Daisuke Papipupipu’s Technology Guide

Hyundai Motor Company, known widely as the cheap low-quality vehicle manufacturer, is planning to release its first rear wheel drive V-8 powered luxury vehicle. As many of the people know, Hyundai has been experiencing an impeccable growth due to its increasing reliability and the helpful warranty system it has. As a result, Hyundai executives decided to surprise the public’s eyes by revealing the striving all-new concept automobile known as the Hyundai Genesis. According to Automobile Magazine, this vehicle was planned to imitate the example and success of Toyota’s luxury segment Lexus and to revive the poor image of the company. This is, however, hard to predict since other Japanese manufacturers have not experienced huge successes by introducing luxury vehicles in the United States. Examples would be luxury name plates such as the Acura (Honda) and Infiniti (Nissan), where none of them were successful enough to be called competitors of the traditional luxury brands from the European counterparts. This will be a hard game for Hyundai since the revival of the company’s image is close to impossible. All of this is based on price, like other traditional Hyundai vehicles. However, according to the press release of the company, the Genesis was engineered to compete with the BMW 5-series and the E Class of Mercedes Benz. This is possible since the Genesis possesses features that directly compete with those of German manufacturers.

As stated before, the Genesis has factors that allow them to compete with cars thousands of dollars higher. According to the press release, the torsional rigidity of Hyundai’s body in white manufactured body is 14 percent higher than the BMW 5-Series, and the interior space is higher than the E-Class and both the 5-Series and the 7-Series. Both of these are huge facts for the company since the Genesis starts below the 30,000 dollar mark while the German cars that were compared starts well higher than the 40,000 dollar mark. The Genesis also has a close to even weight distribution, revealed as 47/58 percent. There is also one boosting fact to the car. The 17 speaker Lexicon audio system of the Genesis is part of the only two vehicles that have a Lexicon audio system and this other vehicle is the $360,000 Rolls Royce Phantom. It is so incredible that Lexicon enthusiasts have a secondary choice that enables them to experience a Lexicon audio experience without paying the extreme luxury price of the Rolls Royce. This Lexicon inclusion is one confident fact of the Genesis that attracts customers wanting an audio experience of the Rolls Royce. This is not the ending to the Genesis. The Hyundai also has its home made 4.6 liter V-8 engine known as the Tau, which creates an impressive 365 horse power and a 324 lb. of torque. The Genesis also uses a 6 speed ZF Friedrichshafen automatic transmission usually found on luxury European vehicles. By having all of these high-end performance features, Hyundai claims that the Genesis runs from 0 to 60 mph in just below 6 seconds. Other than this, the Hyundai further strengthens its competitiveness by including high end accessory features such as adaptive xenon lights, Bluetooth technology, iPod and USB inputs, adaptive cruise control, an HD Radio receiver, an excellent eight airbag system, heated and cooled front seats, and a similar front dashboard to BMW’s iDrive. Apart from this, the Genesis has reflective leather on the steering wheel to prevent it from heating. All of these features certainly stress many current luxury makers, creating a competitive market.

In terms of exterior design, the Genesis is not as original and therefore, it highly resembles many German styling cues. Its front fascia has a dividing line, which is highly similar to Mercedes Benz’s traditional design. This is a reason why some people already dislike the designs of the Genesis. The rear end of the vehicle also resembles the European makers by trying to imitate the elegance of Mercedes Benz and BMW. With all of these imitating looks, the Genesis looks like a mixture of Lexus’s L Finesse styling, BMW’s sport look, and the elegance of Mercedes Benz. All of this would probably create complaints from these automobile makers thus creating a new image of a controversial maker.

As a vehicle designed to revive the company’s poor image, the 2009 Hyundai Genesis is something that may do the job. With all of the performance features and the high end options, the Genesis directly competes with expensive luxury vehicles from European manufacturers. However, the Genesis maintains a low price which allows the car to appeal to a larger range of customers. The controversial styling of the Hyundai is not a big problem for the company since price beats the customer’s mind. Also, the controversial image may be easily defeated with future releases of vehicles. At the end, this introduction of the luxury vehicle may finally catch the population’s attention, triggering a new positive era for the company.

Controversial front styling Lexus looking rear

Information from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyundai_Genesis

http://www.automobilemag.com/auto_shows/2007_new_york/0703_2007_hyundai_genesis_concept/index.html

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/car_shopping/what_s_new_for_2009/2009_hyundai_genesis_sedan_auto_shows

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/autoshows/detroit/2008/2009hyundaigenesis.html

Filed under: Automobile Guide and tagged 5 series, 7 series, Acura, BMW, cars, E Class, Genesis, Hyundai, image, Infiniti, Korea, Lexicon, Lexus, Mercedes Benz, poor, Rolls Royce, Tau, Toyota