Has this happened to you? Note left on car...

[Slider]

So I've enjoyed my first 2+ months of having my Genesis 4.6 and have drawn some eyes, had a few people ask me about it, the usual. But this is a first for me.

Have any of you had a note on your windshield? Unfortunately, this wasn't a note of praise.

Little background: I park on the rooftop level at Terminal B at IAH, Houston Intercontinental Airport, among a pretty varied mix of people--management, TSA, vendor/concessions employees, wheelchair pushers, and there's an equally diverse mix of cars as you might imagine.

Well, I decided to park off to one of the corners, so that I could angle the car in backwards, give myself a little more room but also doing it without encroaching on any other spots. One of my pet peeves is people taking two spots, which I absolutely NEVER do.

So Friday I came out and had a note in my windshield wiper, written on the back of a convenience store receipt. It said:

No matter how you park your car... it is still a Hyundai!"

LOL! Well, alrighty then. Just funny that someone would take that effort, considering I wasn't in anyone's else's spot. Yes, it's a Hyundai. I'm well aware of that. I'm aware that it lacks some brand cachet in the eyes of many. But I don't care.

 

[Seattle Genesis]

Jealousy is an ugly emotion...

 

[Glashub]

People try to tear other people down because they don't feel good about themselves or thier lives.

 

[robthoke]

Doesn't have a life of his own so he has to mess with other's. Whoever did that is ignorant and can't think for himself. Don't let it bother you. WE know what we've got and proud of it.

 

[Cindys2000]

I can remember when Honda's and Toyota's were referred to as "Jap Junk"... not anymore! I'm sure Hyundai's reputation will continue to get better and better.

 

[Gurkha]

Obviously someone who knows nothing about cars or the automobile market.
Ignorance breeds ignorance.

 

[JOwest]

I think the note is written by the owner of one of the expensive German brands. He/she couldn't stand the sight of a car that is better and cheaper than his/her's!

 

[SeismicGuy]

Obviously ridiculously juvenile but it sort of demonstrates why Hyundai should have spun-off a luxury marque similar to what Honda did with Acura, Toyota did with Lexus, and Nissan did with Infiniti.

I am (finally) getting to closer to shopping for a car to replace my wife's 2000 Acura TL and the Genesis is absolutely one of the cars in the running. I had posted several months ago about the stigma (real or imagined) of buying a Hyundai and your experience is the text-book example.

Since I have had such good luck with the TL, I feel compelled to at least consider replacing the Acura with another one. So I am also doing some forum searching on the AcuraZine forum. I did make it clear there that the Genesis really seems to be the better bang-for-the-buck choice these days. Actually, there was little or no bashing of the Genesis from any of the posters on that forum and most of the responses reported of good experiences (either the poster owned a Genesis, had looked at the Genesis, or knew someone that owned a Genesis).

The only criticism was Hyundai choosing to keep the Genesis and Equus under the Hyundai marque rather than spinning off a separate luxury division. It just seems difficult for a manufacturer to maintain such a wide spread of offerings starting with very cheap econoboxes up to $50K+ luxury.


Doug

 

[Gurkha]

It just seems difficult for a manufacturer to maintain such a wide spread of offerings starting with very cheap econoboxes up to $50K+ luxury.

I don't quite buy that. Look at Mercedes for example.
In Canada the line up starts with the B-Class at $31,650 and ends with the SLS AMG at $198,000.
That's a bigger spread by far, and yes we all know the brand cachet that name has.

 

[Vince2]

Slider "High School" never ends! If you have a problem with what others think of your choice of vehicle...probably best to buy a different vehicle.

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[YEH]

I can remember when Honda's and Toyota's were referred to as "Jap Junk"... not anymore! I'm sure Hyundai's reputation will continue to get better and better.

I think the note is written by the owner of one of the expensive German brands. He/she couldn't stand the sight of a car that is better and cheaper than his/her's!

