Prada teams up with Hyundai to build ultra-luxury Genesis sedans

As much as I am sure that people will flame on this article and call Hyundai crap and wannabe and all sorts of other names. You have to give the company credit for taking their latest flagship so seriously. I have seen a couple on the road and they are fairly impressive looking. You wouldn't know it was a Hyundai until you got up next to it.

That being said I am glad to see them taking these steps, it is showing that you don't need a Lexus Coach edition or the like to have nice amenities. Although I am sure someone is going to come out and say that some other lather company is better and Prada is crap, blah blah blah. Give credit where it is due, Hyundai as I noted is probably on the verge of creating a separate brand that is entry luxury to compete against Acura, Infiniti.

lol...speaking of not recognizing it as a Hyundai until getting close to one, I've seen quite a lot of Hyundai's Kia Amanti rebadged as a Merc E-class.
I find it amusing to see my friends getting confused over something as small as a few pieces of chrome, esp. when the girls try to act like they know something...with their "hypothesis" of the vehicle as a new Merc or "hypothesis" of why the owner did that.

I don't blame them, but it sure is a good revenge for their making me look stupid at the mall. x]

Prada... Hyundai? WHAT?

I dont care if it's derivative, the exterior design on this car is simple, clean and very sharp looking. Excellent job entering the market. Congrats to Hyundai. I must say I'm not a fan of the interior...

wow, that's a bad idea.

prada, a respected luxury marque, is associating with a middle-of-the-road auto manufacturer. talk about damaging the brand...

Umm... OK?
Well, I know that people that buy Prada wont be buying this car.

That's like saying celebrities who can buy Prada won't be buying a Lexus. Hyundai is where Toyota was when they first started with the Lexus line. Everyone's a skeptic and everyone's naive and arrogant towards a new company. It's human nature to down-talk a company that's typically an economic brand. It will never have heritage like a Mercedes-Benz but it can sure run the course just like Toyota can with Lexus.

You really sound dopey trying to diminish what Lexus has done when you try to equate it to Hyundai. No matter what they do, Hyundai will always be considered an econo brand in North America. Any line-up that has sub-$7000 vehicles shouldn't be considered a luxury marque.

What about Toyota rebadging cars example: Soarer, Aristo, Altezza, etc ? was that really what luxury marquee's were really about?. I don't see any prestige in that at all. Hyundai's not even re-badging here, they are simply saying "WE ARE MAKING A LUXURY CAR" and that's that. I agree with you that they have an improper image to be a true luxury brand but it shouldn't stop them from trying. The Genesis is a lot of car for the money and you can't say it isn't if you haven't seen it inside and out. It's still a great accomplishment no matter what our perception is towards this brand.

Hyundai has a better chance in North America than anywhere else in the world because Europe is all about the Mercedes, Audi, BMW and Jaguar brands. The rich oil nations certainly won't be crazed about the Genesis or Lexus for that matter even though I have seen some on their roads.

Anyways, Hyundai's won't be a Lexus type company anytime soon but with the way their going I can see them doing better than Acura and Infiniti in the next 20 years. Hyundai has more to gain than lose so they can afford to take the risk.

I'm waiting for Goyard to team up with Saturn myself...

Why would Prada do something like this??? How can you sell $500 loafers, and then put your name in a lowly Hyundai? It's obscene.

Who the hell wants a pair of $500 'Hyundai' loafers?
Why would a high-end fashion label associate its name with Hyundai? People who buy Hyundais don't wear Prada. And anyone with the discretionary income to spend on high-end clothing like Prada certainly drives something better than a Hyundai.

I don't know how many customers Hyundai will gain with this move, but I'm one customer that Prada has certainly lost for good. I'm truly disgusted.

Well, it is in Korea, where Hyundai probably is viewed in a different prism than in the U.S. It wouldn't work in image-conscious America, because of people's perception of Hyundai, but over there...

Clutch the Pearls! Prada and Hyundai??? Someone pass me some smelling salts.