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Sedans Luxury Lounge
21428 messages, Last post on Nov 29, 2009 at 11:46 AM
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Replying to: lexusguy (Nov 30, 2008 6:11 pm) M3 Apple Apex Winner Regards, OW |
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Amazing CTR pics Jose, darn out of reach indeed 
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The Genesis puts me in a dillematic position. On one hand I admit it's a good entry coming from a rising Korean star. On the other, the fact that Hyundai hasn't caught up with the luxury game yet. Now Hyundai settles down and put the Genesis in the "near luxury class" where it more properly belongs. Given that fact I wonder why some people, especially the zealots, still position Genesis in the true luxo market and compare it with Lexus GS and Infiniti M. I don't get it. Let's see what cards the Gen has. Stylewise the Gen (imo) is little more than a me too, bland but at least nice. Kill the klingon grille and the car will look like entry level Lexus. I see Hyundai's decision offering a v8 as mere novelty, just to show the public that their Genesis is not another family car. Moving inside, I like the interior design, especially the nicely balanced two-tone color scheme and dash. My gripe is the material quality. The brown leather looks very classy but feels on the cheap side. The "wood" is a poor immitation and really shows, the same goes to "aluminum" plastics. This really spoils what could be a great interior. At least room is on the plus, really big and actually felt roomier than the 300 (not sure). I never took it off the lot, so I have no driving impression. The next problem, alas, the biggest one imo, is Hyundai's still-not-there-yet customer service. It doesnt matter if the car is sold alongside the lowly Accent or Sonata. What matters is the kind of service they'll get. Even mighty BMW is struggling with this image, thanks to notoriously poor service for a luxury brand. Hyundai currently has no image, no reputation in luxo-market, no world class product, no premium service. All these points will be covered in time (assuming Hyundai is serious) except the last. As Hyundai has nothing else it should focus on giving premium customer service to Genesis buyers. Like I posted earlier, Hyundai should do what Lexus did decades ago. With such red carpet treatment early glitches like low quality product can be overlooked, I dare bet, and it'll ease Hyundai's way to the luxury realm significantly. Please remember that Hyundai's current rising rep is based on regular-class standard, not luxury-class. It's a whole new game up there. The car itself, like I've previously mentioned months ago, will be a serious contender in the near luxo market. Competition is less fierce there, and established names are few, like Buick (LaCrosse), Pontiac (G8), Lincoln, Chrysler (300), Nissan (Maxima), and Toyota Avalon. There's competition too, from Acura TL, Infiniti G, and Lexus ES, but overall you can see that only a few have the upper hand. Acura's goin nuts with the new TL design, Avalon goes bye-bye next year, Buick and Pontiac struggle with poor image. Lincoln, does anyone even remember it? This is where Hyundai's rising reputation comes in handy. In the end you only see tough competition from Nissan-Infiniti, Lexus ES and Chrysler 300 (the last nearing it's doom along with Chrysler's shaky future). Should Hyundai be persistent and position Genesis to compete in true luxo class, just remember this: VW Phaeton. That's what'll happen to Hyundai if it's being too hasty. Big fish like Lexus GS, MB E, BMW 5 and even lowly (by this standard) Cadillac CTS will crush Genesis in no time. Choose the value path? You still have to fight Infiniti M. Hyundai's wisen up, choosing easier preys for now. Like I said, the time will come, but right now Hyundai is simply not ready yet. When they get enough experience with "premium" cars, and customer service and brand image rise high enough, the public will be ready. One more thing: Hyundai should have a new brand and division when it finally manage to enter the luxo class, which can focus solely on luxury class product and service. A luxo w/ Hyundai badge will do no good in US, thats why Toyota need the Lexus name. Never forget that if Hyundai wish to succeed it'll need to lure the majority: brand shoppers. I say forget the Hyundai or idiotic Equus name and call the new brand GENESIS xxx (insert model name). Lets try it: 1)Acura, Lexus, Hyundai, Infiniti, Cadillac... Hyundai.... that'll scare brand shoppers right away. 2)Acura, Lexus, Infiniti, Equus, Audi, Cadillac... doesn't sound right... 3)Acura, Lexus, Infiniti, Genesis, Cadillac, Audi..... that fits  P.S: I'm not being a Vulcan, just expecting the humans.. err, I mean Hyundai to learn enough before stepping further.
