how does the car drive?

[rweintraub]

Where Will It Be Assembled?

Happy Manic Monday Folks,

My dad types about two words per minute. So I have graciously agreed to send in another question on his behalf.

Ted wants to know where the Genesis will be final assembled - in SK or right here in the USA. Why he wants to know this is beyond me. But, I am just the typist here.

Woops, he just called with another question. Are either of the V6 engines used in any current Hyundai model?

Have a pleasant afternoon.
Ron

 

[Duaine]

Tell your dad I believe the only vehicles being built in the United States are the Sonata and Sante Fe. I believe they share the same platform. Both are built in the new Hyundai plant in the state of Alabama. As far as I know all other Hyundai's including Genesis is built in South Korea which isn't all bad. I tend to think they are more picky when it comes to quality. Ive heard that even though the Genesis is suppose to have 2 V-6's only the 3.8L will be offered here in the USA. The Azera does have the 3.8L V-6. Now I believe they upped the horsepower from around 263 in the Azera to 290 available for the Genesis. I assume its the same engine being tweeked a bit for more power. Not let me say this...........my Azera has pleny of power! It will get to 60 mph in around 7 seconds or a bit less possibly. I don't beat my cars so I don't try it much. Now as for the 3.3L V-6from what I have been seeing lately is it won't be available here even though many places on the internet says it will be. That engine is used in the Santa Fe and Sonata although I don't quite remember the horsepower rating but I think it was some where around the 242 mark. If you notice the copy of V-6 option packages I previously sent.........it doesn't list the 3.3L V-6 engine. More than one dealer has told me that it's not available. So you either go with the 3.8L V-6 or the 4.6L V-8. I give you this info just off the top of my head and didn't review any of it so hope I'm accurate.

 

[rweintraub]

Thanks!

Yes we did notice that the 3.3L was not on your spec sheet.

Cheers,
Ron

 

[rweintraub]

Hi Again Duaine,

My father would like to know what type of mileage you get on your Azera.

Thanks!

(I cannot wait until he finally gets a new car)

 

[GrandPrix08]

I heard a rumor from so many places that 3.3 was originally planned to be added to the US bound cars, but later got axed. I think it was a good decision, since, what is like the base powerplant for the current Azera?. It may make some unfair pricing and stuff if that engine comes here too, know what I am saying?. I mean, if the base powerplant of the Azera is 3.8(pardon me for not knowing, I never really shopped for a Hyundai when I got my Pontiac in February), Paying more for Genesis base with 3.3 is not really a good deal.

As far as where it's made, yeah, I think Sonata and Sante Fe are the only two that is made in US. I thought Azera was too, but I don't think it's made in US.

 

[Duaine]

Ron,
The best I can get highway is 27 mpg. Not sure what pure city mpg is but city mileage kills it in a hurry! If I drive 37 miles to our closest bigger city and do some city driving and then 37 miles back home it averages out to be 22-23 mpg. You have to keep your foot out of it. Its got power when you need it but when you don't just baby it when possible. As with all cars it helps your mileage. Also I notice about 1-2 mpg diff. if you try not to go over 60 mpg, again as with most cars. You know if your dad would like a front wheel drive car have him go drive a Limited Azera. I would be curious as to what he thinks? Mine has power tilt and telescopic steering wheel, power leather seats with drivers power lumbar support, power adjustable foot pedals, rain sensitive wipers, auto headlights, power rear sunshade, power folding outside mirriors and heated, auto dual temp control, auto dimming rear view mirror with compass and homelink. The stereo has the infinity speakers (10 I think) holds up to 6 cd's and plays mp3's which you can get about 150 songs or so to a cd. Now my 2006 didn't offer sat. radio or a navigation system. I didn't really want either. I have a portable Garmin GPS that I can take car to car. But now you can get both those options on the new Azera's. He might just like it but if he is use to a Cadillac then I'm not sure. Although they just call the Azera an entry level luxury car to me there is plenty of luxury in it. Duaine

 

[rweintraub]

Thanks Duaine,

My dad did test drive a 2007 Azera. And he really liked it. However, they were offering him a demo with over 5K miles and my dad wanted to get more off than just the factory $2,000 rebate.

