Aquineas
4th Genesis
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2010
- Messages
- 4,326
- Reaction score
- 1,117
- Points
- 113
- Location
- Georgetown, TX
- Genesis Model Year
- 2020
- Genesis Model Type
- Genesis G70
Greetings folks! I know that some of you might be waiting for feedback on the 2014 Hyundai Global Club Event. I want to take the time to do a proper write-up, but here are some quick hits and observations. Before I go into those however, I want to apologize that I didn't have much of an opportunity to discuss the list of questions. Our time with the executives was pretty limited and in much more of a social setting.
Many, MANY thanks to the folks who organized this, and to folks who made it possible for me and others to go. There were 34 attendees globally from about 17 countries. This is not an all-inclusive list, but here are the ones I can remember off the top of my head (in no particular order):
Brazil
China
Ecuador
Saudi Arabia
Germany
Czech Republic
Turkey
Costa Rica
United States
Phillipines
India
Everyone was very nice and the group was populated with varying degrees of car-enthusiasts and bloggers, ranging from the die-hard rally fan (Hyundai is making a huge push into rally racing) to die-hard Genesis fans (I'd include myself in that category). Everyone that I spoke with was super nice and easy to approach and talk to.
Ah the Koreans, I'm at a loss of superlatives for describing the Koreans. I fell in love with the Korean culture while I was there. They are an extremely proud, hard-working people with a rich and colorful history. They were all very eager to demonstrate just how progressive Korea is, but in a way that was kind, welcoming, and gracious. The Korean work-ethic is legendary, and any competitors who aren't paying attention to what the Koreans are doing are going to get steamrolled. In my opinion, it's not a question of if Hyundai becomes one of the top two or three brands in the world, but when. They are that determined, they are that hard-working, and their engineers are that good. Some of this determination comes from Korean pride; having been invaded by the Japanese and the Manchurians more than once in their history, they have a bit of a healthy chip on their shoulder, not unlike a start-up (which, they kind of are when you consider that they had to rebuild their nation after the Korean war). And while it was never actually communicated to me, it seems like perhaps partially because of this history, I get the feeling that they especially relish kicking the Japanese auto manufacturers backsides. It's almost as if there's an unwritten credo, "Beat Toyota, Honda, BMW, and Mercedes. But especially Toyota and Honda." These are subjective observations, so I mean no offense to others if this is not correct.
We were treated like VIP members the entire trip; it was very humbling and yet I'm very grateful for the red carpet that was extended to us. Now onto some technical observations:
I'm very jet-lagged and missing spending time with my wife and kids, so I'll write more later. Thank you to Hyundai and to Henry for making it possible for me to attend, and thank you to the many other attendees who suffered through three days of my loquaciousness!
Cheers,
Sean
Many, MANY thanks to the folks who organized this, and to folks who made it possible for me and others to go. There were 34 attendees globally from about 17 countries. This is not an all-inclusive list, but here are the ones I can remember off the top of my head (in no particular order):
Brazil
China
Ecuador
Saudi Arabia
Germany
Czech Republic
Turkey
Costa Rica
United States
Phillipines
India
Everyone was very nice and the group was populated with varying degrees of car-enthusiasts and bloggers, ranging from the die-hard rally fan (Hyundai is making a huge push into rally racing) to die-hard Genesis fans (I'd include myself in that category). Everyone that I spoke with was super nice and easy to approach and talk to.
Ah the Koreans, I'm at a loss of superlatives for describing the Koreans. I fell in love with the Korean culture while I was there. They are an extremely proud, hard-working people with a rich and colorful history. They were all very eager to demonstrate just how progressive Korea is, but in a way that was kind, welcoming, and gracious. The Korean work-ethic is legendary, and any competitors who aren't paying attention to what the Koreans are doing are going to get steamrolled. In my opinion, it's not a question of if Hyundai becomes one of the top two or three brands in the world, but when. They are that determined, they are that hard-working, and their engineers are that good. Some of this determination comes from Korean pride; having been invaded by the Japanese and the Manchurians more than once in their history, they have a bit of a healthy chip on their shoulder, not unlike a start-up (which, they kind of are when you consider that they had to rebuild their nation after the Korean war). And while it was never actually communicated to me, it seems like perhaps partially because of this history, I get the feeling that they especially relish kicking the Japanese auto manufacturers backsides. It's almost as if there's an unwritten credo, "Beat Toyota, Honda, BMW, and Mercedes. But especially Toyota and Honda." These are subjective observations, so I mean no offense to others if this is not correct.
We were treated like VIP members the entire trip; it was very humbling and yet I'm very grateful for the red carpet that was extended to us. Now onto some technical observations:
- The new Genesis, even in V6 form, is light-years ahead of the last one. I'm talking as a two-time V8 owner (first the 4.6 and the 5.0). I drove the 3.3L version of the new Genesis around a high speed test track and in a slalom, and it handles so much better than the last Genesis it's no contest. Despite it being a 3.3L, power was more than adequate (though I'll still opt for the V8 when it's time to write a check). Let me give you this observation to put it in perspective. On the high speed track, we were all following each other in a line. There were a total of 7 cars: A Turbo Veloster, a Sonata, an Azera, an Equus, a Genesis, and a couple others I can't remember. We had to keep up with the lead car, and by far the easiest car to keep pace in was the Genesis, despite the weight disadvantage it had to smaller cars. Every other car you could make the tires squeal if you pushed it too far, but the Genesis kinda smirked at you no matter what you did and seemed to say, "Dude is that the best you got?" I was probably one of the lesser skilled (if not the least skilled) drivers there, but better drivers confirmed this observation (shout out to Jason C., Kevin R. and Eric U., Dirk, who among others, I'd put in the "better driver than I" category).
- The Asan plant, where the Azera (called the Grandeur in the KDM), Sonata, and an as-yet-to-be-announced luxury model that will be positioned in the market between the Grandeur and the Genesis are all made, is a technical marvel. When you first enter the plant, you have to look really closely to find a human being. It's almost completely automated (90 percent automated to be specific). We watched raw steel come in on rolls and get stamped into body panels and then get welded into a body-in-white car without any human intervention whatsoever (note all work was done by Hyundai robots). It was impressive. The primary place humans are needed on the assembly line is during interior installation. I'll be honest though, scenes from "The Terminator" series of movies briefly passed through my head. Talking to one of the executives later, he mentioned that the defect rates for the Asan plant and the Alabama plant (where the Sonata is also made) are roughly the same, as is the automation rate.
- This is an un-official stat, but it seemed like half the cars on the road were either Hyundai or Kia. Genesis and Equus sedans were as popular on the road as Lincoln Town Cars are in NYC (and likely used for the same purpose). I did see a decent number of German cars as well, and even a couple of American cars (American car tally: 1 Mustang GT, one C6 Corvette, three Lincoln MKZs, and one Town Car (!!??) ). Subjectively speaking, Genesis and Equus sedans seemed like they are as popular in Seoul as the BMW 3 Series is here in Texas or the Bay area.
I'm very jet-lagged and missing spending time with my wife and kids, so I'll write more later. Thank you to Hyundai and to Henry for making it possible for me to attend, and thank you to the many other attendees who suffered through three days of my loquaciousness!
Cheers,
Sean
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