TangoRed

I see what you mean now. That really doesn't have to do much with how the car rides, drives, and will perform years from now though. The two also definitely on the same plane when it comes to interior fit and finish. Furthermore, reliability statistics for the newest crop of Chrysler vehicles has been promising although they haven't been on the market long enough to tell what will happen 5 years from now.

Naturally when they were broke and being passed around like a diseased prostitute their quality slipped dramatically.

LexFather

It does not, the ES will remain unscratched. I had a convo with some gentlemen and the Azera isn't faring very well for them. What the Cadenza does is continue to elevate the Kia brand with the next model being the one of true interest. That is what these cars do, they don't sell very well here (Cadenza won't either) but they are very credible offerings vs the Avalon, Maxima etc and they hope to keep their loyal customers that want to move up. They don't expect many conquest sales at all. There is a growing KDM market of loyal buyers who are very happy with the cars and brands no different than a JDM or Euro etc owner who won't buy anything else.

People on the internet still seem to think the Genesis sedan sold well but it did not. For all the internet fluffery it never met sales goals and the majority of its life it has some incredible offers in regards to leasing or 6-8k off the car. It did get a solid number of people who bought the car and it will be interesting will they stay or leave. Browsing the Genesis forums it seems if the price goes up one iota, they are leaving. Which lets us know PRICE is still their biggest selling point, not the actual vehicle itself.

Kia is now pushing its price boundaries and they will find out first hand what will people think of a 35-40k Kia. Its bold in its attempt and the Cadenza is a solid car to try it in.