The dealer is known for always saying "yes" to any deal. Not this time, though. So my dad walked.

Thanks for the info about your mpg. Very good news. I have a 2004 Kia Amanti, I think it is a 3.8, but not sure. It guzzles gas, like my Dad drinks Ensure.

Thanks again to you all who are more like a support group for me as I endure my father's daily discussions about the Genesis.

Ron

 

[GrandPrix08]

Yeah, I really think they can do better with the 07 demo. $2,000 factory rebate is just not enough. 5K miles might not sounds like a lot, but if you think about it, it can also be considerred as a USED car. Also, dealers should really offer more off for the cars that sells relatively slow like the Azera. I know Azera is a slow seller, and it's far from being their hot item partly due to its price.

I picked up my 08 Grand Prix in February, and it already got 2700 miles on it now(it had 52 miles on it originally, due to the trips it took from the dealer who had it down south), so 5K may be some GOOD use from the dealer, so it may be considerred as a used car. I know, people say Demo is new, but I usually don't consider anything over 1K as a 'NEW' Demo. I saw an add of 07 Grand Prix in the paper about couple weeks ago, that had 4900K miles on it, and they cut down $6,000(if I remember correctly) in ADDITION to the factory rebate. If it isn't halfway near that offer or even BETTER for an year old model, I don't find the demo cars worth buying unless it has very few miles on it.

Good Luck.

PS.: Also, if you check my site(on my signature), I have a thread made there a while back in order to help the car buyers to get a good deal and avoid the traps and scams dealers loves to use. It's from various sources, but if you want, you may want to check it out.

 

[Duaine]

