I previously wrote that how impressed I was with the Azera but have not been able to find a supply of 2008s with nav. Of the five area dealers, the only available cars were 2007s. I just heard from one of the dealers that there will be no more Azeras. He has one 2007 left and that will be it. No more new shipments. The car is to be replaced with the Genesis that is due out in the next month or two. He said that there was too much overlapping in features and price to make it worth while manufacturing both cars. It would explain the absence of new stock in our area. Has anyone heard anything similar?

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CRAP.

No, we haven't heard any "official" source say that out loud, but we have definitely been speculating.

When I saw the '09 Sonata up close at an auto show earlier this year I said, "This has a lot of the Azera's features..."

And lots of people have said, "The entry-level Genesis is stepping on Azera Limited's toes... stomping all over them in fact!"

The price points overlap too much - there's not enough room between top-of-the-line Sonata and entry-level Genesis.

So the '09 Sonata is nipping at its heels... the Genesis is stepping on its toes... and off goes the Azera.





Crap.
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This post has been edited by andyman32: May 16 2008, 06:18 PM

Oh yes... did I mention "abysmal sales because nobody knows this car exists?" (IMG:http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/rolleye/rolleye0011.gif)

I am not sure how "official" this information is, but it does make some sense. I just heard back from the dealer that he expects one to be available by the end of the month for a test drive and will contact me when it shows up. I did get a brochure, but it contains not much more information than is available on the web site

What's an Azera? :bwekk:

I love the Azera and I hope it sticks around. It is such a smooth riding, quiet and luxurious car.

If there's one thing that would keep me from buying another Hyundai it's just what has been mentioned in the last posts. It seems like they (Hyundai) have a knack for introducing 'orphans'. What gives with the shirts? The cars are more than competitive and they just seem to disappear from the radar screen after a couple of years and the dealers haven't a clue as to what's going on.

Not sure about anywhere else in the country, but if you are in the Tucson area, there are four, 2008, Limited models you may be interested in.

http://www.jimclick.com/New-Inventory.aspx...&makeid=1000014

Frankly, I don't really care what Hyundai is planning on doing with the future of Azera. All I know is that my Azera is a fantastic automobile and has a terrific warranty. It will serve my needs for a long time to come.

When it is time to get rid of the Azera (not any time soon), there will be another vehicle made by Hyundai that will fill the bill. Perhaps it will be the Genesis or another vehicle that replaced the Genesis.

In the mean time, I am really pleased with my 07 Azera and thus far, have no complaints.

As far as having a built in GPS is concerned, my 2 Magellans are quite sufficient. As a matter of fact, both of them are far superior to what is available for the Hyundais. Plus, they cost a heck of a lot less and are portable. I can actually take them with me if I am with someone else in their vehicle. Not to mention, there are free updates occasionally via one of the largest GPS companies in the world.

If you decide not to purchase an Azera, and there are plenty of 08s around the country, your loss.

Life is too short. :beer:

Enjoy your Maxima.

David <><

This post has been edited by david-paul-1: May 17 2008, 12:51 AM

I guess you're right, david-paul... as long as the warranty is there and they have parts for the cars available, if anything, killing the Azera would make our beautiful cars even MORE exclusive :banana:

And though I talked about price points... I'm not sure that makes sense after thinking about it. The Sonata tops out around $24k-and-change; the Genesis will enter the scene at $30k. The Azera's range is 24K-and-change through $31K-and-change. So actually there is NOT that much of a price overlap; in fact, pulling the plug on the Azera (which may nevertheless make sense for Hyundai for other good business reasons) would leave their lineup with a big gap.

Unless the Genesis will start at around $25k... contrary to all we know... I'd welcome that solution! :whistling:

David Paul 1-

You'll care and so will the rest of us, if the Azera is cancelled after a 3 year run in the USA. If that happens, out of the ordinary parts wont be stocked by the dealers in a few years. Not enough units for the aftermarket to develop parts either. So in 2011 at 65K on the odometer, you have a friggin odd ball sensor fail, you'll have to wait 7 -14 days for the dealer just to get your part. So your car is laid up for 8-21 days at the dealer, because they're the only ones with the parts, and maybe they have someone familiar with the Azera model to diagnose and do the work.

