Rare Genesis Sightings

[Mark_888]

Some parts of CA are not Hyundai friendly (especially in northern CA) but when you get close to Korea Town in LA, or close to HMA (Hyundai Motor America) headquarters in Orange County, then obviously you are going to see more Genesis Sedans.

HMA is constructing a new $200 million U.S. corporate headquarters in Fountain Valley, California. There is also a Hyundai/Kia Technical Center and Test Facility and a $30 million, 90,000 square ft. Hyundai Design & Engineering Center in Irvine, CA. They probably sell a fair number of Genesis cars in that area of CA to employees alone.

 

[landtuna]

I'm retired and don't spend a lot of time on the road but since buying mine in December 2012 I have seen exactly one other Genny (a white Tau 4.6).

I think the driver was jealous because I pulled up beside him at a stop light and noticed he gave my car a very long look and when the light changed he floored it.

 

[WowCool]

Hi landtuna,
In September you will see another "G" in AZ
Wifey & I are driving from Merced via Barstow to Williams/GrandCanyon

 

[landtuna]

Hi landtuna,
In September you will see another "G" in AZ
Wifey & I are driving from Merced via Barstow to Williams/GrandCanyon

Once you get off I-5 (or US99) and I-40 you will love the trip. But you won't see me since I live about 5 hours south of the Grand Canyon.

Some good news.....my cousin, who bought his '12 Genny when I bought mine is moving down from Seattle in the October-November timeframe.

 

[1FstYota]

I live about 3 hours away from Seattle, small town but there is a ton of Genesis around here. There are 3 RSpecs so far silver, black, and white, on one short trip I saw two 2nd gen in about half a mile. Neighbor has one too, and some lucky dude just picked up a blue rspec from what my friend at the dealership said.

 

[YEH]

Actually see at least 2 Genesis sedans a day in the Bay area (not so much the coupe).

Also saw quite a few Genesis sedans in the DC/VA area.

The Midwest and NE are rare territory for the Genesis due to the lack of AWD.

Some parts of CA are not Hyundai friendly (especially in northern CA) but when you get close to Korea Town in LA, or close to HMA (Hyundai Motor America) headquarters in Orange County, then obviously you are going to see more Genesis Sedans.

Except Korean-Americans (like other Asian-Americans) don't drive Hyundais.

Have yet to see an Asian driving a Genesis (all white).

And the times when I have been parked at an Asian grocery/strip mall - all the Asians would be rolling in Hondas or Toyotas (or German cars) and the people driving Hyundais (or Kias) were all white.

 

[Potty_Pants]

And the times when I have been parked at an Asian grocery/strip mall - all the Asians would be rolling in Hondas or Toyotas (or German cars) and the people driving Hyundais (or Kias) were all white.

good observations, never noticed.

YEH why do you feel (non-Korean) Asians are biased against Hyundai ?

 

[WowCool]

"why do you feel (non-Korean) Asians are biased against Hyundai"?

(1) Principal (as per UK & VW Bug after WW11)
(2) They understand the Korean Psyche & Don't Like It!
(3) They would rather run a vehicle that is historically reliable"
(4) Possibly the Hyundai Dealerships don't make them feel welcome""
(5) They are tight fisted and will only buy a car that has100k on the odo for next to nothing"""
For many years after WW11 the "Good old Englishman" would NOT be seen in a VW, Toyota or Datsun. In the early 70's after Honda had made good with their bikes, the Civic's appeared & people started looking at the Asian cars.. VW took quite awhile to establish a reasonable foothold aside from the hippies...British cars had a Warranty cost of maybe $200 (equivalent, at that time) to the dealer. The Asian manufacturers only offered $50.. BUT their cars where virtually 100% reliable..My Dad had Toyotas from the mid 70's through till 1995. Never had one warranty claim, just service & drive...

 

[Mark_888]

"why do you feel (non-Korean) Asians are biased against Hyundai"?

(1) Principal (as per UK & VW Bug after WW11)
(2) They understand the Korean Psyche & Don't Like It!
(3) They would rather run a vehicle that is historically reliable"
(4) Possibly the Hyundai Dealerships don't make them feel welcome""
(5) They are tight fisted and will only buy a car that has100k on the odo for next to nothing"""
For many years after WW11 the "Good old Englishman" would NOT be seen in a VW, Toyota or Datsun. In the early 70's after Honda had made good with their bikes, the Civic's appeared & people started looking at the Asian cars.. VW took quite awhile to establish a reasonable foothold aside from the hippies...British cars had a Warranty cost of maybe $200 (equivalent, at that time) to the dealer. The Asian manufacturers only offered $50.. BUT their cars where virtually 100% reliable..My Dad had Toyotas from the mid 70's through till 1995. Never had one warranty claim, just service & drive...

