Hyundai S-Cla...LS.....Genesis.

So some of you guys would actually drive this Hyundai everyday?

I would never want to answer "A Hyundai." when someone asked what I drove. :p
 
I would never want to answer "A Hyundai." when someone asked what I drove. :p

*cough* :shifty: :whistle: (but only because I'll be able to sell my cheapmobile in the spring for at least as much as I bought it for) :lol:

But if I was in the market for this sort of big car, I would consider the Genesis. It's oodles cheaper than a 5 series or E-class, a bit less than an Infiniti or Lexus, and a bit more than a loaded Accord or Camry. Of course, you'd need to go for the badge delete... but it's still an interesting alternative.
 
You can just tell em you drive a Genesis and call it a day. I think in Korea they actually market this car as "Genesis" only. A while back, one of my friends was complaining that this was a Hyundai and that if I were mad enough to consider this over something like an IS250 (which by the way is one of my favorite small sedans). I've never really had an issue with badging so I would easily be persuaded by the Genesis' space, modern features, comfort, and styling (though beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As much as I love the Town Car, I would likely never buy one due to it's rather dated interior and engine.
 
So some of you guys would actually drive this Hyundai everyday?

I would never want to answer "A Hyundai." when someone asked what I drove. :p

You realize that most people, 30-40 years ago, were saying the same thing about Japanese cars.

And Korea is closing in on Japan very quickly. Especially in terms of styling, which they are already ahead in.
 
^ I do realize that, and that's why it took the Japanese so long to be taken seriously. I guess they need to start somewhere.

But what I was thinking when I posited that question was whether any of you guys (i.e. car enthusiasts) would drive around in one? You guys sometimes hassle me for owning a Lexus, because it's soulless and unexciting or whatever... I just can't see how this car is any better.

Oh, and no way are the Koreans better than the Japanese at styling their cars... how could they be, when they're blatantly just copying them?
 
I think most of us are just impressed that Korea was able to make something like this. For the money its hard to beat.

Would I actually buy one? No, but its hard not to consider. A $37,000 V8 Lexus competitor with a 10 year warranty sounds very tempting.
 
^ I do realize that, and that's why it took the Japanese so long to be taken seriously. I guess they need to start somewhere.

But what I was thinking when I posited that question was whether any of you guys (i.e. car enthusiasts) would drive around in one? You guys sometimes hassle me for owning a Lexus, because it's soulless and unexciting or whatever... I just can't see how this car is any better.

Oh, and no way are the Koreans better than the Japanese at styling their cars... how could they be, when they're blatantly just copying them?

There are always going to be auto prejudices that will exist in the automotive world. European car lovers will shun Lexus or any other Japanese luxury car brands, Asian families will never dream of touching an American car, and hardcore Detroit car lover will buy nothing else. As I've said before, the styling of a car is subjective. I think the Genesis is a better looking version of the 5 series or the boring E-Class. Then again, I don't mind the design of the new Camry or the *GASP* Dacia Sandero (that much) so I really can't comment on car design.
 
Asian families will never dream of touching an American car
Not so, during the 60s-80s the Japanese cars weren't taken seriously while the Americans during the 60s did make some good cars. The thing is, so many were appalled by a combination of how the dealer treated them, how low the quality of the car was, how often the car needed to be in the shop.

My dad had a FWD Pontiac Phoenix as his first actual purchased car, every time he said something was wrong with the brakes the dealer never fixed it and used the tired old excuse that nothing is wrong and he "can't drive"(I believe this was indirect racism involved here, the idea that Chinese know nothing about cars). Even excusing the brakes, despite caring deeply for that car it still had rust because it had moisture traps due to the poor engineering. The carburetor always gave my dad trouble starting the car. Eventually he had enough of the car particularly because it was a low mileage one(60,000 kms for 6 years) and swore off American cars forever and would tell all his friends and family not to buy one citing this experience. Toyota on the other hand appreciated my dad's business giving him the car he wanted, so he's now a 22 year customer and still ongoing.

As for Hyundai, I've driven them...and I can say that overall I can't exactly say they're bad cars at least now. I'd pick a Hyundai or Kia over any equivalent Chrysler product. My only real complaints about certain Hyundais are minor like the Accent having a slow dimwitted auto transmission or the Elantra with a overly sensitive brake pedal. Given a blindfold, I actually think its hard to distinguish between how a Hyundai and a modern Toyota drives.
 
Oh, and no way are the Koreans better than the Japanese at styling their cars... how could they be, when they're blatantly just copying them?

Oh they definitely are more attractive. The Koreans are using designs that they know to be good looking. For example, I see a lot of Saab in the front end of the black Genesis sedan, while others see design cues from Lexus, Mercedes, and BMW. Most Korean cars are like that. The Hyundai Sonata is so much better looking then the new Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, which are borderline fugly. If the resale value of Korean cars wasn't so horrible, I would consider buying one.
 
