I was out back in the yard today and my friend calls me as he's coming over. "Get up front and see the black car about to go by." Knowing I couldn't get up there in time, I asked him what it was. "It's a Genesis." I sprinted up the side yard and jumped into his car. I know the guy who has it as he works for Hyundai and always gets the newest and the best.

We pulled up right as he was getting out and we struck up conversation. I was wearing my Hyundai hat... :grin:

So we got to talking about the Genesis and he let me sit in it, start it up, and toy with the car. He had the 4.6 Tau V8 in black with the espresso brown leather.

I must say, Hyundai did an A+ job on this car as it looks even better in person and everything about it amazing!! If this is what they've got now, I can't wait to see us in 10 years! Shame I can't afford one or I'd buy it.

You apparently saw one of only a VERY few pre-production V8s, because the V8s are not being built for shipment to dealerships until after August or September. Dealerships will only receive V6s until then.

Wow, really? That much of a delay? That hurts... must be running in to production issues with the new motor.

The V8 would have probably been the "hot item" too.

I read a Korean news article saying, they started assembly of V6 for US market in April.
V8 will start sometime in June. The first 100 shipment for test driving was shipped and will be here in mid June.
I guess 100 is not enough for 700+ dealers, though.

Just found another article came up 2 hours ago.
It says, Hyundai shipped 2916 Genesis last month.
It's also in Korean.
http://news.joins.com/article/3174849.html?ctg=12

I guess we'll not have shortage at dealers.

The build plaque on the door showed manufacture date of May 9th, '08.

I will say the V8 sounds too restrained but nothing a nice exhaust won't fix. :grin:

We were told the delay was due to the fact that they were behind in production. Sometimes we get bad info though. Pricing was released the other day, too. Maybe you already know, but the V8 will start at $38k and a fully loaded V8 will run you about $42k. The V6 model is supposed to start at $33k.

I think a lot of people are going to have a hard time swallowing a $42,000 Hyundai.

A lot easier than swallowing a $125,000 Vee-Dub. coughphaetoncough

Adaptive Cruise Control is a later option.

Yeah we heard the figures. That is indeed a tough pill to swallow. It'll start to feel like it's back in the realm of sanity in 3 months, when there'll be a $3000 rebate on it right off the bat. I'd think with a good rebate and some quality negotiating, a loaded V8 could be had for 37k-38k around the end of the year. If Genesis gets some good reviews, seems to have good initial quality, no wallowing or clunking suspension... just generally delivers on what it promises... I think that price point is well worth it.



I'm right there with ya' on that one. I've complained about the Phaeton before, with relation to Genesis. That was baffling, especially since VW already had the Audi brand, selling repackaged VW guts for premium prices. They put out this car that was priced right at the same price point as its competitors. At THAT point, you GET to be a brand snob... if you're spending that much on a car, you probably DO want to buy an eyebrow-raising nameplate to go along with all the other stuff. That was a doomed project from day 1.

At least Genesis, like all the other Hyundais, is priced Hyundai-like relative to its direct competition - i.e., VERY low. Comparisons with 3-series or C-class or even G35 aren't really fair comparisons, in terms of size, features, available engines. The first relevant competitors (again due to size, features, available powerplants) are GS, M45, E-class, 5-series. Out of all of those, GS and M are the best deal, in both cases starting at just about $48k-50k for a comparably equipped V6 (vs. $33k for Genesis), or $58k for a comparably equipped V8 (vs. $42k). 5-series would be pretty comparable on the low end (528) but a well-equipped 550 is going to be in the mid-60s. E-class is even more expensive yet, with a loaded E550 in the low to mid 70s. In all cases, lesser warranties. So the Genesis isn't a steal compared to all cars in general, but it really still is compared to these guys. Seems like the "sweet spot" is actually the loaded V8 Genesis - this is where the price point is farthest away from any competitor.