LexFather

I'm just impressed they had the ***** to build it. Heck a 5.0 V-8 is coming and a new 8 speed. This is from a NON LUXURY brand. Think about that? What other non luxury brand is competing here? We can name a bunch of supposed luxury brands NOT competing here.

This is no joke to me from a image/perception issue.

Faraaz23

I agree that the car looks great. I also strongly agree with Mike that this hyundai should be HUMILIATING to Acura, Infiniti, etc. But I still see two major problems with this being a true Lexus competitor.

We have seen that the US market, which is arguably the most important single market for luxury brands, is notoriously tough to break. In the last 20 years, we have seen ascent of only one brand to the major leagues, the fall of 3 brands, and another 2 which are struggling desperately to be taken seriously in anything above the entry-level category. And then there is Audi, who is a bonified luxury car maker who in the US struggles with being accepted as a true luxury marque. If Audi has a hard time convincing folks that their cars deserve the same prestige as other german stable-mates, Hyundai is really in for an uphill battle. I think it is safe to say that creating a wonderful car is not alone good enough(look at the Phaeton). Hyundai's marketing approach is STILL based on "we are cheaper than them." And maybe that really is the best approach for them, but it doesn't lend itself to build prestige. Even though in the US, Lexus is now generally accepted as a top luxury marque, the LS460/600 still will lose sales to people who think anything thats not MB or BMW is simply not good enough.

The other thing about Hyundai's entry into the luxury car world, is that they kind of made a seperate brand, but did not completely seperate it. No where when Lexus was introduced did they ever call the LS400 a "Toyota Lexus LS400". The commercials made no mention of toyota. They seperated the brand from the start. Yet, the Genesis is still called the Hyundai Genesis.

Besides the problem with breaking into american's brand snobbery, is technology. We have seen that it is quite possible to play in the market at the entry levels (G37 and TL). However, when it comes to full-size flagship, that is a different story. The amount of technology and innovation that the current S-Class and LS models brought with them is STAGGERING. They both blew the bar out of the water. Even the brand new 7-series that was just introduced wasn't able to create as much of a ripple. The S and LS are truly world-class vehicles. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but Hyundai has yet to show us any innovation at all from any aspect. They have a very steep learning curve if they are going to come out with any ground-breaking technologies ahead of Mercedes or Lexus.

Trexus

Not sure if the 1LS resembled an S class when it first came out (maybe luxury and technology). The 1LS had that Japanese presence about it. To me the 1LS kinda resembled a much larger Toyota Cressida.

MPLexus301

iTrader: (3)

I think that once Hyundai creates it's own distinctive design language they will be taken a bit more seriously. Currently, they look and feel like knockoffs of another brand, inside and out. I don't say that to knock Hyundai because they're building great cars as of late, but this class is obviously about image and outwardly, Hyundai's seems bland and unoriginal. The front end is arguably the most prominent and defining element of a car, and Hyundai's could be mistaken for nearly anything else on the road- Mercedes grille, Lexus-esque headlights, and otherwise generic shapes. The side profile of the Genesis is a mix of Lexus and other generic lines with a BMW tail thrown in. It's hard to be taken as one of the big dogs when you're copying their every move.

Lexus, Infiniti, and Audi, in recent years, have "come into their own" and begun to create a look, feel, and flavor that is very distinctively unique to each brand. Previously, some versions of certain cars aped the cues of others while there was not a tremendous amount of family resemblance across the line. Now they are all rather unmistakable and it has had a nice effect for each company.

In time Hyundai will mature nicely, I think. One thing I do not understand is what direction the company has mapped out for the future. Until last year they were known for nothing other than econoboxes. Now they have the same econoboxes, a nice mid/full size luxury car, a RWD sports coupe, and are talking of an ultra luxury sedan. It seems that they will need to make a call at some point and either go upmarket or stay downmarket. Because of the "image" component of the North American market, I don't know that selling Accents next to Equus is a smart business move long term...

Enter Kia. Admittedly, I am not 100% well versed on the Kia-Hyundai relationship but it seems that the smart thing to do would be for Hyundai to drop it's lower end models into Kia's stable and move upmarket with cars like the Genesis, thus giving them a VW/Audi or Toyota/Lexus market strategy. I just cannot quite understand where Hyundai is headed or what their long term plans are. No, they don't have to fit into the same label that companies like Lexus or Audi have spelled out, but the true luxury companies have lived, learned, and survived while some- flirting with luxury car status (Acura, Volvo, Cadillac, Saab)- have tried to ride the line between mainstream and premium and none have seen much success in doing so. Will Hyundai be different? Who knows. It just seems to me that at some point they will need to chase their upmarket ambitions fully, or simply continue to flirt sporadically with the idea of doing so. Then again, they could create a "Genesis" sub brand down the road, but the Equus is making it look like they have further aspirations than just the Genesis sedan/coupe. Who knows...