I'd bet the offender was someone who owned a Japanese luxury brand or one of the domestics.

The rationale posters on auto forums can appreciate the Genesis for what it is, but there are always those who resort to "it's still just a Hyundai" retort.

Most of the time, it comes from owners of Japanese and domestic brands who see Hyundai as a threat.

Take the fact that they are doing it as a good sign; it would be worse if they all just ignored the Genesis (like they do the Acura RL).

Obviously ridiculously juvenile but it sort of demonstrates why Hyundai should have spun-off a luxury marque similar to what Honda did with Acura, Toyota did with Lexus, and Nissan did with Infiniti.

The only criticism was Hyundai choosing to keep the Genesis and Equus under the Hyundai marque rather than spinning off a separate luxury division. It just seems difficult for a manufacturer to maintain such a wide spread of offerings starting with very cheap econoboxes up to $50K+ luxury.

It made no financial sense for Hyundai to spend the $2 billion or so to launch a luxury brand/dealer network when it doesn't even have a lower end volume selling model.

And the more that I think about it, the more I think that Hyundai shouldn't launch a separate luxury brand/dealer network and just spend the $$ on developing a fuller luxury lineup and improving their existing models.

A big reason why the Genesis has been as successful as it has (coming from a brand that was ridiculed not too long ago) is b/c of its pricepoint.

Selling the Genesis under a separate luxury brand/dealer network would have meant adding $6-7K to the MSRP of the Genesis and then it no longer become the value that it is.

Look at the sales of the Infiniti M and Lexus GS - pitiful compared to the Mercedes E Class and BMW 5 Series.

Infiniti and Lexus simply don't have the brand cache of the 2 Germans and when start approaching the Germans in price, buyers overwhelmingly just end up picking the Germans (while the LS has been the one Japanese flagship sedan to successfully take on the Germans, keep in mind that it is priced over $20K less than the S Class).

Honda, otoh, didn't have the $$ to spend on both a separate luxury brand/dealer network and invest properly in a luxury platform/powerplant which is why they still don't have RWD or a V8, a big reason why Acura is seen a being a lower tier luxury brand (even Toyota and Nissan filled their "luxury" lineup on the cheap w/ warmed over JDM-only models like the G20 or ES (eventually the ES got its own sheetmetal). Also, back during the 1980s, it was much cheaper to launch a new brand (that's why Chinese brands are having such a difficult time penetrating the US market, it's just so expensive nowadays; that's why they are doing the back-end way, purchasing struggling US brands).

I'd much rather have Hyundai expand its lineup w/ proper luxury models rather than doing it on the cheap (giving us the Sonata w/ diff. sheetmetal and a nicer interior or simply bringing over the i40 as an entry "luxury" model).

Don't be surprised if by the next generation of the Genesis and Equus models, Hyundai's luxury offerings get more respect than Honda's offerings w/ Acura.

Plus, things are changing in the luxury market in the US; before Mercedes didn't bring over the A or B Class to the States for fear that it would damage its luxury image (which is quite diff. from the image it has in Europe), but w/ the new A and C Classes, those more econo-offerings are headed to the US.

Also, pretty much all Smart dealerships are attached to a Mercedes dealership and they get serviced at the same service center - so is it really a big deal?

Hyundai may very well decide to launch a luxury brand down the road when they have a fuller lineup, but I think it will be a smarter financial and business decision not to do so.

Hyundai should, however, placed its luxury offering under a sub-brand w/ a proper badge that looks befitting on a luxury vehicle (the current Hyundai logo is just awful for luxury vehicles, much less the mainstream Hyundai models; both Hyundia and Kia need to change their badge designs).

 

[Cut-Throat]

When I posted my thoughts on the Genesis on the Lexus Forum (I was a member of the forum and Lexus Owner for 10 years) - I got this same reaction from about 25% of the forum members. Unfortunately, the 25% were really vocal and hostile. I could see one of them posting a note like that on your windshield.