Ron,
I also agree they should have done more for your dad on the demo. I don't know if your dad is at all interested yet but I think right now at least until the end of this month the 2008 Azera has a $2000.00 rebate. If you can find a 2007 Azera brand new yet they offer a $3000.00 rebate. Around here yet (Iowa) you can find a few 2007 Azera's yet. You know I have read many reviews from owners on the car from various sources. Maybe you guys all have to. Almost all the people really like the car. Also Consumer Reports rated the 2007 a "best Buy" and strongly recommended it. They rated it with excellent reliability. J.D. Powell also rated it very high. Hyundai in general last year was considered the 3rd best car for reliability ( JD Powell) ahead of Toyota and Honda both. They were behind Porsche (however its spelled) and Lexus I think it was. If you have been doing lots of reading as of late Toyota has over all lost some ground on quality. They have had engine problems with the new Tundra, the new Camry's at least for a while had transmission problems and some engine problems. The one complaint I have read from new owners is that they claim they have cheapened the interiors up, especially the Camry. There are a number of complaints about the all plastic look and rattles and such. Now as far as I know Honda is still excellent. What amazed me about the first year the Azera came out in 2006 (which is what I have) is that they won an award for the most reliable full sized car. Maybe its just my luck but I have owned Chevy's, Ford's, Pontiacs, and some Dodges. All of them I had to have quite a bit of warranty work done to. I had a 1995 Dodge Stratus that was pure junk!!! I live 37 miles from the dealer that sold it to me. I had the car for 3 years and had it in for everything!!! In 3 years I had it in, not counting oil changes, 27 times!!! Several times it was the same problem that re-occurred! I put 2000 miles on it almost just taking it in for warranty work! I traded that in on a 1998 Chevy Malibu. I change oil every 2000 miles on my vehicles and right at 26,000 miles I had problems with the engine and it needed some fairly serious work done! The warranty did cover it but it scared me when the service dept. said " we think" its all fixed? I said well how long do you cover the work. He said if it was something they replaced it was for one year or 12,000 miles. But he said if its something new just until the remainder of your warranty which ended at 36,000 miles. So I had only 10,000 miles left of protection. I told them I was concerned just as soon as the warranty was up something major could happen. They said well that is why we recommend that you purchase an extended warranty. But they said since you waited this long it will cost you $1800.00. That is where I told my wife look I have always had a car payment because I do trade fairly often. So if I have a payment I am going to look for the company that has the best warranty out there. I told her if you buy any vehicle at such high prices then why in the world should you have to turn around and buy an extended warranty. I said to me if you buy a new car you should be pretty much trouble free for the first 5 years at no extra cost if you build a good product. In 2000 I bought my first 2000 Hyundai Sonata. It was kind of ugly but for first time I wasn't running back and fourth for warranty work. I liked it well enough I bought a 2000 Elantra to drive to work. I traded my 2000 Sonata in on a 2002 Sonata because they updated the looks of it. Then we thought we needed 4-wheel drive and traded the 2002 Sonata in on a 2003 Santa Fe. I traded my 2000 Elantra on a 2004 Elantra. I traded my Santa Fe on the current 2006 Azera. I traded my 2004 Elantra, which I got in 2003, for my current 2006 Elantra. Now grant it I haven't kept any until they died but I got a real good feel for most of their line up. Here is a list of problems I had. My 2000 Elantra had some insulation come loose from under the hood. That was fixed during an oil change. My Santa Fe once in awhile would have a jerk when it shifted. Turned out to be software related. They reprogrammed the computer during an oil change correcting the problem. My Azera had one of the little bitty LED lights go out in the tail light. That does require a change of the tail light assembly that has many little lights in it. I found out you can't change out each individual bulb. That is the extent of my problems through out all of the above listed Hyundai's. In my case anyway, you can see why I love them! In the beginning they cost much less with more equipment and way more warranty. One review I read of an Azera owner put it in a good way. He said this company is the best kept secret in the world! Here is what I think the problem is with Hyundai............people like to look at their past when they made the junk throw away Excels. I guess some people don't want to take them for what they are today. I think lots of it has to do with class to. A person driving say a Toyota Avalon can turn up their nose at an Azera owner and think you know what, I spent $5000.00 more for my car that obviously you couldn't afford therefore your not up to my level. You would be surprised of how much that is the case. It is allot about status. It don't mean crap to me.............a good car for a great price with peace of mind does it for this guy. Despite all of this do some research on how their sales levels have exploded over the last 10 years. They have the quality now, have expanded their lineup and still offer that nice no extra cost warranty for those that still have concern there. I do think you can thank Hyundai and Kia for the better warranty’s the big three now have compared to what they had just a few years ago. Well I’m sorry for this big book I wrote but you now know my Hyundai history and why I think highly of them. I was always a big GM fan and will still cheer on the GM race cars today. I never would have bet I would ever own a Hyundai. But I had enough with constant repairs and took a chance on just getting into a car with a great warranty at a better price and found out like Hyundai knew already…..they can offer a great warranty knowing that it is rarely used. They are gradually capturing sales to people who still had some doubt left.


Duaine

 

[rweintraub]

WOW,

Who needs the trade press when you have Duaine and GrandPrix08?

Thanks for your incredibly detailed feedback.

I like Hyundai and Kia and Samsung and LG (the former Lucky Goldstar), ... I believe in ruthless competition. OK, I will stick my neck out here. The US manufacturers deserve to go bankrupt. It is the very essence of capitalism. I truly hope we (our tax dollars) do not bail them out again when they finally do implode.

I will get off of my soapbox now.

FYI, I used to work in Slovakia for the phone company there. And I am a fierce advocate for the Visograd countries. I was there when KIA decided to build a plant in Slovakia. It did influence my buying decision when I returned to the US.

PSA Peugeot Citroën also put in a plant in Slovakia. And I actually wanted to get a little Peugeot or Renault Cabriolet. Cute cars which get great gas mileage. But, sadly, not offered in the US.