Hey I love my Azera, but if it's going to be discontinued after '08, it's time to consider another car.

As someone has suggested to me, this might be a ploy to get me interested in the car the dealer had on the lot. Another dealer has said that they are expecting shipments of "08 Azeras any day now.

If a dealer's trying to "bait-'n-switch" you out of an Azera because he doesn't currently have one on the lot, deep-six th' bum!...

Parts is almost my only concern - the reason why I haven't bought a Phaeton (BTW - anyone see any striking similarities between the front end of the Phaeton and that on the Azera?)

The bumper-to-bumper is one thing... Nevermind waiting 7-14 days for the dealer to get a simple sensor; it's looking for that sensor, or a ball joint, or steering tie rod arm, or alternator, when the car is 12 that I'd worry about. There may not be enough of these things out there to make it make sense for 3rd parties to offer obscure OEM-spec aftermarket Azera parts.

I'm not worried too much about powertrain parts because the Lambda is going to carry forward as Lambda-II and will probably share a lot of components, including auxiliary systems; as is the Aisinn 5-speed slushbox. A few things will changed from their tuning the motor, and its being longitudinally mounted in the Genesis. I wonder if they'll change the CVVT units on the Lambda-II... that's probably another middle-age failure point.

I checked the inventory for "08s, via Web site, on several dealers down here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the dealer I got mine from has 3, another has 13, and two others had 7 each. Some did not show any, all were Limiteds, no GLS. I am assuming that some have Nav since there were a couple with a 32K MSRP. And it appears that the listings were not being shared by all dealers because the colors were different.

I don't know, don't even know if Hyundai knows, what they are doing with pricing of their cars. We have an TV ad down here with a 4 cyl Sonata for 12999, saying that similar Accords and Camrys go for 6K more. So does this mean they are getting rid of the Elantra? And they are already pushing the '09 Sonatas. Just can't worry about whether the Azeras are going to be around, yes, everything that has been said about concerns for parts, after markets, service, I agree, right now I just want to enjoy the car.

The average American keeps their car about nine years. However, I don't think most of us are average.

Because we visit an auto website frequently, at least most of us do, we can probably be considered enthusiasts. Enthusiasts typically keep their cars for a much shorter time period than 9 years.

That being said, most of us here will probably never experience a parts shortage for our Azeras because we will not have them long enough. Personally, I will probably keep mine for 5 or six years max.

Even if we are the average, meaning we keep these cars for 9 years, their shouldn't be much of a parts shortage considering the fact that there are a lot of Azeras on the road because they have been building these things since 2006. Remember, the parts are totally interchangable for all those years.

Three years of production should be able to get the average American driver through the next 7 to 9 years with excess parts on the dealer' and factory's shelves.

Another thing to think about is the fact that if a part is not available, anywhere in the world, and the vehicle is still under factory warranty, Hyundai will have to replace your vehicle with another model. Of course, this is not likely to happen.

As someone else has aleady pointed out, the Lambda engines, both 3.8 and 3.3 and accompanying tranny isn't about to go away anytime soon, so the only parts issue we really have is for the next 5 years or so. Thus, it's not really a problem, is it?

Let's not borrow trouble. :)

Life is way too short and we have so much to look forward to.

I am so grateful that this isn't the 50s and I am trying to keep my 55 Ford or 57 Studebaker President running. Those were NOT "Happy Motoring" times.

I love the reliability of today's vehicles, not to mention how much easier it is to drive them. I can remember driving across the country in my 53 Mercury. The weather was hot and of course the vehicle had no AC. I also had to worry about vapor lock. Now, driving across the country is like a commute compared to those days.

Granted, the highways are much better today with the Interstate system, but all things being equal, I wouldn't trade those vehicles for the ones we have today.

