I loved these goofy Hyundai Excel commercials from the late 1980's where a man drives two brand new Excel's home at the same time that he just bought new at a dealership. The gist of the commercial was that Excel's where so inexpensive that you could buy two of them for less than average cost of one car. Regardless of whether or not Excel's where any good, I for one found them horrible, these ads were effective in branding Hyundai's as being inexpensive, dare I say cheap automobiles.
It's always come as a surprise to me then that over the years, Hyundai has grown from being a purveyor ofterrible cheap little cars to purveyors of a full range of automobiles most of which are respectable and some of which are really expensive. However, based on my handful of bad experiences that I had with early Hyundai's, I've always been a skeptic of the brand. So much so that I wouldn't be caught dead with one in my driveway.
Imagine my surprise in 2008 when Hyundai came out with a premium sedan they called "Genesis" for sale here in the United States. I was even more flabbergasted the next year when they started selling the "Equus", a car that was even more ornate and expensive. Hyundai had long been selling what appeared to be "upmarket" automobiles but the Genesis and Equus were the first "luxury" Hyundai's that actually appeared to be luxury cars. If you're curious, "Equus" is a Latin word for horse. I know, you thought it was Latin for pretentious.
Fast forward eight model years and now Hyundai has spun the Genesis and Equus off into their own separate division. The new division is called "Genesis" and the "old" Genesis sedan will be called the "G80" while the old Equus will now be known as the "G90". From a marketing and branding perspective, if this sounds a little half baked to you you're not the only one who feels that way. This would be like GM spinning off "Impala" into its own division. To make matters even worse, the G80 and G90 will be sold through existing Hyundai dealerships. A dealership network that after all these years still markets value first and foremost.
What's the value in a G80 with an MSRP of nearly $50,000 and the G90 at almost $70,000? Good question.
Boils down to perspective. If you're of the means that you can drop $50,000 - $70,000 on a car you might be inclined to buy into Genesis' value proposition that you're actually getting a car that would cost you tens of thousands more if you bought an Audi, BMW, Jaguar or Mercedes. Thing is, though, you're not buying an Audi, BMW, Jaguar or Mercedes you're buying a fancy Hyundai. And people who are of the means to spend that kind of money on a car want a nameplate in their driveway that has the power to impress the neighbors. It's not about keeping up with the Joneses, it's about being far out in front of them. At the end of the day people are going to be doing a fair amount of explaining as to what it is that they bought for a still very sizable amount of money. A Hyundai is still a Hyundai no matter what you call it.
If there's any value in these cars its in two or three years when they're back on the market as used cars. The resale value of the Genesis G80 and G90 is going to be atrocious but with the balance of Hyundai's absurdly wonderful warranty still available, a G90, with its power reclining rear seats, might be a smart buy and one that could impress your more enlightened neighbors. Heck, they're such great values you might be able to buy two of them for less than the cost of one brand new one.
It's always come as a surprise to me then that over the years, Hyundai has grown from being a purveyor of
Imagine my surprise in 2008 when Hyundai came out with a premium sedan they called "Genesis" for sale here in the United States. I was even more flabbergasted the next year when they started selling the "Equus", a car that was even more ornate and expensive. Hyundai had long been selling what appeared to be "upmarket" automobiles but the Genesis and Equus were the first "luxury" Hyundai's that actually appeared to be luxury cars. If you're curious, "Equus" is a Latin word for horse. I know, you thought it was Latin for pretentious.
What's the value in a G80 with an MSRP of nearly $50,000 and the G90 at almost $70,000? Good question.
Boils down to perspective. If you're of the means that you can drop $50,000 - $70,000 on a car you might be inclined to buy into Genesis' value proposition that you're actually getting a car that would cost you tens of thousands more if you bought an Audi, BMW, Jaguar or Mercedes. Thing is, though, you're not buying an Audi, BMW, Jaguar or Mercedes you're buying a fancy Hyundai. And people who are of the means to spend that kind of money on a car want a nameplate in their driveway that has the power to impress the neighbors. It's not about keeping up with the Joneses, it's about being far out in front of them. At the end of the day people are going to be doing a fair amount of explaining as to what it is that they bought for a still very sizable amount of money. A Hyundai is still a Hyundai no matter what you call it.
If there's any value in these cars its in two or three years when they're back on the market as used cars. The resale value of the Genesis G80 and G90 is going to be atrocious but with the balance of Hyundai's absurdly wonderful warranty still available, a G90, with its power reclining rear seats, might be a smart buy and one that could impress your more enlightened neighbors. Heck, they're such great values you might be able to buy two of them for less than the cost of one brand new one.
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