With Only 56 K900s Sold Last Month - We Ponder The Question: Does A Halo Car Have To Be A Sales Success?

I'm shocked, shocked, that Kia can't sell a $60k car (please see Casablanca reference).

When did they officially go on sale? None of the local dealers in my city even have them on the lot yet.

I'm not sure why people think $60k is a lot of money for a halo car. You can build out an Accord/Camry online that is pretty close to $40k.

It's a lot of money for Kia and no Accord or Camry is 40K either. 40K is not even close to 60K

Nobody cares at $60K. Kia should completely "de-content" it, sell it in black with a black "leatherette" interior and market it to the black car crowd in NYC and other urban areas.

It would be a great, $45,000 replacement for the old Lincoln Town Car and it would be much roomier than the Toyota Avalon (which seems to be the replacement for the Town Car in NYC).

This notion that Kia is intentionally trying to make the K900 'rare' or exclusive is a farce. The company spent major dollars to promote this car with the Super Bowl ad and hiring Laurence Fishburne to star. That's not cheap money. The reality is likely that Kia started off slowly with only a select number of dealers, with the expectation that interest and sales would continue to grow, so more and more dealers would be added. Clearly that didn't happen, and in the 6 months it's been on sale, it's already had 5 months of declined sales.

The society is all about status. People think of you highly if you have a 100,000 dollar job or higher, and if you have a lot of expensive stuff, people see you as someone successful.

Which is why the people who can spend 60k or more wish to spend it on something that can make them look rich.

Why would anyone pay 60k, just so you can tell people "Oh, I drive a KIA"? Unless you are a hardcore KIA fan.

Look at Monaco's supercars. Or London. They are filled with European luxury, which at least cost 100k and go all the way to 2~3 million dollars.

And imagine bringing that KIA to a place like those. No one would care.

For the society, European, is luxury, and luxury, is European. And the European, is a status symbol god.

And I personally would not even buy this as well. I'd much rather buy a used Nissan GT-R for that kind of money.

It's not a bad car, and it is better than Hyundai version, but 60K is too much for a Kia.

To the doubter above, you can build a V-6 Accord or Camry online and load it up with accessories and it will be almost $40k..the 2015 Camry XSE V-^ starts out at $32k...this is without adding any packages to it. So for these cars to cost almost $40k...then $60K for a HALO car is not over priced...look at other halo cars...Lexus LS 460 Starts in the high $70k range...most on the lots are in the 80-90k range. Also, the Mercedes C400 is over $60k WITHOUT real leather...and this is not a halo car. So I still say $60K for this car is a bargain.

Yes - You can content LOTS of cars to the $40,000 range = including the Chevrolet Impala - several Hondas, Toyotas, Nissans, and Mazdas - as well as several Mini-vans - Crossovers - and trucks. And NONE of them have the cachet of having a true luxury brand car. In fact - you can buy several Audis and MBs for less than $40,000 as well - and UNLESS You identify the model - you will have the cachet of a true luxury brand.

I do not car if FIAT made the actual best car in the world - it would never be accepted as that here.

Volkswagon proved that with its Phaeton. And yet - the same car underneath - badged as an Audi - withe same engine - transmission - room - and features IS considered a premium car.

If Hyundai/Kia really wants to sell premium luxury cars - they will either need to create a separate marque for them - or buy a luxury car company and use that name on their cars.

Hate to agree, but TomM makes a very solid argument. As nice as the Equus & K900 are, the consumer perception is what ultimately drives overall desirability. I can easily select content-loaded ($40k-$45k) versions of an Impala/Camry/Accord/Maxima etc but they'll all still be loaded mainstream cars.

