From - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

- ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Here’s a question that buyers of top-shelf, name-in-lights cars usually don’t care to confront: How much are you paying for the car, and how much for the brand-name badge? There’s no doubt that companies such as BMW, Porsche and even Toyota can charge more than their main competitors. To a point, that’s only fair. Build compelling cars, create a reputation over decades, and people will happily scribble the checks.

The only problem is when a company starts to coast, slowing to admire its fine self in the rearview mirror. When that happens today, you can be sure a hungry underdog will race up and bite them in the, um, rear fascia. These David vs. Goliath smack downs are great not only for car buyers, but for the companies themselves. In recent months, some Korean and Japanese companies have been wielding the slingshots against the big boys. If they pull it off, it won’t be the first time.

The Japanese Wake-Up Call

Today’s whippersnappers might take Japanese sports cars such as the - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER for granted. But back in 1969, the idea that Japan could produce anything but cheap econoboxes sparked fits of laughter in Detroit’s union halls. The laughing stopped when the $3,500 Datsun 240Z rolled into town — a shapely, affordable - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER-fighter that became a smash hit. Four decades later (can it really be that long?) the Z is still going strong.

Twenty years later, it was Lexus that gave the status quo a hard shake. When Toyota kicked off its luxury brand back in 1989, some observers scoffed that Japan would dare take on the luxury-car kings in their German castles. At a bargain $35,000, the resulting Lexus LS 400 sedan not only undercut the price of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class by a shocking $25,000, it trumpeted a message that Japan could and would build successful luxury cars.

Just as importantly, - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER helped wake - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER from a fairyland slumber, in which spellbound Americans would continue paying exorbitant prices for cars that weren’t appreciably better than the new competition. In other words, paying for the badge, not the car underneath.

What happened?

Mercedes was forced to fight back, getting its styling and fabled innovation back on track. Fast forward to 2008, and the Mercedes’ lineup is filled with sleek, modern luxury cars it always knew how to build. Everyone won.

The Next Wave

Today companies such as South Korea’s - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER are movin’ in and shakin’ up the neighborhood. Its Genesis luxury sedan goes on sale this summer, starting below $30,000. Genesis buyers will be able to get some serious features, including an optional 368-horsepower V8 — Hyundai’s first-ever eight-cylinder engine. Genesis also employs the same terrific six-speed automatic transmission as the - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER, - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER and - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER, models that can cost more than triple the Hyundai’s price.

- ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

The new Genesis sedan is intriguing on paper, and Hyundai’s features and dramatically improved quality have impressed everyone of late. But there’s also the status issue at stake. When many luxury buyers are happy to pay more for a brand name, will enough people pay less to park a Hyundai in the driveway?

To test public reaction, Hyundai rounded up more than 1,200 consumers and let them drive and pore over the Genesis sedan — with its badges initially hidden by tape. Trying to guess the identity of the car, some consumers threw out names like Infiniti, Lexus and Mercedes. That’s pretty good company for a Hyundai, said John Krafcik, Hyundai’s vice president of product development.

“We’re looking for buyers who say, ‘I don’t care about the image. I just want the best car for the money,’” Krafcik said. “And eventually, like the - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER in the ’70s or Lexus in the ’90s, other people will start to catch on.” Krafcik added that the tanking economy and car sales can only benefit the makers of high-value models.

- ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER, for its part, will deliver the Kizashi sports sedan to dealers in 2010. With its low-slung grille, the Kizashi borrows a page (OK, more like a chapter) from the - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER styling playbook. But with an estimated 300-horsepower V6, the Kizashi will try to convince people that Suzuki is more than hot motorcycles and lukewarm cars.

Even supercars from the likes of - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER and Porsche have underdogs nipping at their Prada-clad heels. The - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER goes on sale in June. Known as “Godzilla” in Japan, the GT-R is one fire-breathing monster, with all-wheel drive and 480 horsepower from a twin-turbo V6. I drove the GT-R at Reno-Fernley Raceway in Nevada, and its performance was stupefying: 0-60 mph in a neck-snapping 3.5 seconds and a 193 mph top speed. Once again, the Nissan is stuffed with the kind of technology that makes you question why similar sports cars have to cost six figures and more — other than the fancy name.

The GT-R has already run a 7 minute, 38-second lap at the legendary Nürburgring circuit in Germany. That’s the second-fastest lap of any production car in history, trailing only the - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER — an out-of-production car that cost $440,000. The GT-R, in contrast, will cost just $69,850 when it goes on sale this summer. A lot of money for a Nissan, sure. But not a lot for a Nissan that can hang with sports cars costing two, three, or even four times its price.

