Category: Hyundai

The mid-size sedan market is extremely competitive, but has been losing sales to the booming crossover sport utility vehicle market. SUVs provide the usefulness buyers want without making the sacrifices that used to be required. Carmakers now can make their cars "cars" again.

The new Genesis G90 sets a new record for satisfaction results in AutoPacific's New Vehicle Satisfaction research. The results are distributed across the industry with American brands providing the most satisfying trucks and SUVs. Asian brands dominate car satisfaction results.

2017 Honda Civic Si brings enthusiast-oriented driving to the Honda Civic small car lineup. Exterior, interior, powertrain and chassis upgrades differentiate the Honda Civic Si from the rest of the Civic lineup.

Mazda is developing its vehicles to compete against luxury brands. This Mazda Premium strategy will ultimately improve Mazda's image with dealers and consumers. Well done, Mazda Premium products should achieve higher profits per vehicle.

The Genesis G90 is the flagship of the new Genesis lineup.  It will be on the market in September, 2016.  Genesis is positioning the G90 against the top-of-the line Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus sedans.  The question is can it compete?

Size is Competitive with Lexus, Mercedes, BMW  From a size perspective, the Genesis G90 is within inches of its competitors.  It is a bit bigger than the Lexus LS460.  It is about the same size as the Lexus LS460L, however.  That is the extended length LS.  It is a couple of inches shy in wheelbase and overall length to the BMW 7-Series.  It is a couple of inches shorter than the Mercedes S-Class.  Its interior volume is a bit bigger than the S-Class.  Let’s call it a toss up when looking [...]

The new Genesis brand of luxury vehicles has been launched with Hyundaispeed!  Bbalee!  Bbalee!  Quick, quick in Korean.

Finally, Hyundai Launches a Luxury Brand  After years of deliberation, argument, and negotiation, Hyundai has launched the new Genesis brand.  Hyundai officially announced the new Genesis brand in November 2015.  Erwin Raphael was appointed head of Genesis in March 2016.  The new Genesis brand goes public in September, 2016.  That is quick – bbalee, bbalee!

In reality, the new Genesis brand is not a big deal.  The brand will have only six vehicles by 2021.  This does not approach the dozens of models offered by Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus.

But wait.  That is wrong, Genesis is a BIG DEAL!  Genesis is the only luxury car brand launched after 1990 that has a deep pockets major manufacturer behind it.  Tesla, launched in 2004, is questionably viable in the long term.

Hyundai has decided after years of consideration that [...]

AutoPacific, an automotive specialist research and product planning consultancy, forecasts that trucks, including XSUVs will be about 60% of the market for the foreseeable future. In fact, reading the crystal ball for the next five years, this percentage of the mix may be low.

Check most of the boxes needed to win in the highly competitive compact car segment and the 2017 Hyundai Elantra does not miss many chances to excel. Following the mantra of "democratization of technology" Elantra has most of the high tech infotainment and technology features available. When you pop for them all, the retail price is $26,750. This is a lot for a compact car of a decade ago, but not bad for the fully loaded Limited model of the all new Elantra. For those not wanting or needing the full equipment load, the starting price is around $17,000.

Raising the Bar in a Competitive Segment The Koreans keep getting better and the new 2016 Hyundai Tucson (product code TL) is an example of how Hyundai has executed a segment-beater. Competing against big sellers Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Ford Escape, Jeep Cherokee, Chevrolet Equinox, Mazda CX-5, etc. the new Tucson checks all the boxes. It is well styled and immediately identifiable as a Hyundai (looks almost too much like the Santa Fe Sport). It has a great package - good visibility, spacious front and rear seating, good cargo room, easy ingress/egress. The fit and finish is excellent inside and out. The interior trim materials have moved upwards - almost up to the next higher price class.

AutoPacific today announced its 19th annual Vehicle Satisfaction Awards (VSAs), identifying the most satisfying vehicles on the market. An industry benchmark for measuring how satisfied an owner is with his/her new vehicle, VSAs are based on survey responses from over 66,000 owners of new 2015 model year cars and light trucks.