In the case of Hyundai, it is not political. It is strictly status (along with perception of quality, but that is changing).

 

[WowCool]

Good Morning Mark_888
you must be a widely travelled person, always a guiding light on a subject.
This is NOT meant as anything but a compliment.
I have had the pleasure of worldwide travel plus the honour of meeting many
different types of people. Humanity is wonderful thing..
Maybe one day we can head towards a mid point & shake hands, chat over a glass of wine & put the whole world to rights"" -- That would at least mean
2 Genii in the same car park
Travel Safe, Happy Journeys................Wowcool -> A Limey At Heart......

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[Fast55]

Some parts of CA are not Hyundai friendly (especially in northern CA) but when you get close to Korea Town in LA, or close to HMA (Hyundai Motor America) headquarters in Orange County, then obviously you are going to see more Genesis Sedans.

HMA is constructing a new $200 million U.S. corporate headquarters in Fountain Valley, California. There is also a Hyundai/Kia Technical Center and Test Facility and a $30 million, 90,000 square ft. Hyundai Design & Engineering Center in Irvine, CA. They probably sell a fair number of Genesis cars in that area of CA to employees alone.

Agreed, but you don't see many of these in Laguna or Newport, and I see as many Bentleys and Ferraris here in Westlake.

 

[DominicJE]

Re: Rare Genesis Sitings

Sorry to got OT, but are these truly LED, not HID? Cost? AFLS compatible?

The Prada rears look to be no different than 2012-2013 stock tails.


Very few of these cars around here, I do think Santa Barbara, Ventura, L.A., and Orange county suffer from the snob complex.

I'm not sure 100%, but when I turn my lights on they are instantly white like the LED strip, they are never a yellow color or have to warm up to get that color. I don't have technology package so I didn't have AFLS to begin with, but some people on here said it didn't work with their AFLS. Cost was around $1500.
They are OEM as well which was a good thing to me.

 

[geneswede]

Are LED lights bright enough at night? The HIDs are really great. Hate to drive the Volvo that doesn't have them

 

[xiaphin]

I live in Raleigh and only see 1-2 a week. Mostly its the same 2 ppl.

 

[shagnat]

I live in Raleigh and only see 1-2 a week. Mostly its the same 2 ppl.

Wow! Lots of them down here in South Carolina. Tons and tons of 'em!! We have only 2 dealers, so they must be doing something right to put all that Hyundai iron on the roads.

 

[landtuna]

"why do you feel (non-Korean) Asians are biased against Hyundai"?

I'm not sure it is a racial bias but rather that the Japanese cars have a much longer history of reliability than does Hyundai. As for some of your other comments:

(1) Principal (as per UK & VW Bug after WW11) The "affordable" British cars imported in the 50's and 60's were very unreliable. I lived in an Air Force town so we saw many of them brought back from Britain and they were terrible - very basic transportation with miserable heaters. The VW Bug's of the day likewise. Severely underpowered, ugly and very basic. They appealed only to people who were getting by on the cheap.

(2) They understand the Korean Psyche & Don't Like It! Not sure what this means. There were a ton of WWII vets who said they would never buy a Japanese car either but that same feeling didn't seem to bleed over to Germany.

(3) They would rather run a vehicle that is historically reliable" Goes back to the first point. Some people don't like to take chances with something as expensive as a car purchase.

(4) Possibly the Hyundai Dealerships don't make them feel welcome"In the old days that might be true since Hyundai was a "cheap" product. Today though with most car dealers being part of national chains there isn't much difference.

(5) They are tight fisted and will only buy a car that has100k on the odo for next to nothing"Can't comment on this but these people would not be shopping for a new car.

For many years after WW11 the "Good old Englishman" would NOT be seen in a VW, Toyota or Datsun. In the early 70's after Honda had made good with their bikes, the Civic's appeared & people started looking at the Asian cars.

The first post-war British and Japanese cars were very small, underpowered and not that reliable. There was also a lot of animosity directed towards Japan because of the war and "buying foreign" was generally limited to the West Coast. My parents bought a '56 VW Wagon new and it was a decent economy vehicle and carried a ton of stuff but it was very underpowered and was just basic transportation - not even a fuel gauge (which resulted in some hilarity when one parent filled it up and the other didn't know and thought they were getting fantastic mileage).

VW took quite awhile to establish a reasonable foothold aside from the hippies.

