mmarshall

I've got several CL requests for an Equus full-review, but seems like it won't be released in the American market at least for a few months yet. In the meantime, here is some of the latest data for it, in the preview. Rumor is that base prices will fall in the 50-55K range.

http://www.automobile.com/2011-hyund...us-review.html

The 2009 New York Auto Show yielded a surprise from Hyundai in the form of the all new Equus. Due to hit American dealerships in late 2010, the Equus is Hyundai’s super-luxury sedan. Currently selling overseas in the neighborhood of $96,000, the 2011 Hyundai Equus will probably be sold in the U.S. for significantly less. Thanks to the success of the Hyundai Genesis sedan, Hyundai has finally decided to eye bigger and more lucrative markets. Like the Genesis, the Equus will offer features normally available in cars much more expensive, but at significantly less cost.

Specifications
The available specs for the 2011 Equus are:

Pricing: $50,000-$60,000
Engine: A Lambda 3.8-liter V6 which gets 290 horsepower is currently in the Korean model of the Equus, but a 5.0-liter engine is expected for the U.S. market.

Transmission: 8-speed automatic transmission with manual shift control.
Car Safety Features: The latest technology in car safety features is expected to be present including lane-departure warning system, stability and traction control, and a pre-safety seatbelt system as well as a full complement of airbags.

Warranty: Hyundai’s warranty is top of the industry at 5-years/60,000 miles bumper to bumper, but the Equus just may be offered with slightly better terms.

Exterior Features
From the outside, the Equus is deceptively normal. Without the BMW or Mercedes-Benz logo emblazoned on the front, you might naturally not expect a whole lot. It is in the interior of this sedan, that the Equus really shows off.

Interior Features
With all of the same features you’d expect from Mercedes-Benz or BMW, the interior of the 2011 Hyundai Equus is bound to impress and at a fraction of the price. Featuring a 17-speaker Lexicon sound system, heated, massaging seats for both front and rear, soft-grain leather throughout, and a polished walnut trim, the Equus will be showing off its interior beauty in a way that is certain to make a few shoppers wonder why they should pay $30,000 or $40,000 more for one of the more well-known luxury names.

Competition for the 2011 Hyundai Equus
The new Equus is setting its sights quite specifically on two vehicles:

BMW 7-Series
Mercedes-Benz S-Class
The BMW 7-Series is a super-luxury car that starts at $80,000 MSRP and it offers all of the perfected driving ability and interior comfort one might expect when shelling out that kind of money. The Equus may not have much difficulty offering the same type of luxury, but it will be somewhat hard-pressed to beat the exquisite driving capability of the 7-Series. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is another super-luxury sedan , but with a starting MSRP of $89,350, one would likely have to show some real devotion to Mercedes-Benz to choose it over the new Equus.

http://newcarscollections.com/hyunda...ith-429-hp.htm

Hyundai recently announced that after the market launch of new vessels Equus luxury sedan, it will offer the option on the 4.6L Tau V8 engine is planned. Optional engine will be the new 5.0L Tau V8, making 429-hp. That same engine will then also find its way into the luxury sedan Genesis. With the increasing power of about 45 hp with a larger engine, the torque will jump from 333 to 376 ft-lbs. And assist in both strength and convey fuel consumption is a new Automatic 8-speed – though it was not clear whether the incident will also get a box 8-speeds.

This step is designed to keep the ship Hyundai competitive with the new twin-turbo engine from BMW and Mercedes, but most buyers will not see Equus as a rival to established marques, we must think this is more of a shot at the bow of the Lexus, the Genesis offers a much larger motor the strength of what Lexus LS with a complementary model.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

Again,$60K for a Hyundai seems a bit much at this point ,anyway..
People like prestigious badges.

KA8

iTrader: (1)

Just ran into one today on the way to work here in Torrance. It's a big sedan. Can't wait to test drive it.

I8ABMR

People said the same thing about Lexus in 89. "that much for a Toyota???". I would rather get a benz. In the end its kind of like a person looking for work with no experience. You have to start at some point with no experience. That changes quickly though. Just like Lexus they just need a small opening. I just wish their marketing was better and they separated the brands, but if they did it this way its because they dumped tons of money into market analysis

mikemareen

massaging front and rear seats for 50k ? wow this is tempting even for someone who needs a brand name to feel secure.

I wonder how it drives....only time will tell how this plays out.

but US customers are basically getting the car at cost (the cost to build the car). There is very little mark up on this one.

LexFather

Mike from my understanding most will be sold per order to peoples homes. They won't have them on dealer lots. I'm sure a few dealers will but not sure who yet. Hyundai won't be shipping tons as sales expectations are very very very low. I hope you can get one to review though.

They have plenty of experience, copying. Unlike the LS, this brings nothing new or different to the market. It simply is another D class sedan. I give them kudos for offering it but its NOT LIKE THE LS at all.

The LS became one of the best sellers in two years. This car will not even be at dealerships, it will be sold at customers homes. They might sell 200-1,000 a year. The LS sells that IN A MONTH.

E6BAV8R

When will Hyundai learn that you can't offer cheap, bottom of the line cars with high-end luxury cars under the same brand? They need to either pull a Toyota (with the Lexus brand), or market their luxury cars under another name.