Asian families will never dream of touching an American car.

Our car history:

Buick Skyhawk (dad's first car)
Dodge Colt (rebadged Mitsubishi, but still)
Ford Taurus (Jack Telnack's opus)
Chevy Lumina (destroyed by Mt. Washington)

Along with a Mitsubishi Mirage, Nissan Sentra, and Nissan Xterra along the way. But you're right, most Asian families tend to spring for the Big Four: Civic, Corolla, Camry, Accord. It's the sort of brand loyalty Detroit wishes it could still hold onto, and is only currently getting back.

After we ditched the Lumina about 7 years ago, we swore to stay away from American cars not out of spite, but because nothing they had was interesting enough. But now, I'm trying to convince my father to spring for a Cadillac CTS...wish me luck. :cool:
 
^ I do realize that, and that's why it took the Japanese so long to be taken seriously. I guess they need to start somewhere.

But what I was thinking when I posited that question was whether any of you guys (i.e. car enthusiasts) would drive around in one? You guys sometimes hassle me for owning a Lexus, because it's soulless and unexciting or whatever... I just can't see how this car is any better.

Oh, and no way are the Koreans better than the Japanese at styling their cars... how could they be, when they're blatantly just copying them?

Lexus have been around for almost 20 years and have yet to produce a truly interesting vehicle (IMO). The SC300/SC400 and previous generation IS were pretty cool but they weren't particularly different from their competitors. Almost every vehicle was produced as a direct copy of an existing European car. I understand that they are just sold as Toyota's overseas, but in North America they are branded as a luxury car manufacturer.

With Hyundai, they just recently are being considered as being a true alternative to much much more prestigious companies. At the moment, they sell some pretty decent econoboxes, competitive SUV/CUVs, sensible and affordable sedans, and now a true luxury car. This is a pretty impressive spread as it is, and the Genesis coupe is also coming out pretty soon. So here you've got a company that started off making no-name POS's to having a full range of competitive vehicles. And funnily enough, they're have been talks already of upping the displacement of the Tau engine in the Genesis and including direct injection as well. Who would have thought that Hyundai would ever be making a luxury sedan with over 400hp? Just a five years ago, I would have labelled Hyundai as being ambitious but rubbish. But they've shown that they are ambitious but also living up to most of their claims.
 
Lexus have been around for almost 20 years and have yet to produce a truly interesting vehicle (IMO). The SC300/SC400 and previous generation IS were pretty cool but they weren't particularly different from their competitors. Almost every vehicle was produced as a direct copy of an existing European car. I understand that they are just sold as Toyota's overseas, but in North America they are branded as a luxury car manufacturer.

With Hyundai, they just recently are being considered as being a true alternative to much much more prestigious companies. At the moment, they sell some pretty decent econoboxes, competitive SUV/CUVs, sensible and affordable sedans, and now a true luxury car. This is a pretty impressive spread as it is, and the Genesis coupe is also coming out pretty soon. So here you've got a company that started off making no-name POS's to having a full range of competitive vehicles. And funnily enough, they're have been talks already of upping the displacement of the Tau engine in the Genesis and including direct injection as well. Who would have thought that Hyundai would ever be making a luxury sedan with over 400hp? Just a five years ago, I would have labelled Hyundai as being ambitious but rubbish. But they've shown that they are ambitious but also living up to most of their claims.

Wait, I don't understand the dichotomy in your argument.

On the one hand, you're arguing that Lexus has never produced a worthy, interesting rival to the Europeans. That they went from knocking off European cars, to just selling rebadged Toyotas to fools.

On the other hand, you're praising Hyundai because they've managed to create a car that rivals their European and Japanese rivals. How is this any different than Lexus ripping off their European counterparts 20 years ago? And how do you know this car won't be uninteresting like Lexus? Just because they're planning on a 400hp engine really is no indication of whether this car will be any good to drive or be in. It's not as if Lexus hasn't produced cars with big engines.

We're getting very offtopic here, but I think it's funny how you put Lexus down for just being a copycat of European cars, whereas you think Hyundai has actually made a worthy competitor to other luxury cars.

Oh, and so I take the Lexus fanboy-ism a step further, Lexus today is sold around the world and most of their lineups share relatively little with similar Toyota cars. Think of it as like VW and Audi, not Opel and Vauxhall. Claiming that they're still nothing but rebadged Toyotas for people with more money than sense, just shows me you're basing your views off a tired, old stereotype.
 
I love Lexus. The ES and SC are both kinda bland, but the LS and IS are great.
 
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Wait, I don't understand the dichotomy in your argument.

