Watch Out, Lexus!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Aug 30, 2004
Messages
31,869
Location
CA
Quote:
#NYIAS Forget what you've heard. The Hyundai Equus is coming to the U.S., and when it does it'll be powered by a 5.0-liter V8 backed by an eight-speed automatic transmission.

"You didn't hear it from me," a source close to the project told Inside Line today during the New York auto show. "But you wouldn't be far off if you said the car was coming to the United States. Our chairman wants it."

The full-size sedan, which packs the size and luxury to top the Hyundai lineup, should hit the states in "two or three years" according to our source, but the problem right now is price. In Korea the car starts at the equivalent of $96,000, and taking on the Benz S-Class in America is not what Hyundai has in mind. At least not yet.

Hyundai hopes to get the price down to near $50,000 in the States, where it would give Genesis sedan owners a car to move up into. In the meantime, Hyundai will be gauging the public's reaction to the car all week at the New York show.

We expect more than one show-goer to be asked, "What would you pay for this car?" by Hyundai officials as the company creates the business plan for its new Lexus fighter. -- Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief


http://blogs.edmunds.com/straightline/20...-to-the-us.html

'Nuff said.
 
Well, they have their work cut out for them to topple the LS460, but they're pulling a lot of tricks out of their hats lately. They're going to be the picture of diversity in their lineup....from the Accent, to the Genesis Coupe, to this monster.
 
boy... sure has to be a compelling car to make me think of jumping from what you an get for $50k from lexus, MB, BMW, etc.
 
these guys have been tearing up the road catching up to the big boys. their quality improvements have been phenomenal, and they will probably blow past toyota without even slowing down. toyota seems to have gone from WE'RE NUMBER ONE to WE'RE NUMB. i look for these guys to be the sleeper of the next few years.

buy'em while the're cheap
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
boy... sure has to be a compelling car to make me think of jumping from what you an get for $50k from lexus, MB, BMW, etc.


50k for what you can get....

A nice 3 series or maybe a stripped down 5 series?
A nice C class or a stripped down E class
You could probably get a nice GS and have a comparable car.

BMW & MB would have nothing compared to this at 50k.
 
I was at the Javits Center a couple of days ago and the 'crowds' were much smaller than in the past. I think Hyundais problem won't be the product but rather who is going to buy it. There aren't many Americans in the market for a 60K car from a company without snobby brand recogition IMO.
 
Originally Posted By: pbm
I was at the Javits Center a couple of days ago and the 'crowds' were much smaller than in the past. I think Hyundais problem won't be the product but rather who is going to buy it. There aren't many Americans in the market for a 60K car from a company without snobby brand recogition IMO.


zackly. most people buy luxury cars for the prestige points it gives them. Basically theyre purchasing an expensive piece of psychological suggestion that they can hide inside. These people will still invariably go for the Lexus over the Hyundai, even if the Hyundai is objectively competitive. Hyundai should focus on a 'separate' luxury brand with a luxury-sounding name like "luxour", "indulgex' or "eterniti" lol
 
Let's see. Ummm..Mercedes versus a Hyundai? Even IF the 'dai was better, for most people, they'd get the Benz. Hyundai, while I admit is coming on strong, have not made it past the cheap image they created at the start. The time is not ripe for them to be upscale yet. If they spawned another brand, maybe - but not with the Hyundai name....atleast not yet. It's all about image with some people and the Benz or BWM or Caddy has it at that price.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: GMBoy
Let's see. Ummm..Mercedes versus a Hyundai? Even IF the 'dai was better, for most people, they'd get the Benz. Hyundai, while I admit is coming on strong, have not made it past the cheap image they created at the start. The time is not ripe for them to be upscale yet. If they spawned another brand, maybe - but not with the Hyundai name....atleast not yet. It's all about image with some people and the Benz or BWM or Caddy has it at that price.


They said the same thing about Lexus 20 years ago.
 
Not a good time to be dropping gas guzzling luxury boxes onto American shores. New car sales are in the tank right now, the market for luxury cars is small and getting smaller by the day. The V8 engine in American cars (not trucks) is dying rapidly. Especially if Congress keeps pushing up the CAFE numbers.
 
Yes and no on the V8. Fuel economy is more about the size of the vehicle than it is the size of the engine.

The Corvette, when not driven like a race car, can get phenomenal fuel economy.

A lead barn with a small engine will still get lousy fuel economy.

So while I agree a large engine is a temptation to drive fuelishly (that tells you I was around in the 70's) it's not the primary contributor to fuel economy. It's more about the shape and weight of the vehicle.

I'm sure one could meet EPA regulations with a V8 powered car. If nothing else, something like what is done with the Nissan GT-R could be done. Unless the car was at a known raceway, it's on-board computer could de-tune performance and scale up economy while on public roads.

Yet if you took it to the drag strip or a road course, the full performance would be unlocked.

I think big is on it's way out, but we can still make fuel efficient V8's.
 
I think they would be taken more seriously among the status seekers if they hired an Italian designer to style their cars (inside and outside), rather than copy lines from the others. But they won't, as they have the same excessive pride as the Japanese, ie "We don't need no stinkin' furriners to draw a pretty car." (Yes, you do.)

I personally would be more interested if they made something very good in the sporty hatchback vein, like a BMW 1-series hatch, Audi A3, 92 Celica, 88 Accord hatch, or even original SAAB 900. I think their new GT is too um, ricey.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: AcuraTech
No, the V8 car isn't COMPLETELY dead. But it's becoming more and more of a (small) niche market. Only trucks and luxury cars.


Mustang.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Originally Posted By: AcuraTech
No, the V8 car isn't COMPLETELY dead. But it's becoming more and more of a (small) niche market. Only trucks and luxury cars.


Mustang.


Camaro, SRX, CTS-V, STS, STS-V, DTS, Pontiac G8, Corvette, etc. I like V-8's. Even though my new CTS has 304hp out of the V6 and runs like one, it still lacks the character and sound of a V8. If I still have a job after summer I will probably trade in for the CTS-V for the big 500whatever hp V-8. Heck, I can even get high 20's to low 30's on the highway with my 1994 LT-1 Corvette.
 
I've been in a Hyundai Equus many times in Korea, and nice car, nothing special. All it is a larger version of a nice luxury Hyundai like an Azera/Grandeur. You can charge $96,000, when there is virtually no competition. Almost all cars on the road in Korea are Korean. Import taxes.

It is not a 7 or an S-class. Heck, the Caddys I've been in were at least as nice, if not better.
 
No disrespect to Hyundai owners, but its a Hyundai, I'd never pay $50,000 for one.
 
I think the Equus will do better overseas than the US. Here, every suit wants a Benz. Overseas, Benz makes delivery trucks and cabs - LOL. Heck, look at how popular Buick is in Asia. Give it a chance. Hyundai has come a LONG way since the Excel.
 
Originally Posted By: ADFD1
No disrespect to Hyundai owners, but its a Hyundai, I'd never pay $50,000 for one.


so are you one of those people that buys luxury cars for the purely psychological aspect of it? :p
 
Originally Posted By: ADFD1
No disrespect to Hyundai owners, but its a Hyundai, I'd never pay $50,000 for one.


That is a very naive response...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top