A $60K plus Hyundai...?

As Failboat said the new car will be called an Eqquis. They had them on display at Pebble Beach. It is a very nice (if derivative) super-lux sedan. It seemed very similar to the Lexus LS 460 we had around the office. Didn't really do much for me looks-wise, but judging from the Genesis sedans I've driven, I'm sure this new car will be very nice if a bit boring.

I'm pretty sure they will avoid the Hyundai name when marketing the big boat.

^ Don't bet on it. To the non-car person, Hyundai is no longer a "bad" name. With all their recent push in the mainstream marketing they are really turning around the image.

Spend some serious time in a modern Hyundai and the words "Cheap" and "for the price" disappear. their new cars are worth everypenny their competitors are.

Joe Gearin wrote: Didn't really do much for me looks-wise, but judging from the Genesis sedans I've driven, I'm sure this new car will be very nice if a bit boring.

Seems like that's how Hyundai has made their fortunes here in the US more recently. Their very first cars here (i.e. Excel) were cheap cars, sold for cheap. Then they started adding better quality and better value. Their recent cars seemed to be well built, packed with good features and priced below the competition. But they were fairly bland. Look at the last generation Elantra or Sonata. Great transportation, but nothing "exciting".

I love our 2006 Kia Sedona, which is part of the Hyundai family (sold by Hyundai as the Enterouge). We couldn't touch a new Odessey or Sienna for under $23,000. We got ours for under $17k, and it came standard with 3 zone climate control, stability control, traction control, etc.... Yep, it's boring, even as minivans go, but you can't get a better value. And the warranty is awesome. Luckily, we've had no major issues, but even the minor ones were happily taken care of by the dealer.

I agree that many people in the $60k marketplace aren't hurting for money, but I'll bet many of them still want the best "value" and would be tempted to pocket the $15k+ they may save over the Lexus or German car.

Bobzilla wrote: ^ Don't bet on it. To the non-car person, Hyundai is no longer a "bad" name. With all their recent push in the mainstream marketing they are really turning around the image. Spend some serious time in a modern Hyundai and the words "Cheap" and "for the price" disappear. their new cars are worth everypenny their competitors are.

+1, but I would add that to a car person, Hyundai is also no longer a dirty word. They are making great cars at a great price that represent great value.

Whether or not to spin off a division is a tough one. Lexus began as a lower-cost alternative to the German brands, but fast-forward a few years and they now compete dollar-for-dollar. The original Acura's were smaller and underpowered compared to the competition, and now...well OK that hasn't changed but they are priced similar to Lexus/Infinity/BMW/Audi. I think Hyundai will keep one name, and use the Genesis models to pull the rest of their line upwards. Now they need a hot-hatch with the turbo-motor, manual, and a trunk kit.

FWIW, Hyundai does make an even larger sedan overseas:

I laugh at your seating for 7!!!!

pinchvalve wrote:

Bobzilla wrote: ^ Don't bet on it. To the non-car person, Hyundai is no longer a "bad" name. With all their recent push in the mainstream marketing they are really turning around the image. Spend some serious time in a modern Hyundai and the words "Cheap" and "for the price" disappear. their new cars are worth everypenny their competitors are.

+1, but I would add that to a car person, Hyundai is also no longer a dirty word. They are making great cars at a great price that represent great value. Whether or not to spin off a division is a tough one. Lexus began as a lower-cost alternative to the German brands, but fast-forward a few years and they now compete dollar-for-dollar. The original Acura's were smaller and underpowered compared to the competition, and now...well OK that hasn't changed but they are priced similar to Lexus/Infinity/BMW/Audi. I think Hyundai will keep one name, and use the Genesis models to pull the rest of their line upwards. Now they need a hot-hatch with the turbo-motor, manual, and a trunk kit.

This. They already made this decision when the Genesis and the Gen Coupe came out. They were initially trying to decide whether to make the Genesis a name brand of it;s own. Smarter heads prevailed and they stayed Hyundai. With their aquisition of KIA, this allows them to slowly move Hyundai upmarket to compete with the Lexi, acuras and infiniti's and Keep Kia to compete with the Honda, Toyoda, Nissans.

IMO,. it';s a smart plan.

For all their alleged awesomeness, I would never give serious consideration towards purchasing cars with reputations equal to a super-model with addiction issues.

QFT. And an awesome turn of phrase.

i really want this car to work but i am still not sure it will. A large majority of the car buying public have very strange ideas about car brands. I once had a conversation with a cousin in law about an Acura TL. he wanted to know what i thought about the car, i told him that they were just an up market accord and in general would probably a good luxurious but boring car. I didn't mean this as a slight but he seemed to take it that way and was very offended that i would think he would buy some supped up hon-dua.

This attitude seems to be widely held and many who buy a 60k car what to make sure that everyone around them KNOWS they drive a 60k car, and a Hyundai is not the best way to get that message across.

pinchvalve wrote: FWIW, Hyundai does make an even larger sedan overseas: I laugh at your seating for 7!!!!

