The Hyundai Equus Story by John Krafcik

[Thai]

Link on Edmunds: The Hyundai Equus Story by John Krafcik

Very interesting insight into Hyundai's plans. Hyundai is making major progress...their customer service, at least for this new model, will surely be class-leading. In my case, i can relate to his viewpoint about Lexus (or MB, BMW, etc.) showrooms...i don't care about the coffee or the free juices because i'm paying for it indirectly when i pay for the service. (The same can be said about BMW's free maintenance plan...the owner paid for it when they signed on the dotted line.) This was one reason why i did not even bother to look at Lexus or MB when i was car shopping...i was not willing to pay for the huge maintenance costs. It is ridiculous when an oil change at Lexus is in excess of $100 while at Toyota, it is $35.

 

[Thai]

There is one thing that i disagree with. It is often mentioned (including in above article) that Hyundai is the young Lexus. The problem i have is that Hyundai sold cars that were uner $15k. Hell, Hyundai today still sells a car for UNDER 10k (Accent 3 dr)!! Lexus is a luxury brand name from day one...this is not the case with Hyundai. So, Hyundai has a much larger hill to climb to overcome image issues...and the image of them selling Accents may never go away. Even with VW, their cheapest car is well above Accent's base price.

So, although i think that the Equus is a good car, there is no way that the Equus will do well in the American market...so, i assume that is why Hyundai has set such low expectations.

 

[Uneek]

There is one thing that i disagree with. It is often mentioned (including in above article) that Hyundai is the young Lexus. The problem i have is that Hyundai sold cars that were uner $15k. Hell, Hyundai today still sells a car for UNDER 10k (Accent 3 dr)!! Lexus is a luxury brand name from day one...this is not the case with Hyundai. So, Hyundai has a much larger hill to climb to overcome image issues...and the image of them selling Accents may never go away. Even with VW, their cheapest car is well above Accent's base price.

So, although i think that the Equus is a good car, there is no way that the Equus will do well in the American market...so, i assume that is why Hyundai has set such low expectations.

:iagree: and that's why in my eyes Acura isn't a top teir luxury brand/make, because of the Integra and RSX that was once so desirable to the import scene. Not to mention Acura doesn't offer any RWD vehicle beside the NSX. IMO, Acura is competition to Infiniti, Cadillac, Lincoln, etc. But not against Lexus, BMW or MB.

With regards to Hyundai, the Genesis is about $40k. Sadly, ES/IS/HS, 3-series and the C-class all cost more than that. While not everyone, but certainly some feel the price of the car is a status symbol and displays "I made it." The Genesis is a great value though.

 

[Thai]

:iagree: and that's why in my eyes Acura isn't a top teir luxury brand/make, because of the Integra and RSX that was once so desirable to the import scene. Not to mention Acura doesn't offer any RWD vehicle beside the NSX. IMO, Acura is competition to Infiniti, Cadillac, Lincoln, etc. But not against Lexus, BMW or MB.

With regards to Hyundai, the Genesis is about $40k. Sadly, ES/IS/HS, 3-series and the C-class all cost more than that. While not everyone, but certainly some feel the price of the car is a status symbol and displays "I made it." The Genesis is a great value though.

Yup, agree 100%. Acura is just not there yet...or they may never reach that level. We have an Acura and it is a good value for sure, but you can tell that Acura cut corners on a few items. It is unfortunate that they rely so much on SH-AWD to counter the RWD argument. SH-AWD makes for aweful fuel economy and and a heavy car. In this day and age where a Mustang V6 makes 31 mpg on regular gas while providing over 300 hp, Acura's powertrain offerings seem weak and wasteful. Whatever happened to Honda/Acura being a major powertrain player?!

I do think that Infiniti is closer to Lexus than Acura is. They are more in-line with BMW though in terms of their style and performance. Caddy is getting there...and Lincoln is lost in their horrid styling (same boat as Acura IMO).

As for the Genesis, when i sat in it, i was not impress...maybe because i had such high expectations of it after reading so many initial glowing reviews. The interior materials were nice...on par with maybe Lexus ES, but was inferior for sure to the Lexus GS. Lexus LS is on another level. I think that Hyundai knows this and thus the Equus.

I will tell you one thing...Lexus is also in trouble with falling behind people. Their hybrid technology is no longer class-leading. At one time, Toyota hybrids were untouchable. At this time, the only hybrid that you can really say is class-leading is the Prius...but that is about to change soon within the next year or so with the Volt and Leaf. Lexus hybrids, esp. the HS250, are already falling behind the Ford counterparts. How is Nissan/Infiniti or even Chevy able to beat Toyota in introducing a production hybrid with Lithium batteries?! :crybaby:

 

[Uneek]

Yup, agree 100%. Acura is just not there yet...or they may never reach that level. We have an Acura and it is a good value for sure, but you can tell that Acura cut corners on a few items. It is unfortunate that they rely so much on SH-AWD to counter the RWD argument. SH-AWD makes for aweful fuel economy and and a heavy car. In this day and age where a Mustang V6 makes 31 mpg on regular gas while providing over 300 hp, Acura's powertrain offerings seem weak and wasteful. Whatever happened to Honda/Acura being a major powertrain player?!

