IS-SV

That car is a bit ugly, which doesn't help.

RXSF

Hey, im all for giving Hyundai a chance, but im not a fan of their approach to becoming a luxury car. I hate their marketing, i hate their design (copied) language, and I dislike their comparisons towards more name branded luxury makes.

This is not honest to good car building.

speedflex

I'm always fascinated by how such bold moves from unexpected car companies can inflame such negativity. I will be interested to see if Hyundai will pull this off as many of you are. But I'm not about to sell them short. People were poo-pooing the Genesis and calling it an epic fail before it even went on sale and now the car is, by all accounts, a qualified success. I know it has elevated my perception of Hyundai and now when they aim to establish themselves higher on the food chain with a product like the Equus I'm less inclined to doubt. In fact, I hope they succeed.

LexFather

^^^ It is a bold move. I think though its not totally negative (some people do hate Hyundai though) b/c we have seen so many flagships fail from Infiniti to VW. People have a pretty good idea what it takes to sell a flagship and we also know what it takes to not sell one.

If people don't buy a flagship 60k vehicle WITH a luxury badge and if people didn't buy a 60k flagship WITHOUT a luxury badge, well what makes Hyundai think they will do any differently?

Consumer tastes can shift quickly though. It could very well be time for a Equus to sell and be accepted for whatever reasons. Its not like 0 Phaetons or 0 Q45s were sold, some people did buy them.

Still though it has been proven over and over and over again at the true flagship range, only 3 vehicles exist in America. S/7/LS. Then you have XJ/A8. Then you have fail flagships.

Gojirra99

I have removed and edited a couple posts(off topic baiting and reponses)
Please stay on the topic of the Equus, thanks

GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

Big time!!! No comparison at all, but almost 2x the price

Even the inside have more wood than the crummy ES

mmarshall

Now THERE is the kind of interior we need to see more of, again, in luxury cars , instead of this cheap plasticized stuff. Look at all that nice wood on the dash, doors, and console.

In fact, the Lexus ES, IMO, gives us a perfect example of how to screw a luxury car up. The older, ES330 basically looked like that inside....a VERY nice car. The new ES350, in comparison, isn't much nicer inside than an econobox.

YEH

The you must have "hated" the LS430 for aping the S Class and the previous gen GS for lifting elements of the E Class and Buick-styling up front; not to mention the luxury offerings by Toyota in Japan (which, btw, they compare w/ Mercedes, BMW, etc.).

Probably won't have any Hyundai badging on it and instead will likely carry over its specific Equus badging or maybe a Genesis badging.

And I don't think Hyundai is looking at the Equus to sell in large nos. in the US - probably looking to move 1k or so units a year.

GFerg

I've seen this car in person in New York earlier this year. The interior is no less luxurious as the LS. It felt a little smaller, but the interior is very well put together and the feature list mimics the LS's Executive Seating set up. The exterior IMO is very mediocre and the rear end looks exactly like the new Buick Lacrosse.

I think its wonderful that the car is coming here. It will be a whole lot of car for 50K.

I8ABMR

with hints of LS in the brake lights and even Bentley rear fender lines I think the car will sell well. I am happy to see Lexus is going to get a little more competiton. Competiton between manufacturers is always good for the consumer

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

i meant the genesis vs. ES, not equus.

KILLERGS4

phaeton = FAIL, but they'll never learn...

Volkswagen took quite a bit of flack for the Phaeton when it was launched in 2002. Critics admitted that it's a really great car but that VW had no business making such a big expensive vehicle and going after BMW's 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz's S-Class when the group had the Audi A8. No amount of bad publicity or sagging sales discouraged VW.

Now a second facelift is in order after the first one was completed in 2007. The 2007 job actually lifted sales and the company is probably counting on this one to do the same before a complete replacement appears in 2011.

From these spy pictures it seems that the front end will benefit from a redesign. So will the rear end apparently. Bumpers, lights and the bonnet should also get a nip and tuck. The front grille is possibly being redesigned to be more in sync with the current VW design language.

A number of engines will be carried over into the facelift while a few new others will be introduced. There is talk of the new Audi V12 TDI and a hybrid making the lineup too to make the car attractive for a possible American debut.
Source: WCF

Dave600hL

Toyota crown anybody? Looks like they got all their ideas off the toyota crown saloon and the crown majesta.

KILLERGS4

in other words, it sucks...

LexFather

^^ It does not suck. EVERYONE steals cues from one another, not just Hyundai....