Car buyers want more luxury for less money! Switch to Buick and Hyundai!

Probably because back when they bought or financed their last premium car, it cost as much as a FULLY LOADED Genesis or Buick. Meanwhile the other large luxury guys have continued to price themselves out of market. Maybe not for all but definitely for a noticeable portion.

I'm not saying people are going to stop buying Audi, BMW, MB, etc. But if your last purchase a few years back was a 5 series, and you go back to BMW to find that in order to get your similarly equipped 5 now, you are spending loads more, you would rather find a car similar to the 5 instead of settling on a smaller 3 series for the price. Maybe it won't win in all categories, but the Buick/Hyundai would offer the size, amenities, and overall pleasant ride that you are used too.

Bottom line is that people, even those with some money don't need high performance and huge price tages to be pleased. They want similar size, similar amenities (if not more) at a good fair price. Again, I'm not saying everyone falls in this category, but it seems to be growing more obvious that exorbitantly high prices are starting to open new doors for people like Buick and Hyundai every day. Personally if I owned a 5 and was looking for a car similar in size at a cost closer to my previous model, and my options were A) a 3 series with some options or B) A loaded Buick that fits my needs and wants. Well B would win.

This is not rocket science. A strong value point is always good for sales, and will do particularly well in a weak economy. The Genesis nearly replicates the original LS400 recipe, and woud be doing even better if it had a AWD version. We'll see how the Buick does in 2010, but the overall design seems to be very solid. Odd, though, that the better engine is only available in FWD...

that drives me nuts! why is the top engine option not available with AWD??? Buick is not the only brand doing this. Infiniti offers AWD with the M35, but not the V8 M45. Same with the Lexus GS - you can get AWD in GS350, but not in GS460 with a V8. Maybe it is some aspect of automobile marketing that I don't understand. I think the added weight and perceived premium quality of AWD should always be offered with the top engine option.

Not true if you consider the LS600hL, which is available only with AWD.

Infiniti has a new M45x yum yum for 2009

now if you do plan to switch to Buick or Hyundai you are giving up any type of resale value. thats something to think about if you plan to trade these cars in within 3-5 years. Now if your looking to keep the car and give it to your kid or something thats fine but dont expect to trade it in for something german and try to get at least half of what you paid for it because its not happening

it really sucks that Buick has degenerated to a point where they are in the same league as Hyundai. despite some truly awful, shameful stuff in the 80's and 90's, Buick still has a proud 100+ year heritage of building premium American cars. i hope that they can get out of the gutter and reclaim their rightful position.

whatever... Buick isn't what it used to be, but I would tatoo a swastika on my face before I was caught dead driving anything with 'Hyundai' stuck to it.

There's nothing wrong with anything built in China. It's all about quality control and how much those top execs actually care about their company. Having trained personnel in the plants to make sure every car is inspected thoroughly is crucial to car companies returning customers. Most of the clothing we wear is made in China or India no one complains there. So why complain when a car is built there? We've all paid premium for a shirt that was made in Asia with a nice pretty tag justifying the price. Same goes for automobiles.

you can't be serious. an automobile is a lot more complicated than a shirt. a poorly built automobile can kill people, or leave you stranded at the very least. a poorly stitched shirt won't hurt you. apples and oranges.

Well Well Well life and world is moving fast and changes is getting faster too.
Some others change to fast like Cadillac now try to copying BMW with tunned and sport models, Buick with more small sport models to target young people etc etc. Those cars always were an luxury and very confortable american brands , why they need to change theirs identity.
Personality and Identity are very important factors that all german brand keep for years , this is the key that show to customer their firm way to do things, security, and prestige,respect and power they also create a diversity of models for different people so they cover for years a great diversity of tastes. This is important too.
That's why a lot of people hate Chrysler and never trust anymore in their product,the other things is that they create a models and in one years or two is discontinued this is very sad that things like this happens but is the reality....let see the end of this faster Races....this is so worried....

huh... imagine that... people want more and nicer stuff without paying for it. who woulda guessed????

I am glad people are getting smarter as consumers and buy cars they want with better value and more standard features because the luxury auto makes from Germany have been gauging them for years with pricing...part of that is a high euro and part of it is their snob brand equity. Do you know that Mercedes used to have over a 20% markup to dealerships in the 1980's? That was horrifying!

I want very little if anything from China. lead in kids toys fake toothpaste pirated clothing etc etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76Ep30M9wUU