Hey, maybe status is overrated. Nissan, Hyundai and Suzuki could all borrow the famous line from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre: “We don’t need no badges . . . ”

In the past, I may have said that "in the end still is a POS Hyundai and nobody would buy it."

But now, I've changed my mind.

Thing is though, I rode in Hyundai Grandeur recently and wow!

I came quite impressed how luxurious the car, but mostly how much luxury you get for so little money. And don't think it's the sort of fake wood and cheap raincoat leather you used to get in a let's say big Ford, Opel/Vauxhall for instance, oh no. The Grandeur felt as well made and luxurious as a Lexus... no really... Hyundai certainly wasn't joking when they said the Grandeur is just as good as an Lexus LS!



If I had to make a criticism, is that the Grandeur is a front-wheel-drive car, which smacks of cost-cutting and don't think for one moment is car that likes to be rushed. But 3.3 V6 245 Bhp, Lexus levels of luxury for Hyundai money (around £25.000) and a 5-year warranty... can't complain too much of that.

Here my votes of success to Hyundai with their new Genesis.

Mercedes had styling and innovation long before Lexus came along. Their cars were unquestionably the best products you could buy from a quality and innovation standpoint so this is a bit misleading IMO. What Lexus did was force Mercedes to get their prices under control and get them to design a good car to a price. Lexus did absolutely nothing to affect Mercedes' styling, that is BS. A 1990 Mercedes looked better than a 1990 Lexus as does a 2008 Benz vs a 2008 Lexus. This article implies that Mercedes' 80's lineup wasn't filled with sleek, modern luxury cars. Uh...Mercedes' lineup most certainly was filled with modern luxury cars during that time, for their day.

Americans paid those prices for Mercedes-Benzes before Lexus came along because Mercedes was the best luxury car you could buy. What the hell else was as good? A Cadillac? Junk. A Lincoln, a Jaguar, all pretty but junk at the time. Only BMW was a decent alternative, but not quite playing the same game (i.e. much sportier). Audi sad to say wasn't a player in the U.S. then either.

Anyway, with that said I don't doubt Hyundai will sell a lot of these, but the real test will be how many loaded V8 versions they sell, not the base V6 models. I can't see many E/5-Series/A6 buyers buying one. Things are different from 1989 when you only had a few real choices, now the market is filled with them. There is nothing shoddy about a Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar, Audi, Lexus, Infiniti, Cadillac or even mid-level Jaguar nowadays to make them oh so vunerable as this article tries to imply. You can cram all the luxury features and have the proper layout (RWD, V8) yet miss the mark. This Hyundai is going to have drive like something other than a RWD Sonata and the dealer is also going to have to be also up to handling this type of customer.

The cars that will take the hit in reality will be the Passat, Avalon, Maxima, 300, G8 and other similarly sized/priced cars some with RWD and some without, ditto for a V8. Also entry-level luxury cars like the C-Class luxury models, ES350, Acura TL and the like might lose a few sales initially. I can't see a true G35s or 335i buyer going for a plain-jane, all but invisible car like this Hyundai.

Sure you'll get some posers saying they were going to buy a 5-Series or E-Class, but then found the Hyundai to be a better car because of its price. I suggest that such a person was never, ever going to spend the money to buy a Benz or BMW in the first place.



M

LMAO...what a stupid article. I agree with what Merc1 said. Also, the intelligence of their 'consumer test group' really must be questioned. Who the hell would ever confuse that for a Mercedes.

People that know nothing about cars... which there's nothing wrong with that. That just means Hyundai did their homework

Trust me, you will be surprised

Who would confuse that for a Mercedes? The same folks that confused the Ford 500 to be some older version Benz(!), or any other car for some luxury car for that matter.

You'd be surprised/shocked. Hyundai know what they are doing .

They have one at one of my company's Hyundai stores, i spent some time in it the other day. there are a few things they are trying to hard on but overall I was super impressed. It was WAY nicer that most current bmw or merc interior design and quality wise. It was right up there with audi to be honest.

But who would buy one? I mean really, most people who want a "luxary" sedan also want the badge. The genesis coupe tho, that might be a different story.

Way nicer? Hardly. Didn't get that impression from sitting in one at the last autoshow.

M

I respect your opinion but from the press photos, the Genesis interior looks like a slightly revamped Hyundai Azera / Grandeur interior, which is sadly a disappointment. Having not seen the Genesis interior in real life, I don't want to make a comment on how it compares to its European or Japanese rivals but from the press photos alone I have to say it looks mega cheap.



It also lacks that "simplistic elegance" which the European interiors so have and Lexus and Hyundai apparently cannot emulate.