It’s all about dropping hints.

Sometimes the most important revelations at auto shows are buried beneath the headlines, or cavalierly floated as trial balloons. A hint at the automakers’ future intentions was slipped into a speech introducing the Hyundai Nuvis concept car at the New York International Auto Show.

In giving the usual generic corporate intro to the new concept car (“sales up in a down market, market share gain,” etc.), acting President and CEO John Krafcik referred to the Korean-market only luxury Equus sedan on the Hyundai show stand and asked the audience to imagine Equus “as the cornerstone of a premium Genesis line” of Hyundai models.

Hyundai already has two Genesis models: The Genesis luxury sedan and the new Genesis sport coupe. Although the two share their V6 engines and basic rear-drive platform, they are aimed at completely different audiences. The luxury Genesis sedan, priced in the mid-$30,000s, competes against a wide range of sedans, from a Toyota Avalon to luxury German marques, undercutting the Europeans by thousands. The Genesis coupe competes with anything from a Ford Mustang to an Infiniti G37 coupe, again undercutting much of the competition’s price.

What do you think? Is Hyundai trying to beat Toyota at its own game, introducing a discount luxury brand to undercut Lexus? And if so, would you buy one?

—Eric Evarts

See Consumer Reports' coverage of the 2009 New York auto show.