This new auto year of ’09, Hyundai released a car into luxury segment with its Genesis. It starts at $33k and if you opt for V8 and other amenities, you can easily go over $40k. Now, that’s a Hyundai you probably didn’t think of ever seeing!
Well, the shock may not be over yet. Pending on how well the Genesis goes, Hyundai may opt to add another luxury fighter: Equus. While Genesis is geared to fight against the likes of BMW 5 series and Benz E series along with Lexus’ ES and GS series, it is no match against the likes of any of their flagships like Lexus LS series, BMW 7 series and Benz S-class sedans. Equus is geared to fight against the likes of those cars! That’s a lot to live for…
Currently, Equus is only released in South Korea at “measley” price of close to $100k! 😮 Yikes. Granted that cars cost a lot more in Korea, even at half of that, I am unsure how well it would be received. I guess only time will tell… It’s definitely a gutsy move though… Stay tuned.
I rode an equus and it basically feels like a lincoln towncar. In other words, it is a nice care but it has a long way to go before it can be placed in the same category as a 7 series, LS or S-class.
BTW, Koreans in Korea stiff Koreans in Korea to subsidize their export companies – I mean not only are cars more expensive there, but other things are such as cell phones, appliances, etc.
And yet, their “stiffing their own” model works! >.<
Depends on what you mean by ‘works’
It makes the chaebols and unions happy, sure, but I do not see how it helps the consumer or their standard of living when you slap high tarrifs (costs that get passed onto them) on everything from bananas to toyotas. This is especially true when the export market are not strong (as it is now).
The only thing I can say is that if the government lowers tarrifs and the savings get passed onto the consumer, it will be like a tax cut and perhaps that will help with local economic situation.
Anyway, having seen how vigorously unions and other interests groups in Korea ‘express’ themselves in demonstrations, not surprising that the government will continue to stiff their citizens.