Have a great day!
Ron

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[GrandPrix08]

Nice post. It's a great read. I enjoyed it very much. Yeah, I agree, Hyundais and even Kias(though it was a seperate company before Hyundai saved them) are now worlds better than the craps they have been building about 10 years ago. What's left for them to be recognized widely like Japanese are is just time. They can't go back to the lazyness and make the junk cars, cause if they do, they will lose the current reputations they been building.

I hope they succeed with this new Genesis they are comming out with, I just hope the usual worker's Strike don't happen in Korea(that happened pretty much every year back in few years ago), that gradually turns the cars into a pile of garbage.

Now they have the reputations they've been shooting for, they should not ruin it and work harder to remain, and to improve their quality and repution even more.


I was never a Korean cars fan, but I do hope for the best for them. My only gripe now are their highly derivative styling that does not have any unique design ques that tells you it IS a Hyundai, unlike some brands like Mercedes, BMW, or Volvos where you can tell from a far that it's them.

btw, here is the page from my site that may help car buyers to get a better deal. Most of them you will probably know already for this is geared more towards first time car buyers, but it may help.

http://z4.invisionfree.com/CarsDiscussion_HQ/index.php?showtopic=55&st=0&#last

 

[EdVoylesHyundai]

Re: Where Will It Be Assembled?

Are either of the V6 engines used in any current Hyundai model?

Yes and no. The V6 that is going to be used in the Genesis and Coupe is the 2nd generation of the current 3.8 V6 in the Entourage, Azera, Veracruz. It will share virtually zero parts, even though it is the same displacement. I guess this is kinda like Nissan and their VQ engines. They are in the same family but share few parts. I will post more details after I get back from the Genesis techinician training. Most of our service staff has been to the training already and it seems that the technology in this car is so unlike what we are used to we will have to rethink how cars work. More to come...

 

[Michael_S]

I like Hyundai and Kia and Samsung and LG (the former Lucky Goldstar), ... I believe in ruthless competition. OK, I will stick my neck out here. The US manufacturers deserve to go bankrupt. It is the very essence of capitalism. I truly hope we (our tax dollars) do not bail them out again when they finally do implode.

Well, this is off the topic, but there are two things to consider:
1. Ford and General Motors are, for the first time in over two decades, starting to make some damn good products.
2. The US manufacturers are hindered by health care costs and retiree pension costs that many of their competitors don't have. Pure ruthless competition makes for superior products, but it doesn't care about the people who get crushed in the mix.

 

[rweintraub]

Hi Michael,

True. But, capitalism is a destructive force for change. Old industries are destroyed, new ones are created. Employees, management, and shareholders are affected. I am sure a lot of those folks who made buggy whips were not happy about cars replacing carriages.

Hey, I used to be a Cold Warrior. I worked at NATO when the bloody Soviets gave up. Great for the world, but ended my cushy career, my 36 hour work week, zero OT, lots of perks, cheapest beer & steak-frites in Brussels, ...

Health care costs, pension costs -- yep, real can of worms.

 

[Michael_S]

Hi Michael,

True. But, capitalism is a destructive force for change. Old industries are destroyed, new ones are created. Employees, management, and shareholders are affected. I am sure a lot of those folks who made buggy whips were not happy about cars replacing carriages.

Hey, I used to be a Cold Warrior. I worked at NATO when the bloody Soviets gave up. Great for the world, but ended my cushy career, my 36 hour work week, zero OT, lots of perks, cheapest beer & steak-frites in Brussels, ...

Health care costs, pension costs -- yep, real can of worms.

Right. But for example, foreign labor is so cheap that I'm afraid the US manufacturing base will just continue to erode until we're a country with almost no middle class.

I don't have an answer, but it seems like some careful, intelligent thinking might provide a way to let the market drive innovation without taking another 3 million good jobs out of the country.