached a record low this year. In the East, Lake Lanier, the huge federal reservoir outside Atlantae, is almost dry. Georgia, Alabama, and Florida have gone to federal appeals court over right to what is left.

l  critical :  A critical time, factor, or situation is extremely important.

l  reserve : A reserve is a supply of something that is available for use when it is needed.

l  reservoir : A reservoir is a lake that is used for storing water before it is supplied to people.

l  appeal : An appeal is a serious and urgent request.

 With cities willing to pay what it takes to keep the taps running, it is farmers that lose out. In Australia, which is currently suffering its worst drought on record, farmers are being forced to leave their fields unsown - many have given up altogether and moved to urban centers. The Australian drought has already been a major cause of rising world food prices; as the country cuts crop exports even further in 2008, these costs will climb yet higher.

 Systems for harvesting local rains - in China, cellars are being converted into water cisterns - will also ramp up as reservoirs empty and confidence in suppliers evaporates. Because, although the freshwater crisis presents the world  with a challenge of epic proportions, water is the ultimate renewable resource. We may pollute it, irrigate crops with it, and flush it down our drains. But somewhere, it will return, purged and fresh, in rain clouds over India, Africa, or the green hills of Europe. Each day, in fact, more than 1 trillion cubic meters of rain falls to Earth, roughly the equivalent of the annual global trade in virtual water. The trick is in ensuring that water is always where we need it, when we need it - enough for all 6.5 billions of us.

l  cellar : A cellar is a room underneath a building, which is often used for storing things in.

l  cisterns : A cistern is a container which stores the water supply for a building, or that holds the water for flushing a toilet

l  evaporate : When a liquid evaporates, or is evaporated, it changes from a liquid state to a gas, because its temperature has increased.

l  drain : A drain is a pipe that carries water or sewage away from a place, or an opening in a surface that leads to the pipe.

l  puged : If you purge something of undesirable things, you get rid of them.

l  equivalent : If one amount or value is the equivalent of another, they are the same.