You don't know what you are talking about. I've had a Sonata for 5 years and have never had one problem, not even one. Consumer Reports and others give Hyundai high marks so I think you are off base by a mile.
I remember when Honda and Toyota introduced their Acura and Lexus models. Everyone laughed at the idea of a 35k luxury car to compete with Mercedes, BMW, etc. Then when the first cars rolled off of the production line, people realized that these "budget" luxury cars were every bit the equal of the 60k luxury cars. Hyundai and Kia remind me a little of Toyota/Lexus and Honda/Acura. Their cars have improved so much over the years, I wouldn't be surprised if the Equus and Genesis start earning accolades and sell very well. Hyundais and Kias definitely seem much more popular than they were even two years ago.
Keep in mind ex Audi design head Peter Schreyer, the visionary behind the cult Audi TT and VW New Beetle, is now chief designer at Hyundai/Kia. Hyunda/Kia from South Korea could be like Samsung 20 years ago when they were known to lack quality on electronics, but look at Samsung now.
I posted this in the other "car thread", but I doubt I'd buy it. At $60k, you're looking for status, and if I cared, I'd rather blow that much money on something that has a bit more brand cache. True luxury vehicles start around $50-$60,000. I had wanted to check one out since hearing about it last year. We had one of these parked in our parking lot at work, but I could never find out who owned it, and it was only in the parking lot for a day. It may have been a loaner of some type belonging to another guy who just bought a Genesis. I've already looked at the Genesis, and the interior looks too goofy or me to want one. If you go on various car forums, you'll see the Genesis has had some early-model issues, so that swayed me away even more from it despite the fact it has bang-for-the-buck. I also can't imagine the service you get at a Hyundai dealership from a service guy working on a low-end Hyundai will all of a sudden become great on a high-end Hyundai. The fact Kia is now attached to the Hyundai name only scares the hell out of me. Kia's had god-awful reliability in the past, and I thought the average-to-above-average reliability of Hyundai would somehow get infected. :grin: But apparently Hyundai's brought Kia up from the depths of utter crapdom. Autoblog's long term update (after 11,000 miles so far, so not very long term) has pro's and con's about the car : http://www.autoblog.com/2011/07/26/2011-hyundai-equus-ultimate-july-2011/ Automobile Mag did a review where they had mixed reviews on it. It seemed to lean more to the negative side : http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/driven/1007_2011_hyundai_equus_drive/index.html
Except Toyota and Honda brought out separate luxury lines in Lexus and Acura to differentiate them. With Hyundai, if you buy a $60,000 Equus or a $15,000 Accent, you're still driving a Hyundai. Volkwagen tried this with the $70-$80,000 Phaeton and it failed miserably. I think Hyundai's price-point is a lot better than the Phaeton's, though. Who knows, maybe it'll work. Maybe Hyundai will end up being a "luxury line" and the Kia will be the "average guy" line.
If I was going to buy a luxury car, I'd love for it to be a Hyundai. They are just well made cars. I've had two of them. The service is great, the warranty is great. Plus I'd like being different. A luxury Hyundai is different than Lexus, BMW, or Mercedes. It would be original and I like that idea.
Couldn't agree with you more.. why not start a luxury line.. thats what works in the U.S... Nissan/Infiniti... Toyota/Lexus.... Honda/Acura...VW/Audi...
I understand that for many people prestige is part of the attraction (and cost) of the car. For me personally, it's not an issue (and I still remember those $5195 Hyundai Excels!). If the Equus outperformed cars costing considerably more (and I wanted to spend $60k), I'd buy it regardless of it being a Hyundai. However, if it is only equivalent to a $60k Lexus/Acura/Infiniti/Mercedes/BMW/Audi, then I'd opt for the more established luxury car makers.
