Is Hyundai Strategy Of Skipping Over Japanese And Targeting The Germans Genius Or Naive?

LOL nearly spit out my coffee on that one.

Obviously you have not driven a new Genesis. Give it a shot before so quickly spew out the comments. While it might not be a serious contender to unseat the Germans yet, it makes mincemeat out of Acura, and challenges both Lexus and Infiniti on many levels.

Better to aim high than scrape the bottom of the barrel.

I drove the Genesis, and the very first thing I said to my buddy was dude, "Acura better step their game up because this car is on their heels". He got mad at me, M37x pusher that I am, and claimed that I better watch it too. However in no way was the car THAT good (as the Infiniti M) although they ape some of our designs. However I'm not sure Hyundai will be taken serious by German (snob-appeal) and Japanese (flawless quality) loyalists anytime soon. However I do believe they will pick-off people who haven't graduated from a mainstream vehicle yet.
By the way Hyundai's strategy isn't fooling anyone that's paying attention. They may be saying German this German that in their ads, but their cars ape Japanese design.

Atleast the article was honest and called the Genesis sedan "copies".

The only thing going for the Genesis is that you get an immitation $60K for $30K with second hand German/Chevy styling.

In the end, its still a Korean car and only use cheap@ss whities will give it the time of day, then walk away.

I've driven the 1st gen Equus, and must say it's a great first try. It's not quite up to the LS level and no way poses a challenge to the high end Germans...However, the Equus makes up for the difference in price. I don't see the car as the problem but rather the perceived brand image. It took a while for Lexus to compete with the Germans on the same level, not because they didn't make good cars before, but because they needed time to change people's perception of the brand. Hyundai will need to have more brand recognition before buyers are willing to pay big bucks for their top end cars.

The Koreans have made great strides in reliability...I am sure they have already surpassed the Germans in that area. Then value is next...build any BMW online and watch a reasonably priced vehicle (with NO extras on it) suddenly climb $15k over a similarly equipped Hyundai.

Problem is that Hyundai is still a Hyundai, nothing that anyone strives for.

BMW could sell a rock and people would strive for it because the BMW brand is worth $ while the Hyundai brand will only be around until the Chinese kill them.

I drove one and it is really a nice car, the grill is the only thing I didn't like about this car. I don't need a full bore sport sedan and this suits me well. Fit and finish are excellent, ergonomics are intuitive, will go for the AWD version when they start showing up.

The Koreans have played a good game of catch-up. There was a time when Japanese brands were considered inferior by many as well. I'm impressed by the effort both Hyundai and Kia are putting into their cars and I think they are making serious inroads in world markets. Competition is a good thing for us consumers - I hope they continue to impress.

You should learn history, the Japanese have always been 100+ years ahead of the rest of Asia. During WW1, they were the 2nd most industrialized country on the planet and were creating theri own innovations in metallurgy and sciences.

Unlike the Japanese who can develop their own technology (and of course copy from us), the Chinese and Koreans are only good for giving us dummies cheap crap regardless if its copied or not, just as long as its cheap.

When you compete, you target the bulls eye. By Hyundai targeting the Germans they are aiming correctly. The current Genesis was an excellent first shot. It was 90% on target for 70% of the price of a Mercedes E. The new one that so much better. German car bigots will say that Hyundai will never have German quality. Quite frankly "German quality" is an oxymoron. The Mercedes E, A6, BMW 5 return to the dealer for unscheduled warranty stops 3 to 5 times more often than the Genesis. The Genesis is much more reliable and that most decidedly is a function of quality.

Say what you want you dumb assed automotive bigot aka @review, but dealer warranty incidence is a massive quality indicator. Remember that JD Power is NOT IMPARTIAL!! Their blessing is a marketing tool open to purchase. He who has the most $$ can buy a skewed survey from JD Power. Everyone involved at the dealer level ignores JD Power.

I have data and all you have is bigotry. Game, set, match...punk!

If you're not at the dealer level you know squat.

Hyundai should ask themselves why Asians won't drive their cars. Instead, they (and especially the Koreans) strive for all things Western, specifically European.

I guess its the same thing with golf. They think if they swing a club, they'll be European too.