Genesis X Convertible concept: Dope or nope?
After the release of the Genesis Concept X Speedium, Genesis has unveiled a totally new vehicle, concisely named the Genesis X Convertible. Genesis was keen to observe the reaction of the present media, and is undoubtedly watching the public’s reaction through articles just like this one. With Genesis lending a listening ear, what do you think? Dope or nope?
Many don’t realize that Genesis, the flagship badge of the Korean Hyundai Group, is already selling two fully electric vehicles. The first is the G80 Electrified, an electric luxury sedan that recently expanded sales operations into a total of 12 states. The second received a similarly narrow release, the GV60 crossover. The G80 was made by adapting the current gas-powered G80, whereas the GV60 was built from the ground up to utilize Hyundai’s E-GMP platform.
With the backing of ambitious investments from Hyundai, Genesis will stop gas-powered vehicle development in 2025, and offer only electric models starting in 2030. With this in mind, we take a look at the new Genesis X Convertible.
Light strips
The design is unabashedly heavy on lighting strips. The front grille is replaced by the spanning head light bars. These lights continue well past the front fender, and continue again after being interrupted by the tire. The sides of these white lights were shown to change to an amber color during a signal. The rear of the vehicle bears a similar pattern, with the dual red light bars continuing onto the side of the vehicle.
The classic convertible silhouette is a fairly conservative choice for a concept vehicle. One of the few departures from the timeless shape is the rear end, which carries a small spoiler protruding out from the top of the trunk. The trunk edge itself is concave from the side, adding a bit of a butt to the back of the vehicle.
Genesis X Convertible designer
The X Convertible concept was designed in just a few months by auto veteran Luc Donckerwolke. With some internal feedback at Genesis, Donckerwolke began the project this last June. A card stock drawing (seen below) was handed out at the unveiling event, presumably a recreation of an original idea.
During a brief interview, Donckerwolke was short on details for this, or future convertibles from Genesis. When asked about the intended electric options Genesis could be exploring, Donckerwolke responded:
We don’t talk in details about this car yet, in terms of the performance and everything. We’re working on this, this will come with time. At the moment we’re showing the search for an icon for the brand, and this is one of the possibilities.
Electrek’s Take
I like this design. Assuming it’s an EV, I hope Genesis pursues it all the way to production. The EV space is getting representation in more and more segments, and I think it’s about time the convertible market got some “coverage” from a larger model. My dream EV is a big ghetto-blasting DJ Kool Herc convertible with speakers so big they blow a hole in society.
Considering the brand only has a few years of ICE development left, someone is going to be left holding the hot potato. Genesis has three concepts up for adulation right now; the Coupe, the Speedium, and this Convertible. Which of these will be stuck with a gas engine, and which will continue uninterrupted into the modern age?
Sound off in the comments section and let Genesis know what you think.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Paris’ bike-share system, Vélib has long been considered one of the shining success stories of urban micromobility. With a massive fleet of over 20,000 pedal and electric-assist bicycles around Paris, the service has helped millions of residents and tourists get around the City of Light without needing a car or scooter. But lately, a growing problem is threatening to knock the wheels off this urban mobility marvel: theft and joyriding.
According to city officials and the service operator, more than 600 Vélib bikes are now going missing every single week. That’s over 30 bikes a day simply vanishing from the system – some stolen outright, others taken on “joy rides” and never returned.
“At the moment we’re missing 3,000 bikes,” explained Sylvain Raifaud, head of the Agemob company that currently operates the Velib system. That’s nearly 15% of over 20,000 Vélib bikes across Paris.
The sticky-fingered culprits aren’t necessarily professional thieves or organized crime rings. Instead, they’re often regular users who treat the shared bikes like disposable toys.
The city estimates that many people have figured out how to pry the bikes out of the system’s parking docks, unlocking one for a casual cruise and then ditching it somewhere far from a docking station.
Once pried free, the bikes are technically usable for the next 24 hours until their automatic locking feature kicks in. At that point, the bikes are often simply abandoned. Some end up in alleyways. Others get tossed in rivers. A few just disappear completely.
And since the bikes are intended to be parked at their many docking stations around the city, they don’t have GPS chips, further complicating recovery of “liberated” bikes.
The issue started small but has grown into more than an inconvenience – it’s beginning to undermine the entire purpose of the service. With bikes going missing at such a high rate, many Vélib docking stations are left empty, especially during rush hours.
Riders looking for a quick commute or a convenient hop across town are increasingly finding themselves without available bikes, or having to walk long distances to find a functioning one.
That kind of unreliability chips away at user confidence and threatens to drive potential riders back into cars, cabs, or other less sustainable forms of transport at a time when Paris has already made great strides to dramatically reduce car usage in the city.
The losses are financially painful, too. Replacing stolen or vandalized bikes isn’t cheap, and the resources spent on tracking down missing equipment or reinforcing anti-theft measures are stretching thin. Vélib has faced theft and vandalism issues before, especially during its early years, but this latest surge has officials sounding the alarm with renewed urgency.
Officials acknowledge that there’s no easy fix. Paris, like many cities with bike-share systems, walks a fine line between accessibility and accountability. Part of what makes Vélib so successful is its ease of use and widespread availability. But those same features make it vulnerable to misuse – especially when enforcement is limited and the consequences for abuse are minimal.
The timing of the problem is especially unfortunate. In recent years, Paris has seen impressive results in reducing car traffic, expanding bike lanes, and promoting cycling as a key part of its sustainable transport strategy. Vélib is a cornerstone of that plan. But if the system becomes too unreliable, it risks losing the very people it was designed to serve.
Meanwhile, as Parisians increasingly find themselves staring at empty docks, the challenge for the city and Vélib will be to restore confidence in the system without making it harder to use. That means striking the right balance between freedom and responsibility, between open access and protection against abuse.
In a city where cycling is supposed to be the future of mobility, losing thousands of bikes to joyriders and sticky fingers isn’t just frustrating; it’s unsustainable.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike