PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

In a forum full of the good and the bad, you gotta have a little humor.

Some people on the Forums take this **** too seriously...

(Cj)

Well as the facts stand now they haven't and don't seem to be eager to establish one.

LAWL

Fitment Factory

iTrader: (-1)

Great #s from Hyundai

MPLexus301

iTrader: (3)

Even if this whole thing is just "an experiment" as meowcat states, this will certainly lead to confusion about what the Hyundai brand is and stands for, IMO. I am not saying this will be good or bad, but just different from how other brands have approached the luxury market.

Historically, we are going to build crappy econoboxes.

2006-2010 we will start to make some compelling mainstream models and not sell cars based only on our amazing warranty.

2008-2015 we will start selling luxury cars.

2015+ we will drop the luxury cars and move those to a different, unknown brand.

Maybe they plan to position Kia as the mainstream brand and drop the Accent, Tucson, Sonata, etc into their stable and concentrate on luxury cars. Who knows?

SLegacy99

I disagree. I read on these boards all the time about someone who bought an M car or an AMG and are having to get rid of it because it costs too much to operate.

madoka

All you armchair CEOs can say what they should have done, but Hyundai's decision to NOT create a separate luxury division was the correct one as proven by history.

The Genesis was released during the financial meltdown of 2008. You guys seem to have forgotten what happened to the car market during that time. If Hyundai would have spent the BILLIONS necessary to start a separate division, they would have made a colossal mistake and taken a bath in the marketplace.

MPLexus301

iTrader: (3)

There is a vast difference between someone buying a high performance $70,000+ M or AMG product, and someone buying a laid back luxury barge.

If Hyundai's track record is any indication, I would imagine that the Equus will probably be relatively trouble free. Yes, there are higher costs for gas, insurance, tax, etc, with any V8 vehicle but those are very different from what you are referring to. The expenses that people often rant and rave about with M/AMG cars are wear and tear items that require replacement sooner because of their high performance nature: brakes, suspension bits, engine components, labor costs- and also sometimes electronics, engine failures, or other big-ticket items. Hyundai hasn't historically had those types of problems and I can't imagine the Equus blowing through shocks, brakes, tires, alignments, etc like an M5 or S63.

MPLexus301

iTrader: (3)

So Hyundai should have modeled their entire future and business strategy around an event that lasted 2 years?

Yes, I see your point, but you also make it seem like the luxury car market hasn't recovered and Mercedes, Lexus, and BMW are in dire straits.

(Cj)

Lol, I was just talking in jest. I agree that it was probably a good thing that they didn't launch a whole new brand during that time frame, but I also don't think should have launched the Genesis.

They should have waited until the economy was good enough to launch an entire brand. As it stands now the majority of Genesis are sold in their home-market, so they could have saved a ton in marketing if they had only launched the Genesis there and not here.

But hey that's just my opinion. But if sales mean anything, I think most people feel the same way...

LexFather

Even if Hyundai created a luxury brand do you see a mass exodus of BMW, Benz, Lexus drivers to them?
I don't.

SLegacy99

Hyundai hasn't historically been making cars like this.

madoka

Did I say that?

Hyundai is now considering a separate division now that the economy is in better shape. Again, history has shown that they've been making all the right moves regardless of what anonymous posters on an internet forum think they should have done.

(Cj)

Yeah, 2010 is definitely not 1986.

It took Lexus over 20 years to get to where they are now, and I mentioned that in my original post, but I think I and some others may take a sedan like the Genesis/Equus more seriously if it were in different dealerships then the official cheapest car in the country (aka the Accent).

Even at that luxury buyers are more loyal than any other subset of buyers, so a mass exodus? No, but they may be able to snag buyers from less established brands such as Infiniti and Acura.

LexFather

History hasn't shown us much of anything. We know the Genesis didn't meet sales goals. We know that Hyundai was selling huge to fleets until recently. We also know that the Korean WON is a huge advantage for them now (better hope N. Korea doesn't do anything nuts).

The Hyundai fanboism is amusing. This is a brand that sucked so bad they were the joke of the auto industry. So of course today they seem incredible, they stunk so bad ANYTHING was an improvement. Its not like the competition has stayed still and its not like Hyundai has really been the best in any category. They are arguably better and they continue TO SELL ON VALUE/PRICE.

Its even more amusing that people don't want to forgive AMERICAN BRANDs, Ford, GM, Chrysler for their sins in the past but Hyundai gets a pass? Why do Americans provide so many double standards for imports? Its ridiculous.

I have been a staunch support of what Hyundai is doing even as I will never buy one as I had a POS Scoupe in the past and they will never get my money again. Their improvements are incredible and their turnaround is fantastic. That said a company that simply copies over and over will never be seen as highly desirable and a leader.

madoka

Hey, it worked for Toyota.