I'm thinking that's what I want the next time my wife and I with our two kids take off on vacation for a week. I may be wrong, but that thing just MIGHT have enough room for us to carry all our stuff and give us a little space to stretch out and be comfortable.

integraguy wrote: A magazine, that will remain nameless, is reporting that Hyundai is about to launch an even more expensive/new top-of-the-line sedan. At first, this new sedan will use the "old" 4.6 V8 before "graduating" to a 5 liter engine putting out about 348 horsepower. It's also reporting that the next Accent will use a 1.4 liter engine good for about 100+ horsepower. A 1.6 WAS considered, but discarded for the U.S. market for cost reasons. The next Elantra will sort of meld the new Sonata and old Elantra lines, and will be powered by the 1.6 that the Accent will not use. BTW wagon fans, the Sonata in Europe will soon have a wagon companion model, which the U.S. will NOT get, and the Elantra TOURING (or whatever it's called) will go away, not to be replaced at the end of this model year.

I read this three times, and didn't see $60,000 mentioned anywhere...is that price in the article in the nameless magazine that we don't have a link to?

i absolutely will never buy a G20 in this country unless it is ridiculously cheap - to me they are a Nissan Primera, with leather, and without the diesel option Europe had. otherwise I really like the styling - just not gonna let myself be shaken(shook?)-down for a nameplate.

81gtv6 wrote: The VW was a rebadged A8 for the most part, they just wanted to move VW upmarket.

That what I thought too, until I started looking into them a little today. While the A8 and Phaeton share engines, the A8 is an all aluminum platform (VW D3), whereas the Phaeton shares its steel platform (VW D1) with the Bentley Continental GT and Flying Spur.

Regarding the Equus, hopefully Hyundai can give it a little more style than the Genesis Sedan, which I find way too generic. The pics on wikipedia remind me of a Mercedes, but its lacking 'something', I don't know what though. The upcoming 430hp 5L engine that is going in both cars (and possibly the next gen Coupe) looks pretty exciting though.

^ IF they slip the 5.0L Tau into the Gen Coupe....I might have a stroke.

In reply to Schmidlap:

Oops, not enogh coffee today.

I was on a couple of those Hyundai buses over in S. Korea. The face on them reminds me of bees, with those dangling mirrors.

81gtv6 wrote: The VW was a rebadged A8 for the most part, they just wanted to move VW upmarket.

A VW exec got fired for publicly saying just that.

Just as the Genesis has very little (no?) Hyundai badging, I'll guess the Equuis (sp) will do the same.

Are they trying to make Kia the low-line brand and Hyundai the high-line brand?

In reply to 1988RedT2:

hyundai is the homely fat chick that went on biggest loser and got a facelift.

kia is her goofy younger sister who went away to summer camp and came back as the weird hot chick next door.

bluej wrote: In reply to 1988RedT2: hyundai is the homely fat chick that went on biggest loser and got a facelift. kia is her goofy younger sister who went away to summer camp and came back as the weird hot chick next door.

I'd still roll em both around too.

JohnGalt wrote: i really want this car to work but i am still not sure it will. A large majority of the car buying public have very strange ideas about car brands. ....This attitude seems to be widely held and many who buy a 60k car what to make sure that everyone around them KNOWS they drive a 60k car, and a Hyundai is not the best way to get that message across.

I agree with this, it's going to take years for Hyundai to establish any sort of upscale market.The Hyundai name itself comes with a stigma attached.

^ and honda and toyota still make perfect cars..... People that are carrying that "stigma" around are living in the past and likely are still buying their $34k camry because they remember how great their 1988 Corolla was.

Bobzilla wrote: ^ and honda and toyota still make perfect cars..... People that are carrying that "stigma" around are living in the past and likely are still buying their $34k camry because they remember how great their 1988 Corolla was.

I'm just speaking objectively.It's going to take some time...

The thing is, Honda/Toyota/Datsun were there when the Big Three were caught with their pants down and had to scramble to build puke bucket replacement cars (and looking back, I say that fondly) just to try and keep up.

Hyundai would need a zombie apocalypse wrapped in locusts and smothered in plague to gain that kind of brand loyalty.

They already do. Trust me. The Hyundai owners are getting to be very loyal people. WEll, 3 of their cars are on the top of my "what to replace the current cars" list. I own 2. I know several owners who replaced aging Hyundai's with new ones.

I know many find it hard to believe that "Hyundai" could possibly have a faithful following.... but it's true. Living in the past with stereotypes of bad cars is only going to make you buy that over priced, underachieving and poorly made accord/camry.

I forget where I heard it, but, a couple of years ago someone told me that Kia was going to be the "sporting" car and Hyundai was going to move "up". With what I have seen this appears to be the case. Kia is now racing and we are talking about a 60K Hyundai. They don't need to change the nameplate. Give them a few more years and people will forget about the problems of the early cars just like we did with the Japanese cars in the 70's.

Not so fast. Images don't change overnight. Or in 20 years. American manufacturers are still paying for the mistakes they made in the 70's and 80's.

jrw1621 wrote: Sorry to hear the Elantra Touring wagon will not be returning. I think the loaded version looks quite nice. To me it was a Kia Soul with the polorizing appearance replace by more traditional lines. I think the Touring came out as a 2009 model so with only 3 years (and likely low sales) this model will be quite rare.

That, rebadged as the I30, is the tuner/trackday car of choice right now in Korea. Check this one out.