-J-P-L-

I forgot what is standard, but the LS has a 19 speaker option. A record amount in the auto industry and more than most mansions.

-J-P-L-

Well said. This is exactly what Hyundai is doing.


NAZTY97, see above.

mmarshall

As much as I respect Hyundai, NO sound system they stick on a production car, good as those systems are, can even come CLOSE to the LS460's Mark Levinson 19-speaker stereo. Trust me, guys....I have reviewed the LS460, and have heard it. That Mark Levinson stereo is beyond superb..... it is INSANE. It will knock your socks off......and it is even more insane listening to AC/DC (my favorite band) on it, with their hard-core rock.

joonsta

You're not getting the point of Hyundai's ad.

First, I think you should brush up on your modern Japanese history and see where the Japanese themselves come from (not geographically).

In 1853, Commodore Perry and his US warship fleet "visits" Japan to forcefully open a trade route.

Without going in to details, Japan quickly rushes to westernize their culture, and become an industrialized country with radios, guns, etc.

Did the Japanese invent these products? No, they were knock-offs of the Western countries' products.

After WW2, the Japanese recovered from their injured economy by profiting off of the Korean War, and eventually created a prosperous economy.

So what do you do when your country is making surplus amounts of money? Make more money.

The Japanese industry soon rose to challenge the Western markets, and they started exporting their knock-off goods to the Western countries.

Now, if you were an American consumer at that time, would you have trusted the Japanese brands and purchased their products?

You probably would've said that it's not as baller as your Zenith TV...but why did it work?

Because Japanese products offered almost the same, if not the same amount of features for a fraction of the price.

The Japanese were even willing to charge their domestic market more than what they charged the foreign market to make sure it was cheap overseas.

Sounds awfully a lot like what Hyundai is doing right now, no?

Toyota and Lexus are no exception to this catch-up game, and they too employed the tactic of "lower prices for similar features."

And if I recall correctly, when the flagship LS400 debuted, it was priced against the weaker non-flagships of Lexus' German counterparts.

Why? Everyone would've laughed at Lexus like you are doing with Hyundai, and refuse to trust and buy Lexus cars.

But where is Lexus right now? On the top.

Right now, Hyundai seem to be following the same path as Toyota, and if they keep up the good work, they'll be the ones laughing at you.

Oh yeah, and if you're so worried about driving knock-offs, why don't you buy a Benz? They're the original car manufacturer .

NAZTY97

I fully understand Hyundai's attempt to market features for less dollars and implement programs that suggest a "smart buy"... but again.... first impression is a ****... and I don't recall toyota / lexus ever being a "worst purchase" scenario as Hyundai has earned....

That is damning.... whether you like it or not... budgetary constraints are going to be a bigger contributor to one's sales over the other.... more people can afford a hyundai than a lexus,...therefor it'd only make sense.

Just because sales are higher... does that equate to quality... .I'm sure Ford sells more than Lexus... but then again... they make more "affordable" cars than the latter...

Again.... nobody's arguing the point of whether or not Hyundai has improved... I think I, and others who don't feel that commercial see thru the associative marketing... and also the assertion of Lexus like qualities...

Benz... they are cutting edge in a lot of regards, but again,.. .. personal taste dictates my purchasing of Lexus products... if I saw I Benz that met all of my criteria for a purchase... I'd do so....

I am interested in Style, Class, Comfort, Performance, Longevity, Reliability, and a touch of Status.... and hence why I am not in the Hyundai fan club....

To each his own... not everyone is going to like Lexus,... nor is everyone going to like Hyundai..... or MB or BMW or Rover.... etc...

mmarshall

Though it lags somewhat in the status department, and the engines are not powerhouses, Hyundai does offer a pretty good dose of the other features you mention.

Iceman

I don't think anyone is trying to convince you to buy a Hyundai, but we're debating the wisdom of their new marketing campaign. Given that their cars are no longer pieces of crap but that they are fighting an uphill image battle (as evidenced by the spirited discussion here), they have come up with what seems to me to be a clever way to advertise.

There is probably no one out there who will either cross-shop the LS460 and Azera or who would seriously think they are equivalent products. But by planting the seed in someone's mind that, "Hey, you know what? That new Hyundai really DOES offer a lot of the same features and is pretty darn affordable to boot!" they are absolutely going to cut into Camry and Accord sales (which I would say is their true objective at this point).

Give them time, though. As more cash starts rolling in from their current line-up of decent vehicles they will be able to funnel more into R&D. And even if their new product pipeline is mainly a copy-cat approach of the current market leaders, they will have the ability to expand their product line both horizontally and vertically. Eventually they will have a true Lexus competitor.

What's good for all of us Lexus fans is that Toyota seems to be taking this threat seriously. Rather than resting on laurels of past success (as American and German carmakers seem to have done), they are constantly trying to improve even when in the lead in so many ways. Hyundai will be playing a game of constant catch-up as long at Toyota keeps on doing what they do so well.