Looks like a knockoff of a maybach

I'd say the Bugatti brand is a halo company for Volkswagen Auto Group as a whole.

That's fucking stupid.

Ok go ask those VW Beetle and Passat owners and see how many of them bought their cars because of Veyron.
More importantly, how many of them knew the Veyron was made by VW.

^I bought my beetle because it has lambo+veryron+ RSline + R + Porsche dna in it...

WTF are you talking about? :troll:

i think hyundai has gotten too far with their brand name alone.

if they want to start a line of premium cars, should run a new name... like name the new brand Genesis or something.

Currently, Hyundai is pulling off what VW tried to do a few years back: all these super premium cars, but still had the VW badge on them. The Equus is basically what the Phaeton was doing a few years back.

To most common consumers, Hyundai is more of a "value" oriented brand...

This is true, but look at Honda...

http://www.powerequipmenttrade.com/p...K2VKA_left.jpg
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2...dajet.1-lg.jpg

^ oh but I guess they have Acura

shit :fullofwin:

I'm not sure why they decided not to launch the genesis name back in 2008?? Not sure the exact date but thats when the genesis sedan came out if I recall correctly.

Maybe it has to do with the cost in launching a new brand name. I'm sure it will happen down the road but when I look at the equus im not even sure it has any hyundai branding on it.

My guess is the difficulty in opening new dealerships. I mean, if you're going to spin off a new brand, you need new locations. What's the point in having the Hyundai brand and the Genesis brand if you go into the same dealership location to buy both?

Ya also having only maybe 2-3 models in the line up? Won't work for a while.

Scion shares dealership space with toyota but thats the opposite of a luxury brand right? They were meant to be affordable cars targeted at youth. Luxury brand would need its own space.

That's totally fine.

Last time I remember GM was selling Chevy, Pontiac, Cadillac, GMC and Buick all in one place.

Yes, and we've all seen the amazing leaps and bounds that GM business has made over the last two decades.

yes, the cost.

marketing too! then you have to set up dealerships, training... all the sorts.

What are they gonna do...put chrome on the Santa Fe and Elantra and make leather seats standard?

looks at the MDX/Pilot and Civic/CSX :ilied:

That's totally fine. Lambo has only 2, Gallardo and Aventador.
Bugatti has only 1...Pagani has only 2, etc.

Acura only had 2 models when they started in 1986.

Acura Legend
http://www.cartype.com/pics/8300/ful..._legend_86.jpg

Acura Integra
http://strumors.automobilemag.com/fi...ra-623x389.jpg

same as Lexus, they only had 2 models

Lexus LS400
http://2000gt.net/Lexus/LexusLS400_89.jpg

Lexus ES250
http://images.thetruthaboutcars.com/...LexusES250.jpg

and Infiniti...they only had 2 models

Infiniti Q45
http://files.conceptcarz.com/img/Inf...ge-04-1680.jpg

Infiniti M30
http://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-co...0firstpic2.jpg

Yes, Timpo. Because the expectations of the car-buying public now are exactly the same as in the mid-to-late eighties and early nineties.


Perhaps you haven't noticed, but it's been nearly thirty years? Markets change.

So you're saying that if they only start with 2 lineups they won't succeed in this day?:suspicious:

Then maybe add one. Equus, Azera and Santa Fe to start with.
http://autopulse.files.wordpress.com...t-metallic.jpg
http://carinpicture.com/wp-content/u...0-Photo-01.jpg
http://images.evolio.ca/common/galle...l/imgex_01.jpg

and maybe this Genesis Coupe V8 concept?
http://www.autoguide.com/gallery/gal...3/IMG_0208.JPG

From everything I've heard about the car it is known that it is made for the MSRP. The materials aren't as high quality as other brands and things just feel slapped together. For myself it's not the fact that it's not a German made car as I'd rather take a Lexus or any other established car over this. Basically, from my experience and what I've read, Hyundai's just feel cheap, however they are much, much better than what they used to be.

I'm liking the discussion in this thread. Please keep it coming :thumbs:



On another note, I thought that V8 Gen coupe was kT's car at first glance. Must have been the yellow fogs.

The days of the upscale-rebadge are dying, albeit more slowly in some badges than others. People are starting to do their research and saying "okay, so these two cars are the same, why would I pay for the luxury one when the fully loaded budget-badge equivalent is just as equipped and $10k cheaper?"

The point of a brand expansion is to build the brand, not to cannibalize existing sales. Let's say that the Santa Fe and the Azera leave Hyundai and go to Genesis as a brand--now people won't respect Genesis as a brand and instead will see it as another Hyundai. Hyundai doesn't need that; they already get that from Kia (also owned by Hundai, in case you weren't aware).

haha I wonder if the sales figures will overcome those of the VW Phaeton. Man, that thing was an absolute piece of shit. :fuckthatshit:

I've been in one of these in Korea and there's something you guys are misunderstanding about the car.

It was released in Korea only as a 7-series/S-class rival because back in Korea, the S/7 are much more expensive than they are here. "Import" cars also have higher tariffs, etc, and that's why the Equus was attractive. In reality there are quite a lot of them in Korea.

Now, their decision to try and move the car outside the country, you guys have to give Hyundai executives some credit. They are not idiots. They know very well that the target demographic is very different, and that the car may be a flop.

In my opinion, it's not a S/7 rival here in North America. The people who buy cars as status symbols, will NOT consider the Equus at all when shopping for a car, because it's a Hyundai. And yes, compared to the S/7, it does definitely feel cheap.

However, for people shopping for a car for its features/price ratio, it's a very attractive car. If there are no long-term quality issues, and if the name-brand value wasn't of concern to me, if I was looking at a 5 series or an E-class, I'd definitely consider this, considering the extras.

The debate here is good, but I really wish you'd give some credit to Hyundai. I think everyone here has to agree that they have come leaps and bounds from where they used to be, and the fact that they are trying new things and even *gasp* leading the market in areas where Honda/Toyota have become complacent is indisputable.

The whole Hermes thing is a gimmick, yes. But neither Hyundai nor Hermes is run by people who don't know what they're doing.

I think Equus isn't too bad for the price...

Hyundai Equus
$64,449-$71,990

Lexus LS
$82,950-$131,200

BMW 7 Series
$106,600-$189,100

Mercedes-Benz S Class
$109,900-$236,100

true. if the buyer does oversee the hyundai badge... (although most people shopping in that class cant.. they buy cars just because of the brand) they would love the 5 series pricing for the 7 series content and size!

I heard a Genesis Sedan spec R drive by.. and my god it had a great exhaust note. :sweetjesus:

The Hyundai brand lacks the prestige that the German premium automakers have. I mean, their $70,000 Genesis shares the same showroom and delivery bay as a $12,000 Accent.... (accent is quite nice for the money imo..)

They are trying to cover too broad of a target audience for their brand! with the focus on everything at everything price point, they would lose focus on their cars eventually and would slip in overall quality.

The Germans right now are going the opposite direction... cheaper and cheaper.. A damn B class starts at $29,995! a matter of a few years before they do $3500 incentives and make the price even lower.

Its all about profit nowadays, manufacturers dont seem to even care about their brand image anymore and have seem to have lost their main focus on products.

Because you can't sell expensive cars in this economy!
Yea Germans are offering cheap cars nowadays.

BMW 1 series
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g2dGktanw9...ies-1.jpg.jpeg

Mercedes-Benz A Class
http://cdn.pocket-lint.com/images/Jn...0121119-210400

Audi A1
http://images.thecarconnection.com/l...00307631_l.jpg