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:
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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.
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Russ -

I think you are right. I'm wildly enthusiatic about my Azera and look forward to the Genesis becoming a reality in the USA. But, I wanted an Azera before I walked into my dealer.

This week, my dealer sent me the new Genesis brochure. What a disappointment as a marketing piece and an advertising device. Now, I've researched the Genesis, monitored the Genesis forums, seen all the pictures, and followed the Korean websites about it. I think it's a special car and I'm very interested in it, BUT if I hadn't done all these things and just received this brochure, I wouldn't be giving the Genesis a second thought.

How in the world can the Hyundai Azera and Genesis marketing efforts be so weak, so poorly designed, so non-existent?

Don
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I wonder if you took those MFR's rebates they're giving away on every Azera and Sonata and dumped it all into marketing... could they get close to, or at, MSRP for their cars then?
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They had a Genesis ad on the Super Bowl.
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And to complete the wish list:

•A longer thigh cushion (like the '09 Sonata got), and

•Ventilated seats, or at least perforated leather.

Not much else to improve, honestly.
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The more I think about it, the more I believe killing the Azera would be a grim error on Hyundai's part. If they want to go upmarket, they can't throw out their second best entry. Make limited production runs but don't throw it out, BAD bad idea, unless you want to sabotage your own attempt at a single-brand market shift. Right now, the Azera will become another tool in their chest, it's pushing their credibility on the upward end, and Genesis will continue to push up. But cutting the middle out of the line (Sonata = entry level, Azera = move-up, Genesis = "you've made it") they're going to create brand solvency problems. We have a bunch of cheaper cars and this one thing, Genesis, with luxury, power and style that the dealerships don't reflect and the service departments can't support, and pricing that is a TOTAL outlier for the rest of our line of models.

If they cut Azera the push upmarket crumbles... that's my humbly submitted, subtle, and mildly rational opinion.

It may be a "middle child" for a long time but in 5 years Hyundai needs to be selling Sonatas, Azeras, and Genesis, and that's it. Accent and Elantra can be handed  to Kia or spun off. Or ****, maybe some kind of super-sporty Elantra with kicka$$ styling (total redo) a Lambda-II shoehorned into it can become the entry-level Hyundai. A front-wheel-drive IS if you will.

Still, you leave a gap the size of the gap between the Sonata Limited (no flaming! Sonata is awesome! I'm just being brutally honest here) and the entry Genesis, that will create a nightmare scenario for Hyundai's upmarket brand equity. All the money and effort they invested in the Azera and Genesis will fall into that gap, like blood down a drain... okay, the sanguine analogy was rather gruesome, but I think it stands up to scrutiny. There has got to be a full, well-designed, wonderful vehicle line that really runs the gamut from "entry-level luxury" to "full blown". BMW, Mercedes, Lexus all do it (with great success), and from 2000 through 2007, Jag did too (with not-so-great success).

KEEP THE AZERA!!! If they want to be the Lexus, they have to act like the Lexus!

(Boy I wish someone, anyone, from Hyundai, would read these little passionate, ineffective and occasionally pedantic diatribes... once in a while...)
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