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Replying to: m4d_cow (Nov 30, 2008 10:17 pm) I say give 'em time. Hyundai's rise has been so fast, it's nothing short of amazing. They've earned my respect and they really do deserve a lot of credit for their accomplishments. These times are historically challenging and tricky, so it might be a while before we really know the outcome and final verdict for the Genesis. So far, however, it does appeear to be a succcess for Hyundai, in terms of both sales and image. TM |
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Replying to: m4d_cow (Nov 30, 2008 10:17 pm) Now, a friend of mine has a 2008 Lexus es, and they paid about 40k for the car, and I have to say I think the Genesis looks more expensive and a well made car. Plus you get a V-8 engine with a heck of a lot more horsepower with not that much worse gas mileage. And you cannot forget the warrantee also. Most of the time with even luxury brands you are going to have to pay a couple thousand dollars for a 10 year 100k warrantee. I think that if this same car had Lexus badging or a Mercedes emblem people would not dismiss it just because they don't want the status of driving a Hyundai. If people could get over that they could get themselves a great car for a lot less. |
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Replying to: m4d_cow (Nov 30, 2008 10:17 pm) I believe their plan will be to divisionalize the Genesis but tat will come in time. For now, perhaps the Genesis isn't an out of the park home run but it's definitely a triple! Regards, OW |
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Replying to: lexusguy (Nov 30, 2008 9:27 am) yes, but we are talking 2015 target here. That's five to six MY away, and you don't think this recession would be distant memorory?
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Well, the thing is, many "brand shoppers" and "midsize-luxury shoppers" care for value and warranty much less than they do brand names and image. And sadly, they're with the majority. Otherwise Toyota wouldve dropped the Lexus name and sell the cars as Toyota Crowns. As for the badge, I must say even if it's labeled a Lexus I'd still dismiss it as not luxurious enough for the midsize class. The bare minimum, imo, for said class is Infiniti M. All the players in this class have multiple rounds in their guns whereas Genesis will only have 2 bullets: value and warranty. Neither big enough to hurt the rivals. Remember Acura shot with the value bullet and failed, miserably I dare say. A few years from now, when Hyundai's experience book is filled with entries, we'll probably be seeing a true luxury Hyundai (I bet under a different marque) by then. When that happens Acura and Lexus better be reloading their guns.
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"On the other hand, a deep blue A5 was behind me on the highway with its lights on, and then passed me and I was behind it on the exit ramp. Gorgeous car. The rear end reminds me of the Gran Turismo. " That I agree, gorgeous, period. My only concern is the curse of first MY, I'm still checking around for customer complaints or anything like that. If the results are good, I'll put A5 back to my list. "Look at Infiniti as an example of not really getting it done. One could make the case that their cars are as good or better than Lexus but they have not been able to convince most high end buyers to spend their $ on them. " Well, that was in the past though. Infiniti's current lineup is great (except the oddball EX and idiotic QX). I believe the 02 G35 marked the brand's rebound from oblivion. I personally think the Q was a nice car, but (as LG mentioned) received poor attention and marketing from Infiniti itself. As for now, well, Infiniti can't lure high-end shoppers cuz it simply has no high-end model available for now. So everybody's going back to their cloudy days. LOL, not me, I get cloudy days everyday from mid-fall to late-spring. Rain? Check. Snow? Check. It's finally snowing here, yet still raining as well, gosh this town is weird... I love Konas too, and it's not hard to get here (there's a shop selling Hawaiian goods), too bad it's far overshadowed by Starbucks and their gorssly overroasted robustas. I prefer Seattle's Best anytime over Starbucks....
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Replying to: lexusguy (Nov 30, 2008 9:57 am) BUT here in Canada it sells for a big chunk of change more than a BMW 335i. Which is fair enough because Audi's intent is not to sell too many Audi S4s so their goal is not high volume/competitive price but low volume/premium price. I am a frugal person during economic booms and busts and competitive prices plays a big role in all my purchases. Also I've been buying German cars for almost two decades and now is the time to buy a car with a completelly different purpose altogether: Frugality. During these times where my clients are losing money flaunting myself with a spanking new Audi S4 or S5 is not such a good idea (at least for now, who knows about tomorrow). For people who really want to flaunt their wealth and want to buy luxury at a full price and not luxury at a incentivized 15 percent off WalMart kind of price here is the car for you: link title |
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