About two decades since the first Bug imported in 1949. The VW wagon was the hippie vehicle of choice and for the rest of us the Bug.

 

[marty5marty]

I see way too many where i live ( K-town LA )

 

[YEH]

"why do you feel (non-Korean) Asians are biased against Hyundai"?

(1) Principal (as per UK & VW Bug after WW11)
(2) They understand the Korean Psyche & Don't Like It!
(3) They would rather run a vehicle that is historically reliable"
(4) Possibly the Hyundai Dealerships don't make them feel welcome""
(5) They are tight fisted and will only buy a car that has100k on the odo for next to nothing"""
For many years after WW11 the "Good old Englishman" would NOT be seen in a VW, Toyota or Datsun. In the early 70's after Honda had made good with their bikes, the Civic's appeared & people started looking at the Asian cars.. VW took quite awhile to establish a reasonable foothold aside from the hippies...British cars had a Warranty cost of maybe $200 (equivalent, at that time) to the dealer. The Asian manufacturers only offered $50.. BUT their cars where virtually 100% reliable..My Dad had Toyotas from the mid 70's through till 1995. Never had one warranty claim, just service & drive...

Not really and the reasoning is not that complicated.

good observations, never noticed.

YEH why do you feel (non-Korean) Asians are biased against Hyundai ?

What I stated is that Asian-Americans (which is distinct from Asians in Asia), including Korean-Americans, tend not to buy Hyundais/Kias in favor of Honda/Toyota and lkuxury German autos if they have the means.

In Asia, plenty of non-Korean Asians buy Hyundais and Kias.

In China, H/K are the 3rd biggest seller behind GM and VW and in India, Hyundai is the 2nd biggest seller and the best selling import brand.

Now, the Japanese don't buy Korean autos but they really don't buy any import brands aside from the well-to-do who buy the German luxury brands as is the case around the world.

But even in areas like Fort Lee, NJ and Annandale, Va, with large populations of Koreans, one will see a lot more Hondas and Toyotas (w/ some German luxury makes) than the Korean automakers (Korea-town in LA is a bit of an outlier since it has a lot of Korean expats and not just Korean-Americans).

Not to generalize, but Asian-Americans tend to be on the conservative side and tend not to be the early adopters when it comes to significant purchases (basically, they would be the hardcore Consumer Reports type of buyer - wanting to see a history of doing well in reviews and on reliability surveys).

As Hyundai and Kia get more established as brands, I would expect more Asian-Americans to purchase Hyundai and Kia autos, but right now, it's non-Asians who are driving the market for the Korean automakers in the US.

Both the Sonata and Optima have an ATP that is higher than the Camry - so a greater % of people buying them are spending $$ on higher trims/loading up on options.

 

[Mark_888]

But even in areas like Fort Lee, NJ and Annandale, Va, with large populations of Koreans, one will see a lot more Hondas and Toyotas (w/ some German luxury makes) than the Korean automakers.

You don't see very many non-Koreans in those areas driving a Hyundai either. Hyundai has traditionally been for people who could not afford a Toyota or Honda (of same car class). The Genesis and Equus are obviously different, but as noted it does take a while to catch on in some areas, especially where it snows.

As one gets into areas with a high cost of living, and higher salaries, the cost of a car is proportionally a smaller part of their total expenditures, so they are willing to pay more for a prestigious nameplate. Many people in these areas have to pay more for parking/insurance/gas than the car payment, so these people are not going so price conscious when it comes to the cost of the car alone.

 

[YEH]

You don't see very many non-Koreans in those areas driving a Hyundai either. Hyundai has traditionally been for people who could not afford a Toyota or Honda (of same car class). The Genesis and Equus are obviously different, but as noted it does take a while to catch on in some areas, especially where it snows.

As one gets into areas with a high cost of living, and higher salaries, the cost of a car is proportionally a smaller part of their total expenditures, so they are willing to pay more for a prestigious nameplate. Many people in these areas have to pay more for parking/insurance/gas than the car payment, so these people are not going so price conscious when it comes to the cost of the car alone.

Except, the metro NYC area is one of Hyundai's largest markets.

And the key word is "traditionally" - the Kia Optima has an ATP that is $1,700 more than the Toyota Camry.

The Elantra has an ATP that is $1,500 more than the Corolla.

Also, take a look at Hyundai/Kia's marketshare in countries like Canada, Germany and the UK where the Asian, much less Korean, population is way smaller than in the US.

H/K's marketshare is either greater than it is in the US and/or greater than the Japanese rivals.

In Germany, H/K's marketshare is the same as for Toyota, Nissan and Honda combined.