The 2023 New York International Auto Show made the best of a smaller roster of manufacturers. While electrification increased in emphasis across the show floors, the expanded mobility categories like e-bikes and scooters disappeared. There were only about a half-dozen formal unveilings and pretty much zero surprises. Even though the Seoul motor show takes place at exactly the same time, the Hyundai group rather dominated both new introductions and show floor presence.

Genesis presented the production-ready GV80 Coupe Concept, a fastback SUV coated in retina searing orange paint. I personally don’t get the appeal of forcing a SUV to be a sports car but that’s the genius of marketing.

Next is the 2024 Hyundai Kona Electric, this one featured in what I overheard someone describe as tennis ball yellow. There’s a few nice lines on this redesign but a lot of others that make it overly fussy and complicated. The front and rear lower light clusters look like that’s where the designers finally got tired.

Finally there’s the Kia EV9, the brand’s large electric SUV. It’s an ode to brutalist shape vocabulary and I’m sure will be framed as a polarizing exterior design. I personally equate it to sneaker design, I can appreciate it as an object but I wouldn’t really feel comfortable wearing, or driving, something that calls so much attention to itself. Expressing function and purpose is good, over designing is where the result’s end up muddy.

The lower Javits hall included the R2X performance car and truck show. The exhibit included a majority of tuner vehicles but there were a few interesting classics here and there.

The following is a gallery of the reveals and a photo walk around the show floor. For a closer look at design details, check out the 2023 NYIAS | Surfaces and Materials gallery.

Photos and Text: Dave Pinter