BTW - After 1 year of ownership I much prefer the 2011 Genesis over my 2007 Lexus GS350.

 

[Glashub]

You folks go on about how great Hyundai is but the first thing most of you do is go get wings. And don't give me any "that's the badge in Korea" cr*p. That badge is meaningless in America. You're trying to do what Hyundai didn't do...create exclusivity and hide the fact that its a Hyundai. I'm willing to bet the op has wings and the note could be a calliing out of a fact being a fact.

It's all snobbery. When I buy a Genesis (if the ride is right now) I will keep the Hyundai symbol.

 

[homeofstone]

You folks go on about how great Hyundai is but the first thing most of you do is go get wings. And don't give me any "that's the badge in Korea" cr*p. You're trying to do what Hyundai didn't do...create exclusivity and hide the fact that its a Hyundai. I'm willing to bet the op has wings and the note could be a calliing out of a fact being a fact.

It's all snobbery. When I buy a Genesis (if the ride is right now) I will keep the Hyundai symbol. I swear I will because I like to be contrary hence my current 2010 TL.

Whats wrong with the TL? It seems to me not wise financially to get rid of the TL or any similar car unless there is something wrong with it not covered by warranty. I got rid of an Acura but it was a 2004 with 239,000 miles.

 

[YEH]

You folks go on about how great Hyundai is but the first thing most of you do is go get wings. And don't give me any "that's the badge in Korea" cr*p. That badge is meaningless in America. You're trying to do what Hyundai didn't do...create exclusivity and hide the fact that its a Hyundai. I'm willing to bet the op has wings and the note could be a calliing out of a fact being a fact.

It's all snobbery. When I buy a Genesis (if the ride is right now) I will keep the Hyundai symbol.

If I had a Sonata or Santa Fe, I'd get rid of the Hyundai badges as well (if there was a diff. KDM badge) b/c the "squishy H" is just horrible.

The Toyota emblem is just as bad (it would make a Lexus look worse).

The Honda "H" is a cleaner design and wouldn't look bad at all on a luxury model (tho the Acura badge looks a bit more sophisticated).

An ugly-looking badge can ruin an otherwise, clean sheetmetal of a car.

I'd much rather have the HYUNDAI lettering spelled out across the back of the trunk than have that "squishy H" deface the rear.

 

[tonygxp]

forget a seperate "dealer" for the genesis/equus. they just needed to BRAND the cars as Genesis 380 & 360, etc. and the Equus as a Genesis Equus or whatever. they can sell the "Genesis line" out of the same showroom off to one side, etc. Lincoln did it forever. Buick did it with pontiac/GMC.. they should've never put the "H" on it.. the Excel is still too fresh in many people's minds!!

 

[TJPark01]

The only scenario I can see where someone takes this kinda effort to insult someone is someone you know. He may know about the parking situation there and has either seen you being super cautious or it's one of your colleges trying to either have fun with you or be a bastard.

 

[Gurkha]

The only scenario I can see where someone takes this kinda effort to insult someone is someone you know. He may know about the parking situation there and has either seen you being super cautious or it's one of your colleges trying to either have fun with you or be a bastard.

Would have to agree 100%.

 

[Cut-Throat]

You folks go on about how great Hyundai is but the first thing most of you do is go get wings. And don't give me any "that's the badge in Korea" cr*p. That badge is meaningless in America. You're trying to do what Hyundai didn't do...create exclusivity and hide the fact that its a Hyundai. I'm willing to bet the op has wings and the note could be a calliing out of a fact being a fact.

It's all snobbery. When I buy a Genesis (if the ride is right now) I will keep the Hyundai symbol.

Dude, you're wrong.

 

[Vince2]

Glashub test drive the '12...the ride is very right. Hyundai listened and made a change. I still have the Hyundai symbol/badge not sure if I will ever change it.