David <><

This post has been edited by david-paul-1: May 17 2008, 11:30 PM

You get an amen from me. :amen: Remember: vacuum windshield wipers, clocks that ran 1 more day than the 12K mile warranty, no sidevew mirrors and when you put one on it rusted out in a year or so because you had to drill holes in the door, spark plugs lasted 10K miles (maybe) and the points along with the plugs, oil change and grease the ball joints every 1K miles, "front ends" that need to be "aligned" every 5-10K or when you hit a pothole, no tachs on the dash, paint that needed to be waxed 4 times a year... etc etc.

Yeah the great thing about the good old days is their are old days.

BUT... the dealers still want us to believe we need to bring our cars in every 3K for oil changes and $200 "maintenance inspections" that any fool knows they DON'T really inspect anything, execept those item they can make money in addition too, like filters and brakes and tell you need them way before you really do.

This post has been edited by raw6464: May 18 2008, 09:33 AM

Amen to that! This is my 1st Hyundai and probably my last unless I go downmarket.The Genesis IMO is going to be a bust, the V8 is dead due to fuel prices, the looks, again IMO, not that good, the car looks skrunched up, not the easy flowing line of the Azera, building on the promo that the Azera had after intro and winning awards which the Genesis hasn't won yet and may never, yeah sure.
As you said what a waste opportunity for Hyundai to show that can move at this level :crying: :crying:

This post has been edited by Pelikan: May 18 2008, 11:12 AM

I really like my 2007 Azera Limited with the Ultimate package and even thought of trading it in on an Acura RL. However, would lose a lot and pay a lot to do it.
Only problem with Azera is that it has a floating/wallowing/bouncing ride over unevern road surfaces, of which there are many. Professional reviewers have noted this and it gets annoying over the long run.
That said, if the Genesis can improve on What Azera offers, provide a decent MPG (is V8 really needed?) and fix the wallowing, I may consider it.
Still a great car for what it offers and what it costs. Beats the heck out of Avalon, Maxima, Accord and Lexus ES.

True, but who, young or old, could resist a 4/5 resized '53 Studie Starlight hardtop, '55 Chrysler C300, '57 Chevy Bel Air conv or Avanti 1 with totally, totally, upgraded mechanicals?

If Hyundai does the same lousy job of marketing the Genesis as they did with the Azera it will go nowhere.

When you consider the performance, features and price of the Azera, they should be marching out the door. If I, as most of us did not seek out this car I would have never considered it. I asked my dealer why he's not selling a ton of the Azeras and his reply was just that, lousy marketing.

Stop making the Azera I think is a mistake. Yes I would love to have a V8 but a rear wheel drive only will keep me and people in snow areas away.

I wouldn't count on people already in Lexus, Mercedes, BMW rear wheel drives to jump to a Hyundai.

My take, a Genesis only will be a bust without a LOT of advertising and marketing, and perhaps a 4 wheel drive version. Also do what the others did, start a new "company" with a different name... Hyundias "cheap Korean cars" reputation will kill them in an upscale market... brand names mean everything. People STILL by Mercedes even though it is one of the most unreliable brands in the world... perception is reality.

This post has been edited by raw6464: May 19 2008, 11:11 AM

Regrettable and true. There's a pretty well established place in the Lexus lineup for the ES. Folks think of it as a Lexus with FWD, not as a Camry. If Hyundai wants to be the Lexus, I fear Sonata won't quite hit the mark. Azera is Hyundai's ES; Genesis is Hundai's GS (or LS?). Whatever they're going to do with branding, offering a spotty "not for everybody" lineup at the top end is going to give them a lot of trouble getting the luxury buyer through the door. If they just update the Azera's interior... it becomes a tool for the dealership to make sure that anybody who walks through the door looking for a high-end car will leave with something. Genesis might be a little above their price point, or too big, or not quite the look they want, or RWD in a snowy climate, etc. etc... I'm not sure Sonata is a reasonable alternative to Genesis, but Azera most certainly is.

So what I'm saying is: they shouldn't take a "one size fits all" sales tactic with Genesis. RL and ES are still prowling around out there, and both in the same ballpark as Genesis.

Here's to hoping for Azera version 1.1, with Lambda-II, revised interior, and better suspension :) :beer: