I'm not the kind of guy who shows off a
lot. I'm old, bald, fat and broke, which doesn't leave me a lot of
wriggle room for showing off.
But I did get to show off my city this
week to about 60 people – 40 or 50 of them had never been to
Greenville before. I was only too happy to bask in the deluge of
compliments rained down on me by my media brethren and Hyundai
internals attending the two-day function.
2015 Hyundai Genesis 5.0L next to Greenville's Cigar Warehouse. |
The occasion was Hyundai's Southeast
media introduction for its redesigned 2015 Genesis. It attracted
motoring media from Texas to North Carolina.
For eight years I pestered Hyundai's
regional PR wonks to host an event in Greenville. My lobbying efforts
finally paid off. I'm no hero. I am, however, persistent and annoying
– apparently exactly the qualities required to convince a major
auto company to invest something north of $75,000 on an event in a
city that half the attendees had never heard of before booking their
flights.
Greenville's Westin Poinsett Hotel. |
Hyundai chose downtown's Westin
Poinsett for our two-night stay. Yes, Hyundai was gracious enough to
put me up there as well, despite my living 15 minutes away. Because I
had some difficulty piloting the elevator back to my 9th-floor room
both nights, that I didn't have to get myself all the way home was a
good thing.
Enjoying some updates over the years,
the Westin is clean, comfortable and modern in an “Old South”
sort of way. It is centrally located to all the downtown attractions.
I had been in it a few times, but this was my first experience
overnighting there. It was quiet and the service top notch.
Although Main Street, where the Westin
sits and the test cars were staged, is often backed up for several
blocks, downtown Greenville is less than sprawling and we were
outside its confines in about five minutes as we sprinted for North
Carolina.
The next-generation Genesis was a good
fit for the Upstate, as the locals call the area surrounding
Greenville. Classy without being ostentatious pretty well describes
Greenville and Genesis.
When it hits dealer showrooms in a
month or so Genesis will be offered in two basic flavors: a $38,000
3.8L V6-equipped version and a $51,500 5.0L with its V8. For another
$2,500, you can opt for AWD on the 3.8L.
We had the opportunity to drive all
three Genesis configurations. Had I not followed it with wheel time
in the 5.0L, I would have been quite satisfied with the performance
of the 311-horsepower 3.8L. It spooled up and got itself briskly off
the line. Both the 5.0L and the 3.8L use an eight-speed,
driver-shiftable automatic transmission to hustle power to the rear
wheels – or all the wheels for those 3.8Ls so equipped.
As fine as the 3.8L is, its performance
was dwarfed by the 420-horsepower 5.0L. Goosing the accelerator on
the 5.0L was like being shot out of a cannon.
Hyundai found some terrific roads to
stretch out the Genesis and tax the bounds of its handling. Although
the route never had us more than 50 or 60 miles from my house, I
hadn't been on some of these roads. Rt. 178 north of Pickens, SC
was awesome.
Spending time in both front seat
positions as well as about 45 minutes in the backseat, I was
impressed with the comfort and support of all the seats. A
six-foot-plus passenger would have no shortage of rear-seat legroom.
In fact, Genesis has more interior passenger volume than any of its
core competitors, such as the Infiniti M, BMW 5 Series or
Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The craftsmanship and quality of materials
throughout the cabin are top shelf.
Genesis holding court in front of Hendersonville's Flat Rock Wood Room. |
Lunch was at the Flat Rock Wood Room in
Hendersonville, NC. A curious pairing, it specializes in BBQ and
wood-fired pizza. I can't speak to the pizza, but the pulled pork was
exceptional. With eight local beers on tap and 15 or so other
microbrews in bottles and cans, they can expect to see me again.
Soby's as seen from the front drive of the Westin Poinsett. |
Dinner our first night was a buffet at
Westin's Spoonbread Restaurant. The second night we walked across
Main Street to Soby's where Hyundai had reserved most of its
second-floor dining room and bar. Soby's is my usual Friday-night
hangout. I'm not exactly “Norm” there, but I am fairly well
known. As always the food was terrific and the service exceptional.
A bit of Hyundai decoration at Soby's. |
I've been writing about cars and
participating in media events for 25 years or more; this was the
first time an event, other than maybe a lunch, has taken place in the
city where I live. It was a hoot.
A bit of Flat Rock Wood Room humor. |
Hyundai isn't the only carmaker I've
hounded about doing an event in Greenville, but it was the first to
pull the trigger since I've lived here. This event is motivating me to turn up the heat on
some of the other car manufacturers I've discussed Greenville with.
If nothing else, I am persistent. And
how the hell else am I ever going to get to show off?
Sorry I missed this trip. Probably wouldn't have gone anyway because it conflicted with a SAMA luncheon, but would have given it some thought. But for some reason, I am no longer invited to Hyundai events. Even the one in town last year they asked me for dinner but not for the drive the next day. BTW, I think that was the hotel I stayed out years ago when I went to cover Ken Hatfield's first game as the Clemson coach.
ReplyDeleteDon't understand why Hyundai wouldn't include you. I'd raise some hell. It was a great event! Oh, and just to be clear, you'd rather go to a SAMA lunch than a manufacturer's event. Are you nuts?
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, but because of the Hyundai event, attendance was down at the luncheon. As an officer again, I felt pretty much obligated to go. Turns out, Bill Adam had the flu and wasn't able to attend, so it would have been very sparse! I'm going to talk to Marcello/Ariel which I see first (no doubt Marcello) and see what the deal is.
ReplyDeleteTurns out Bill Adam wasn't invited either. BTW, I've finished reading this now.
ReplyDeleteA new day has dawned!
ReplyDelete