On the one hand, you're arguing that Lexus has never produced a worthy, interesting rival to the Europeans. That they went from knocking off European cars, to just selling rebadged Toyotas to fools.

On the other hand, you're praising Hyundai because they've managed to create a car that rivals their European and Japanese rivals. How is this any different than Lexus ripping off their European counterparts 20 years ago? And how do you know this car won't be uninteresting like Lexus? Just because they're planning on a 400hp engine really is no indication of whether this car will be any good to drive or be in. It's not as if Lexus hasn't produced cars with big engines.

We're getting very offtopic here, but I think it's funny how you put Lexus down for just being a copycat of European cars, whereas you think Hyundai has actually made a worthy competitor to other luxury cars.

Oh, and so I take the Lexus fanboy-ism a step further, Lexus today is sold around the world and most of their lineups share relatively little with similar Toyota cars. Think of it as like VW and Audi, not Opel and Vauxhall. Claiming that they're still nothing but rebadged Toyotas for people with more money than sense, just shows me you're basing your views off a tired, old stereotype.

Basically, what I meant to say was that I was more impressed with where Hyundai have gone compared to Lexus. As far as I can tell, Lexus started as a Japanese rival to Mercedes Benz. And they've more or less held that mindset throughout the years. However, Hyundai was a lowly econobox manufacturer that in almost no time at all are competing with the big names. I'm not claiming that Lexus makes inferior products compared to their European rivals, or even that the Genesis is itself better than any Lexus. Indeed, the Genesis is generally a ripoff of several vehicles; even more so than current Lexuses are. However, Lexus seemed to have established itself with the LS and then it doesn't seem to have done too much since then. I could be wrong, but I get the feeling that each new Lexus is just a version of an already established benchmark. The IS = 3-series, GS = 5-series, LS = S-class etc. I don't mean to put down the company or owners (such as yourself). But this is what I make of the company based on what I see.

I don't love Hyundai any more than I love Lexus. But the Genesis, both the sedan and coupe, just shows how far Hyundai have come. The 400hp doesn't mean a whole lot, but it does show that they are serious about competing on a large scale with the rest of the world. Again, I'm just impressed with where Hyundai have gone. In the future, the Genesis may be remembered as a generally dull vehicle. Who knows, maybe Hyundai will end up as a Korean copy of Lexus.

As for your Lexus fanboyism, I'm aware that certain vehicles (LS, IS, and GS at least) are sold as Lexuses in other parts of the world. However, based on what I see on Best Motoring, this is a relatively recent change. I know that, at least as of a few years ago, the ES, LX, RX, and SC were all sold as Toyotas.
 
Basically, what I meant to say was that I was more impressed with where Hyundai have gone compared to Lexus. As far as I can tell, Lexus started as a Japanese rival to Mercedes Benz. And they've more or less held that mindset throughout the years. However, Hyundai was a lowly econobox manufacturer that in almost no time at all are competing with the big names. I'm not claiming that Lexus makes inferior products compared to their European rivals, or even that the Genesis is itself better than any Lexus. Indeed, the Genesis is generally a ripoff of several vehicles; even more so than current Lexuses are. However, Lexus seemed to have established itself with the LS and then it doesn't seem to have done too much since then. I could be wrong, but I get the feeling that each new Lexus is just a version of an already established benchmark. The IS = 3-series, GS = 5-series, LS = S-class etc. I don't mean to put down the company or owners (such as yourself). But this is what I make of the company based on what I see.

I don't love Hyundai any more than I love Lexus. But the Genesis, both the sedan and coupe, just shows how far Hyundai have come. The 400hp doesn't mean a whole lot, but it does show that they are serious about competing on a large scale with the rest of the world. Again, I'm just impressed with where Hyundai have gone. In the future, the Genesis may be remembered as a generally dull vehicle. Who knows, maybe Hyundai will end up as a Korean copy of Lexus.

As for your Lexus fanboyism, I'm aware that certain vehicles (LS, IS, and GS at least) are sold as Lexuses in other parts of the world. However, based on what I see on Best Motoring, this is a relatively recent change. I know that, at least as of a few years ago, the ES, LX, RX, and SC were all sold as Toyotas.

Fair enough, I see where you're coming from. I'm not really offended as a Lexus owner... if I wanted the standard choice I'd have gone 3er or A4.

But Lexus does pretty well I think if you actually drive one. Their mid-range cars are the best I think... they fall a little short in LS vs. competition, and a whole lot in SC vs. competition IMO. And the ES is just flaky.

About this new Genesis though, is the coupe thing gonna have the same badging? Then I guess Genesis itself is kind of a new marque they could spin-off in a few years.
 
So some of you guys would actually drive this Hyundai everyday?

I would never want to answer "A Hyundai." when someone asked what I drove. :p

After this car came out, i'd be fine with saying a drive a hyundai.
 
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