PAULGS430

They aways sold the Equus in their KDM, but never brought it over to the states cus it wouldn't be able to compete with the likes of Toyota,Acura,& Lexus. I thought Hyundai would have brought the Equus over in about 5 yrs. but they think the time is now. Hyundai/Kia are just very ambitous corp. trying to get larger market share of something they sell at home to US,Europe,China,& UAE.

NovaIS350

Theres something that just isnt right about this car. Not sure if it's the cheap looking wheels, the borrowed styling cues, or the excessive use of cheap looking wood. Don't get me wrong the body looks decent.

LexFather

It would take billions to launch a new luxury brand. We saw Mazda ditch their "Amati" line in the 1990s (and I'm glad they did b/c surely it would have done no better than Acura/Infiniti) b/c of the economy. Hyundai is launching these cars in tough worldwide climate though their won currency is strong for them.

Lets really think this out. Hyundai really has only recently changed SOME people's perceptions. Not all. Lets say Hyundai did indeed launch it as a luxury brand under another name. I don't think it would have helped as much as people are saying. Many buyers still are not ready for Japanese luxury cars and I'm not sure they want a Korean one yet.

Expanding on my point the one HUGE factor Toyota/Acura/Nissan had when they debuted their brands was they had a very loyal customer base and they also from pretty much day 1 built solid reputations. If the initial cars failed here, well it was in the late 1960s which was 20 years before the luxury brands started. In the 1980s we all know Japanese cars were very much in demand and were embarrassing American cars. Thus the time was ripe for luxury brands.

Hyundai has a very mixed up history here in America that still is recent for many people. They basically were a crappy car maker for people with new/slow/bad credit. Period (sorry but thats the truth). Only recently, maybe the past 5 years has Hyundai impressed us with new products and warranties etc. They still sell based on a LOWER MSRP though and no one will call a Hyundai CLASS LEADING yet. IN contrast, Toyota/Nissan/Honda had class leading cars before they debuted their luxury brands.

We live in a very image conscious world and information travels fast. Now here is the FLIP SIDE which could be very advantageous to Hyundai.

The most expensive Toyota/Honda/Nissan at the time was the RWD Cressida in the 1980s, a $16,000 car. I don't think we would call that luxury. People took a chance buying the LS etc as it was twice the price of the Cressida.

Hyundai continues to improve their cars. They now sell vehicles under the Hyundai name that are higher level cars than Toyota/Honda/Nissan (Avalon, Accord, Maxima) with the Genesis and its coupe and the Equus.

Say they continue to sell basically luxury cars under the Hyundai name for 5-8 more years. A lot of people will surely buy them and be impressed by them as we have seen.

Then imagine Hyundai debuts a luxury brand? They will have an advantage that Toyota/Nissan/Honda didn't have. They have really sold luxury cars already, they just are going to go with a different badge etc.

The closest example I can think of is Lexus in Japan today. For decades Lexus vehicles were rebadged as Toyotas. THey made luxury cars they just didn't have the badge/dealer etc. Well today they are called what they always were. Lexus. Recent reports indicate things are going well.

madoka

Probably because they are too young to remember how much criticism Lexus got for copying MB when they first came out. We got our LS400 two months after it was introduced. I remember all the complaints of Lexus merely copying and not being able to innovate.

DriftGirl

iTrader: (6)

Its nice...very nice

whoster

go motherland!!

madmax2k1

Nice effort from Hyundai, but I predict that it will have a similar fate to the VW Phaeton.

Lets Drive

iTrader: (3)

Its amazing to see the general responses of Hyundai's efforts relative to Lexus on this forum, versus the attitudes towards Hyndai's efforts on some other forums I've read.

I'm also impressed by what they've managed to do with the brand, though I can't say I like the exterior styling of the Equus. The interior and car that you get for the money, though, will provide some serious competition, should it be received well. They have taken FULL advantage of the more frugal consumer, by delivering some quality products to the market which really serve to change the perspective of the brand.

Was it Toyota which said some time ago, that Hyundai was the company to watch for in the automotive market?

LexFather

This is correct

The G Man

Hyundai have been the company to watch for years and they are making good progress, but they will not succeed in the luxury car market by copying other people's design. At some point, if they want to be taken seriously, they need to spend some money on car designs which in turn will raise the price of their cars.

KA8

iTrader: (1)

Hyundai's sales figure for equus are conservative. They don't expect them to fly off the shelves. I think they're doing this to shed the econobox image and it's working. As for copying from other manufacturers think of it this way, you get all these features from different makes and they blend them into one. I've driven many luxury cars and many of them were missing features that I wanted or too pricey to add them as options. Hyundai is doing a good job of consolidating all of these features for fair price. Perception of Hyundai will change. I never thought there will be $120K lexus just few years ago and now it's a reality