I've test drove both the Equss & K900, and like them both a lot. I can't justify paying nearly $25k over the Cadenza or even $10k over the new Genesis which I can get for $50k. But realistically, it's going to take 10-15 years of making really good (competitive) luxury cars to have a solid stance on "being" or at least "selling" true luxury cars. When Hyundai & Kia merged, establishing the mainstream brand & the luxury brand should have been done almost immediately to create distinct brand characteristics. Hyundai/Kia would have to create a separate luxury brand to truly market their highest level vehicles they way they need to be - and not necessarily considered tarted-up versions of their cheaper offerings.

You're the reason why anyone would buy this car at all, just sheer features. You think leather is what makes luxury car. The truth of the matter is that all the features in the world don't mean squat if the car isn't put together and presented correctly. That is where Kia fails miserably. The car drives like shite and the build quality isn't that great once you get past the initial presentation. The specs say 60K car, but in reality it isn't worth the money.

In the strange but true category, LeBron James rode in it and fell in love with the K900, and is now their sponsor, and has signed a deal where he must drive to the Cavs games in the K900.

It's like he's never been in a luxury car before. Kia knocks off a lexus LS, and get LeBron's heart? Really?
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11706601/lebron-james-latest-endorsement-deal-kia-66000-k900-sedan

Lebron is all about the Benjamins. He'll drive a pink tricycle if you paid him a million dollars or three.

It's a wonderful car. The problem is that Hyundai/Kia needs to create a premium brand i.e. Genesis and group its premium products under it. It makes NO SENSE to sell BOTH the K900 and the Equus in the USA.

I think the Cadenza is a better design than the K900 but as with those sales figures I haven't seen too many yet to fully get the picture.

The Cadenza & K900 are vastly different vehicles though. The Cadenza is a must better version of the Hyundai Azera (which many people don't realize is still being sold). Both are FWD & use the 3.3L V6. The K900 is a version of the Equus. Both RWD & use the 3.8L V6 & the 5.0L V8. The K900 is very plush much like the Equus which is as much of a luxury passenger car as it is a drivers' car.

Having owned both Kia & Hyundai cars and having driven the Genesis/K900/Cadenza....their engines are strong & are paired with aggressive 6-sp/8-sp transmissions. These cars are solid street & highway performers that have a generous list of interior tech options that make them very competitive...when the snob-azz consumer gets off his high-horse & gives them a good look.

The Cadenza is a cheaper large FWD V6 sedan that does well. The design isn't too polarizing - looks clean & is comfortable. But the K900 is a definite step up with RWD V8 8-sp transm & all the interior tech goodies included.

The Cadenza is more worth its price than the K900. The K900 for $45K base would have been brilliant. Sure, they'd lose money on each one, but Hyundai has deep pockets and can afford to buy into the market. It worked well for Lexus.

If the Azera/Cadenza were the top of the Hyundai/Kia lines and they let their premium products live under the Genesis brand name they would gain traction.

Easily they could do the following lineup:

Genesis 3S / Lexus ES competitor derived from the Sonata/Optima. If a Camry can be a Lexus...Such a car already exists in South Korea
Genesis 5S / current Genesis
Geness 7S / Equus/Cadenza merged
Genesis 3C / Genesis Coupe
Genesis 5X / Lexus RX competitor pulled from the Santa Fe

Even Ferrari and Porsche are trying to sell more of their cars nowadays (well, atleast their owners do anyway) so the lackluster sales result is just killing Hyundai/Kia and their ardent fans.

I'm currently driving a K900 as a demonstrator and have had it 2 months. It's a surprisingly good car and the fit and finish are excellent. Kia has gobs of money to dealers to move the backlog of K900s. Negotiate the price down $15K (very doable) and do a 3 year lease and you will not regret it.

It's a brilliant $45K car...not to much so at $60K

Only if the Halo car is a Korean sales flop and only on this website.

Who would spend 60k on a KIA when they could spend 12k on a KIA instead? Just because its a good copy doesn't mean people with money are going to buy it.

I heard a radio ad today that Hyundai was flautning its 0% 7yr financing plus up to $5K cash back. Is the market for counterfeit cars doing that bad?