mikemareen

everybody hides it, this is no different than bmw's and benz's that have parts that regularly break down and yet blame it on other things to dodge warranty repair...same goes for nissan and everyone else.

the only difference is that toyota got caught, which kinda sucks because toyota should be the last to be at fault for anything. they make the most reliable cars every made. It makes no sense to buy anything else if you want to own it for a long time.

vwynn

iTrader: (4)

BTW i just saw an Equus on the road today on the 91 Freeway heading West bound.. it had a blue CA license plate so im assuming it was a Hyundai Corp' Car??

AlexusAnja

The Equus will not sell in any sort of volume way just based on it being a Hyundai. Not many are going to shell out $60K in this economy for any car, much less a Hyundai no matter how much of a "bargain" it will be compared to "x."

Just because Hyundai is selling vehicles well, does not mean that the Equus will sell. The Hyundais are selling well because the lower (sub $30K) models are selling several superior vehicles at competitive, if not market best, prices. And styling although subjective, to me the new Hyundais are good looking.

The Equus will come and go, and just be another failed experiment of another sub-luxury make trying to sell a "luxury" vehicle. Toyota is not stupid, Toyota sold cars back in the 80's at a very brisk pace, but even they knew they were not going to be able to move a $45K vehicle through a Toyota showroom. Why does Hyundai think a person willing to shell out $60K is going to even walk into a Hyundai showroom?

Also, if this vehicle is selling for $90K overseas and being sold for $60K here, shouldn't the governement be looking into "anti-dumping" laws to see if the vehicle is legal for sale here?

GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

their HQ is in Fountain Valley next to Fry's Electronics so you'll see them floating around the OC alot, with the DST plate

mikemareen

yeah but past market trends do not suggest future market trends all the time.....hyundai could have made a luxury brand, but what good would it be without polishing up it's original hyundai brand ? ever thought of that ?

lexus was a success because toyota already had a good reputation.

and remember, toyota didn't use the lexus branding in japan up untill the past year so who knows ?

mikemareen

a little off topic, but you can literally get a brand new 2010 or 2011 genesis for 33k out the door, now thats about the same price as the lexus IS....the GS goes for at least 45k.

J.P.

so you should be able to get a used one in about a year for $15,000

UDel

I would say people will be paying in the lower 50's for the Equus in the US, not 60's as that is too close to a base LS460 and Hyundai knows it can't sell cars in the 60's in the US no matter how nice they are.

I doubt they will sell many Equus but they may get a small segment of affluent Korean Americans who want to own the top Korean luxury car, some luxury buyers who are looking for something more under the radar in this economy but not give up the size and luxury they are used to, and some buyers of mid level lux cars that figure for the same money of a little more/less they can get something much bigger and nicer and don't mind not owning a prestigious brand name. Those numbers in those segments will most likely will be very small but it may just be enough to justify it being kept as part of the lineup for some time.

The LS400 cost much less then 45K when it was first introduced, it based around 35K and BMW specifically and other luxury brands accused Toyota of "dumping" (selling below cost) the LS on the US market to highly undercut competitors prices and achieve quick high sales numbers.

Och

iTrader: (3)

For 50K you can get a mint LS460L with very low mileage with tons of options. I'd much prefer it over the Equis, and I'm sure most think the same way.

Speaking of used cars, the Equis will be one hell of a bargain once it hits the used market. I could see it going for low 20ies 3 years later.

mikemareen

a 2009 is going for about 27k with about 30k miles.....and if it is 15k then even better for me if I decide to buy one.

right now I'm on the fence between a 2011 sonata or a 2011 genesis...or maybe wait another year to let the genesis price drop, you can't beat 33k out the door for a genesis sedan, thats a freaking bargain....go drive one and you'll understand why I say this.

hyundai are actually pretty darn reliable!

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

True.
About 6 months ago,my son in law picked up a loaded 6800 mile '08 LS460L that had a $82K sticker for $57K from a Benz dealer on Long Island,NY.
A better choice over an Equus,IMO.

J.P.

read a couple posts up, we owned one for years and it sucked

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

these comments crack me up especially about the supposed 'folly' of hyundai selling a higher end car. might not be the case in the u.s., but you do know brands like mercedes and bmw sell STRIPPED models with cloth and few creature comforts all over the world except the u.s.? actually even bmw sells their SPARTAN 1 series here and gee, it hasn't hurt sales of anything that i can see. and base Boxster before the last refresh was REALLY CHEAP looking inside and spartan. they did upgrade it to close to the 911 interior now though.

toyota did an amazing thing launching lexus and initially doing a good job of differentiation from toyota models. but i don't believe that is NECESSARY to be successful going forward, especially in the economy we're in. i do agree though that hyundai dealers will need to improve. another factor that hurts lexus is they have SO FEW DEALERS. not hurts that bad of course because they still do very well and don't necessarily want huge sales. it's funny how on CL here there's pride in big sales, but also pride in 'exclusivity'. can't have it both ways. personally i couldn't care less if 1 or a million people drive the same vehicle i do!

i think the equus will do just fine.

and talks of genesis and equus being pretty worthless at resale are all based on a 'rear view mirror' view of things too - things change. as people are realizing newer hyundais are more reliable, used ones will be in greater demand, and prices will rise.

and soon the chinese will begin to invade. then the indians. pathetic at first, but they too will get better. everything will change.

TRDFantasy

Incorrect. The Lexus brand has been in Japan since 2005, and the brand was in quite a few international markets since the 1990s including Europe.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m.../ai_n14912739/

35K in 1989 was much different than it is now. Adjusted for inflation, that 35K from 1989 today would be worth roughly 61K.

So in other words, when the LS debuted in 1989, it cost the equivalent of 61K.

Have you owned any Hyundais for more than 5 or 6 years, or any past 100,000 miles?

J.P.

That is nice and all taking a look into the future but like it or not there is only one Coke.

And maybe they will become Coke at some point.

But each market only has so much room before saturation kills everyone. We are already seeing a couple other auto makers looking to pull out, the end of brands such as Saturn along with many others.

The market is not going to support 12312313 automakers and just like banks they will consolidate or simply pack up.

So am I worried about China and India bringing cars here? Nope