Success of Genesis Brand?

[pandus13]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Brand is important to many luxury car owners.

I haven't even seen a Genesis, not one. All I see are Benzs, BMWs, Audis, Acura and Lexus. Benz and Audi would probably be the most popular around here, with BMW SUVs close behind. I don't see as many Acura or Lexus vehicles.

I have seen 2 Genesis in my building lot:
-1 retiree couple: at least 3 accidents; I think the visibility is not great for that couple
-1 the "nicer" car for a chinese old-ish couple.

Also about 1/3 of people in my complex of buildings are Korean:
they are distributed in Toyota, Honda, Lexus/Acura (favored among well to do) for the most part then some BMW, couple Mercedes, couple VW, some newer Hyundai Sonata+Elantra+Accent, couple Prius-es

My area has Porsche, Maserati, MB, BMW, VW dealerships...

 

[PeterPolyol]

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Too little, too late.

They're still derivative, mainly aping the bigger player's current offerings while they're busy making moves towards exotic materials and electric propulsion.

If they brought anything new to the table besides bargain pricing they may be worth a look.


fpbp

 

[Vuflanovsky]

If you're a "provincial" in your badge adoration then even if Genesis brought something new to the table it still wouldn't be bringing anything new to the table....so opinions are just that where people who'd be interested in buying one are concerned.

In my estimation, the G80/90 are getting better to the extent of being mostly competitive if you want "that kind" of car dynamic at a price point. The most recent reviews from the car rags are noticeably more fawning than when the first iterations came out.

 

[gofast182]

Genesis will never have the brand cachet that BMW, Merc., or even Lexus does; however this is a proper foray into the market, something that Acura and Infiniti failed to do, with proper RWD-based platforms, a range of powertrains including a V8, and reasonably upscale styling. Will they be successful? Not sure, but they're starting with a good foundation.

 

[Alfred_B]

It's almost a necessity for a car manufacturer to have these "luxury" product lines. The new technologies trickle down to lower end cars.

 

[Carmudgeon]

Originally Posted By: gofast182
Genesis will never have the brand cachet that BMW, Merc., or even Lexus does; however this is a proper foray into the market, something that Acura and Infiniti failed to do, with proper RWD-based platforms, a range of powertrains including a V8, and reasonably upscale styling. Will they be successful? Not sure, but they're starting with a good foundation.


The Legend was a fine vehicle, though one could argue that Honda's conservative approach and steadfast refusal to build a V8 didn't do any favors for Acura.

But if the Q45 wasn't a proper RWD sedan with a V8, then what was it? If the LS400 was a cut-rate S-class, then the Q was an avant-garde challenger to the sporty 7-series.

Nissan's engineering prowess, and willingness to put it to market during the late-80s to mid 90s was as good as anyone. Multi-link suspensions, twin turbos, four-wheel steering, active suspension; up and down the line, Nissan wasn't afraid.

The financial reality that forced it to go conservative, drop the fancy engineering, and into the arms of Renault at the end of the decade didn't do Infiniti any favors either. But it certainly wasn't because they didn't put forth a good initial effort.

As far as brand cachet, compare Samsung of 30 years ago to the Samsung of today. Do the same with Lucky Goldstar. And then Sony. Never?

 

[gofast182]

These were good cars but were they so good that they put the Germans on notice and altered their tack? Not really. And what happened in subsequent years? Infiniti and Acura didn't build on these products and fell behind relative to the big luxury names.
I happen to like Acura and think they still, and always have had, a couple of very good products in their portfolio; however, that doesn't make them a true BMW, etc. competitor at this point.

 

[Carmudgeon]

Originally Posted By: gofast182
...however this is a proper foray into the market, something that Acura and Infiniti failed to do, with proper RWD-based platforms, a range of powertrains including a V8, and reasonably upscale styling...


So, you still want to stand by this?

Originally Posted By: gofast182
These were good cars but were they so good that they put the Germans on notice and altered their tack? Not really. And what happened in subsequent years?


BMW relied on their tried and true fours and sixes for most of its modern era. It developed the M70 V12 for use in the E32 and E31, but those were never going to me mainstream models, and served mainly as gamesmanship with Mercedes. It didn't get a V8 into the 7-series to market until 1993, four years after the LS and Q debuted.

Typical German arrogance might not have resulted in an immediate response, but one can't deny the entry of the Japanese luxury marques didn't affect the market, then, or now.

Originally Posted By: gofast182
Infiniti and Acura didn't build on these products and fell behind relative to the big luxury names.


No argument there; as I said, Toyota has undoubtedly had the most success, but Nissan didn't fail by not putting forth an impressive initial effort. It just didn't, and couldn't, sustain it. One could argue that Honda never shed the near luxury label with Acura because it was never acted like it really desired to.

But, getting back to the topic at hand, also recall that Hyundais were mocked when the Excel was first introduced in the U.S. Their chief selling point was that they were cheap, and were subjected to mockery similar to that of Yugo at the time.

It required time, and effort, but H/K are now considered mainstream brands. It may have also made some missteps in trying to launch Genesis, but cannot be ruled out either.

 

[SteveSRT8]

people underestimate the Koreans. They will get it right eventually, and their vehicles are more impressive every year.