We all know they have sunk truckloads of money into market analysis, but it seems like they need to learn some basic steps of brand recognition.

Many, many people love the Hyundai Genesis; yet they won't buy it because it has the Hyundai name plastered all over it.

mmarshall

If you get a chance to check one out or drive it, by all means, give us your take on it. Auto companies often have a habit of releasing new models first in CA, before they work their way eastward where I am.

mmarshall

I think you're putting the cart before the horse here. You're confusing Hyundai's auto-marketing with simple public ignorance. If the public won't buy the Genesis, that's not Hyundai's fault. They did their part and designed a pretty nice upmarket-sedan. Same with the Acura RL and VW Phaeton, which proved unpopular....both were excellent cars (and buys) that people ignored.

You can lead a horse to water, but......................

Of course, we are in hard economic times, too, and a lot of people simply don't have 40K (or have good credit) to spend on a Genesis, Hyundai-nameplate or not. I myself, though I could maybe afford it, probably wouldn't pay more than 35-40K on any new car, regardless of the nameplate, just on principle.

BTW...slightly off-topic, but your signature (E6BAV8R)...I take it you are (or were) part of a USN or USMC E6 Prowler crew....maybe carrier-based? I'm a licensed pilot, worked for the FAA, was once with the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., and so I readily recognize aviation-related data. And, also in your signature (AV8R) did that also include the USMC AV8 Harrier, or is that just a play on the word "aviator"?

mikemareen

well toyota sold their flagship under the toyota celsior for years! remember that ?

but hyundai has not been known to get things right in terms of their genesis coupe....I mean what were they thinking ? freaking thing looks like a 17k scion while they try to get 27k for it.

sometimes u wonder how management with an education can get it so wrong!

mmarshall

Well, I hope that is not the case, but (maybe?) they are loooking closely at what happened to the VW Phaeton and the 2Gen Acura RL, and using that as a guide.

Though, of course, you can't tell people howe to spend their money, I still think that the public was foolish in shunning both the RL and Phaeton....see my post above.



I'll withold judgement on how the car compares directly to the LS until I see and drive it. But, if the two on display at the Washington, D.C. Auto show last January were any guide, the Equus interior will be pretty impressive, with lots of Jaguar and LS-type wood paneling. It also has a stunning, chrome, Rolls-Royce type hood ornament. So, lots of bling......but (hopefully) we'll see what's under that surface bling when the time comes.

mmarshall

Although the Genesis Coupe clearly doesn't have the plush interior the sedan has, in virtually every other way, the designers, IMO, were anything BUT wrong....they did a superb job on it, especially the 3.8 track model. You, of course, have a right to your opinion, but have you driven a Genesis coupe....particularly the 3.8 Track? Though the suspension is a little stiff, if you were blindfolded, you'd be otherwise hard-pressed to tell you weren't in a nice BMW....the steering/road manners are THAT good for a sports-coupe. And the paddle-shifters react lightning quick, with NO delay in the shifting.

If I myself were looking at RWD car in the 30-40K range, BTW, the 3.8 Track would probably be first on my list.....over even some BMWs and Lexus IS models. Higher up, at 40-50K...I'd go with a BMW 335i.

TRDFantasy

I don't think they'll ever learn.

madoka

Care to explain what was so revolutionary about the LS when it debuted? And I speak as an original 1990 LS400 owner who bought it within two months of Lexus releasing it. The LS400 was a cheaper, more reliable copy of luxury brands at the time. It too was sold at cost or under cost to take market share. The criticisms I read about Hyundai today, are the same ones that I remember Lexus was criticized for when it first launched. And yeah, we got a lot of jabs about buying an "overpriced Toyota."

Here's what the Chicago Tribune had to say about it in 1989:

Toyota took the BMW, Jaguar and Mercedes, separated the good features from the bad, then reassembled the parts and components into one machine using only the best features from each.

. . .

The immediate impression is that the Japanese again demonstrated their ability to copy. Lexus sheet metal is similar to Mercedes`, the instrument panel BMW-like and interior seating and design looks to be lifted from Jaguar. You may recall Lexus aroused controversy before it went on sale when LEXIS, the electronic legal information service, charged that the Toyota name was too similar to its own. That dispute was settled out of court.

Here is what the HEAD OF DESIGN at MB had to say about Lexus:

"People explain to us it is really an honour to have someone copy our cars, but I don't think we see it that way any more," said Harald Leschke, the head of design at Mercedes-Benz. "I think it is quite obvious that they admire the design, then try to do it their way. I'm sure in some industries this sort of thing is not legal.

"What surprises us most is that [Lexus] are prepared to do it, in public, and that customers are prepared to buy their copycat cars."

Leschke said the LS430 was Lexus's opportunity to do its own design and head in a different direction "but instead they copy other designs".

"I think it's fair to say all their cars have been influenced by someone else's models," he said. "They don't have a history so they have to copy someone else's."

mmarshall

Well, they may not NEED to "learn" that, in the sense you are saying. There's a thread in CAR CHAT, right now, about how Hyundai is now in the top-five-most considered brands on the market by prospective car shoppers. Whether that extends up to the Genesis and Equus remains to be seen.


https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...-big-jump.html