Dead: Hyundai Azera

Well you weren't going to buy one, and neither was I nor anybody else at this point. The last time we wrote about the Hyundai Azera we boldly predicted it wouldn't be forgettable. That was back in 2011.

Hyundai has decided to phase out its luxury sedan in the U.S. market after 2017, which shouldn't really surprise anyone. Despite some memory of seeing them on the road, it was the sort of car you notice for it not being a Toyota and take a few moments to remember what else it could be, but only if the light stayed red long enough.

But as anyone who can read this will attest, it wasn't the most attractive car in its segment, despite a recent "facelift" that added LED DRLs to the lower fascia on Limited trim models. Why buy a boring luxury Hyundai that sounds like a prescription medication for allergies? Its most notable feature is that you can type 'Azera' with just your left hand on a qwerty keyboard.

The Azera was probably fine in a vacuum, but thanks to competition in the market, within Hyundai's own lineup, and mostly from the newly founded Genesis brand under the same corporate family tree, the Azera's last day has been a long time coming.

In other Hyundai news, the Veloster will get a long 2017 model year and no 2018s because the new model is coming soon.