Hyundai takes aim at luxury automakers

Hyundai Equus, a rip-off of the Mitsubishi Dignity.

2008.hyundai.equus.20027602-E.jpg


http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/FVDP/Preview/styleId=100626192

The old Equus wasn't a rip-off, it was a joint project with Mitsubishi. :roll:

Regardless, the new car Hyundai is developing is completely unrelated to the Dignity/Proudia/Equus. Those cars were FWD, while the new one is RWD.
 
I think that this is the right step for Hyundai, and that Blind_Io are absolutely right.

My dad got a Tuscon and it's lovely (with some extras)

Like this:
hyundai_tucson_1024_1.jpg
- only gray.
 
They used to say the same thing about Toyota and Honda, but they have both done well in the luxury car market.

Yes but they'd always done well in the regular car market as well. itd hafta be WAY cheaper than its rivals because noone with lexus money is going to want to save some buying a hyundai.

keeping in mind luxury is usally a mix of comfort, gadgets, and status
 
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Yes but they'd always done well in the regular car market as well. itd hafta be WAY cheaper than its rivals because noone with lexus money is going to want to save some buying a hyundai.

keeping in mind luxury is usally a mix of comfort, gadgets, and status

It just takes time. Where was Lexus 20 years ago? Nonexistent.
 
To Blind_Io: I believe Hyundai was a heavy machinery company before they became a car company. They're even bigger in that field, particularly with things like cranes and supertankers.
 
Yes but they'd always done well in the regular car market as well. itd hafta be WAY cheaper than its rivals because noone with lexus money is going to want to save some buying a hyundai.

You are obviously very, very, very young. Toyota and Nissan (and Honda) didn't do very well to begin with, and they were synonymous with "cheap crappy cars that don't last" up until the 70s - and they'd started in the US in the 1950s!

Nissan got their jumpstart in the US with the 240Z, which started changing a lot of minds. They really catapaulted onto the wider US mindshare with the 280ZX and the Corvette-killer 300ZX.

Toyota went the other route - by producing the stupendously cheap 1979 Corolla that just wouldn't die, and the 79-up HiLux pickup truck, which also was cheap and just would not die. Substance over style. Their first *big* US hit was the 1984 Camry.

Honda started in the US in 1953 and didn't get much attention until the 1976 Honda Civic (CVCC) and later Prelude. The first Accord was their first real US hit.

It took the Japanese about *thirty* years to get to the point where they were on par with the US domestics in terms of mindshare and sales. It took them another fifteen years to equal and surpass the likes of BMW and Mercedes with their luxury brands.

It only took the Koreans *ten* years to match the domestics. And, it appears, it's only going to take them another year or so to equal the Europeans in some respects.

Is it any wonder why the Koreans are on *everyone's* minds? They're Japan, Inc.'s biggest worry right now.

The question isn't "Can the Koreans build a luxury brand?" but it's "How long will it take, and will they be able to sustain it?" and "How will the Japanese hold up?"
 
To Blind_Io: I believe Hyundai was a heavy machinery company before they became a car company. They're even bigger in that field, particularly with things like cranes and supertankers.

Hyundai is also an *enormous* electronics company - so they don't have to outsource their electronics, which has been a bane of some makers.
 
well the article sounds like they're going to just have one luxury model. to me that means Hyundai badging. i think in the future they'll launch a luxury brand
 
Not necessarily so. Lexus started with just one model as well, and I doubt that they are just going over the poor sales performance of the Phaeton and launch their model with a Hyundai badge.
 
Not necessarily so. Lexus started with just one model as well, and I doubt that they are just going over the poor sales performance of the Phaeton and launch their model with a Hyundai badge.

Lexus started with two models. They had the original LS400 and the rebadged Camry called the ES300. But I do agree that a Hyundai badged luxury car might be a tough sell. They'll need to create a whole new brand around it and hopefully sell it in non-Hyundai dealers. BMW did the same with Rolls-Royce in that no BMW dealer can also sell Rolls-Royces...to keep them separate.

Infiniti started with 2 models (Q45 and M30) as did Acura (Legend and Integra). If Hyundai can come up with another model, they can easily start the brand with just 2 cars. More recently, Scion started with 2 models (xA and xB) but added the tC quickly after launch.
 
Hyundai is also an *enormous* electronics company - so they don't have to outsource their electronics, which has been a bane of some makers.

Hyundai, like many other Korean companies, pretty much make everything. So yes, their pockets are quite deep. No wonder they're putting in a bid to field an F1 team by 2010.
 
Lexus started with two models. They had the original LS400 and the rebadged Camry called the ES300. But I do agree that a Hyundai badged luxury car might be a tough sell. They'll need to create a whole new brand around it and hopefully sell it in non-Hyundai dealers. BMW did the same with Rolls-Royce in that no BMW dealer can also sell Rolls-Royces...to keep them separate.

Infiniti started with 2 models (Q45 and M30) as did Acura (Legend and Integra). If Hyundai can come up with another model, they can easily start the brand with just 2 cars. More recently, Scion started with 2 models (xA and xB) but added the tC quickly after launch.

Correction - Lexus started with the LS400 and the *ES250*, not the ES300.
 
It took the Japanese about *thirty* years to get to the point where they were on par with the US domestics in terms of mindshare and sales. It took them another fifteen years to equal and surpass the likes of BMW and Mercedes with their luxury brands.

It only took the Koreans *ten* years to match the domestics. And, it appears, it's only going to take them another year or so to equal the Europeans in some respects.

Let's get something clear here, as I've heard this argument several times before. The only reason the koreans were/are able to be successful in breaking into markets so quikly is because the Japanese opened up and led the way for everyone else back in the 70's. Had they not done it, the Korean's would be in the same boat as the Japs were back then. Let's also remember that Toyota spent close to a decade developing the first Lexus LS. It was also the first Toyota development project not to have a budget restraint. If Hundai can match that type of dedication, than they actually have a fighting chance. If they try to immitate "luxury", they'll just crash n' burn.

That said, I really do hope Hundai are successful. More competition in the luxury car market can only be a good thing (for consumers).
 
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Hyundai are growing up to be a proper car producer,
I too hope they're succesful, because I wouldn't mind
driving a luxury Hyundai with a reasonable price.

Next to it, in my garage, I'd keep a proper sporty European or Japanese car
for fun.
 
I do agree, the new generation Hyundais have improved quite a bit from the days of the Excel (the late 90's Excel was dirt cheap, sold heaps, but was hardly a good car). They're finally making some respectable machinery.

My grandparents have a 2001 Grandeur, and they're thinking of buying the new one (although on that money, I'd say a secondhand E class/5 series/A6/GS would be a better bet, even a Passat). Their Grandeur's caused them few problems, though.
 
Well I hope it all goes well for Hyundai. :) I really do, hopefully there will be a filter down effect into their other products and the like. A cheap, small RWD car? oooo :)

Hyundais (esp of late) have been very well built and they are matureing rapidly as a company. Hopefully they will gain some identity with this new car otherwise we'll end up with another Toyota.....which is bad....
 
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