I do think that Infiniti is closer to Lexus than Acura is. They are more in-line with BMW though in terms of their style and performance. Caddy is getting there...and Lincoln is lost in their horrid styling (same boat as Acura IMO).

As for the Genesis, when i sat in it, i was not impress...maybe because i had such high expectations of it after reading so many initial glowing reviews. The interior materials were nice...on par with maybe Lexus ES, but was inferior for sure to the Lexus GS. Lexus LS is on another level. I think that Hyundai knows this and thus the Equus.

I will tell you one thing...Lexus is also in trouble with falling behind people. Their hybrid technology is no longer class-leading. At one time, Toyota hybrids were untouchable. At this time, the only hybrid that you can really say is class-leading is the Prius...but that is about to change soon within the next year or so with the Volt and Leaf. Lexus hybrids, esp. the HS250, are already falling behind the Ford counterparts. How is Nissan/Infiniti or even Chevy able to beat Toyota in introducing a production hybrid with Lithium batteries?! :crybaby:

:iagree: Infiniti is the Japanese BMW and Lexus is more of the Japanese MB, Acura would probably be Audi.

IMO Lexus is certainly falling behind. I don't find Lexus appealing anymore in their entry level and mid-range models and if I'm getting a sedan, it'll be a G37. The only two Lexus'es I'm still in fond of is the LS and LX.

IIRC, Ford and Nissan's current hybrid technology are licensed from Toyota. I don't know about the current Altima Hybrid, but the previous gen, I read the display was nearly identical to Toyota's. Hopefully the recalls, slide in sales, along with the bruising will get Toyota going again. Toyota is reminded of being the hare in the race with the tortoise.

Toyota has dumped $50M into Tesla that might be the answer to the LEAF and Volt.

 

[Thai]

IIRC, Ford and Nissan's current hybrid technology are licensed from Toyota. I don't know about the current Altima Hybrid, but the previous gen, I read the display was nearly identical to Toyota's. Hopefully the recalls, slide in sales, along with the bruising will get Toyota going again. Toyota is reminded of being the hare in the race with the tortoise.

Toyota has dumped $50M into Tesla that might be the answer to the LEAF and Volt.

Ford Fusion Hybrid (and twin Mercury Milan and upscale Lincoln MKZ Hybrid) is a major thorn on Toyota's side...the FFH gets better mileage than both Camry Hybrid and Lexus HS250...and can go further on battery power. (The last part is controversial because Ford abuses the NiM battery more than Toyota...possibly at the expense of durability down the road. Regardless, though, Ford gives the same warranty as Toyota in regards to its hybrid components.) FFH's hybrid system is PURE Ford...even though the basic concept is very similar to Toyota's system. Basically, it seems like Ford bought the Toyota Hybrid system and made it better for themselves.

Nissan's hybrid system currently in the Altima is pure Toyota. However, the upcoming Leaf and Infiniti M35 Hybrid system is pure Nissan i believe.

I think that the above two are more of a threat to Toyota than the Chevy Volt. Volt is nice and all, but it costs too much while providing too little (in luxury).

As for Lexus, my parents just bought a 2010 Lexus ES350. In the past, i have always discarded the ES as a tarted-up Camry...and always wondered why people don't just buy the Avalon because it is the same price as the ES but it is bigger, more stuff, and has a very good JBL sound system. I have changed my mind. It is actually a pretty nice car, a bit expensive for what you get, but a nice car nonetheless. I can now see why it is so popular. It is (for 2010) handsomely conservatively styled, quiet, very comfy, and (for 2010) has a very nice upscale interior. Maybe i am just getting old in my head and this is why the ES appeals to me?! My biggest problem with it is that the base stereo system is kinda sucky...esp. when you consider that the Camry JBL system is better for much less money. And the Avalon JBL blows the ES base system away by a mile!

The car that i see has fallen really really behind is the GS. The styling is getting old...in fact, the current style got old rather quickly. Performance is no where near the class leaders.

Uneek, check out the 2011 Jaguar XJ. I made the mistake of looking at it in the showroom floor...WOW!! The styling is daring and attractive...and the interior (at least at first glance & touch) is uber classy...i would say even class leading. The LS interior doesn't hold a candle to the new XJ...and i would venture to say that the XJ interior is both better styled than any Lexus and the materials easily match (& beat??) that of any LS! Yeah, i know that Tata Motors own Jaguar and that past reliability/durability history just sucks...but, holy cow, the new XJ is impressive. I am dying to test the Bowers & Wilkins 20-speaker stereo system in the XJ...and compare it with the Lexus LS Mark Levinson Reference system...however, i think that this is where Lexus LS will still remain the class-leader.