January 29: Moving on up

I've said this before........who would ever have figured from its so, so humble and trouble plagued beginnings, way back in 1985, that Hyundai would rise to the much respected level it is these days? Your Pony was falling apart back in the day and some bright soul says just wait, one day, a Hyundai will be North American Car of the Year. It is to laugh, bucko. It just ain't happening. Oh to be a fortune teller, since Hyundai, through their upscale Genesis brand has just won that prestigious award with their BMW 3 Series competitor, the G70 sedan.

Initially wanting to be known for more than a cheap entry level hatchback, Hyundai first tried moving up with the not so Stellar.....

Like the Pony, it had lots of issues, just in a bigger size. But at least they were trying. Doesn't everyone strive for greatness?

In Korea they even had a very luxurious model, the Equus (that name sound familiar?). The pride of South Korea, available in regular and extra long, limousine size......

Eventually, they bought the Equus name to North America. Gutsy, in that who would spend that much money in a Hyundai dealership? Ever seen this car, shown here in its non North American limo version.........

In my hometown of Toronto, I think I have seen more Lambo Urus's in the past couple of weeks, than I ever saw an Equus in the five or six years it was with us. But these guys learn quickly and they realized that if Hyundai was to sell really upscale models, then they better figure out a better way, than to place a high end sedan next to an economical Elantra and expect it to sell. An interesting aside......the Equus didn't come with a typical owner's manual, but with a tablet. And still it sat.

Moving right along, it finally dawned on the head honchos, that Genesis should be a separate brand, like Lexus or Infiniti. Hard to kick start a new high end brand, but after only a couple of years, they garnered the Car of the Year award. Impressive stuff.

Apart from winning that award at the recent Detroit show, they also unveiled the revised top of the line G90 (imaginative name).......

If you remember seeing the last one (you saw one? amazing!), you can see that no longer does it look like a Bentley or Mercedes clone, now it has its own unique design cues. Beautiful car, but one has to be very confident to pay $90k large for a Genesis (read Hyundai), when for a few bucks more you can put yourself into a brand with cache', like Mercedes or Lexus. Now, to its credit, the G90 has reviewers considering it to be one of, if not the best, big luxury sedan on the market.

Picture yourself in this G90 interior..........

Look like any Elantra you've ever seen? No, nothing like a typical Hyundai, more like an atypical Hyundai.

Did you count Hyundai out back in the day? Silly you. Now thirty plus years later, you shouldn't count them out either in their march to establish Genesis as a bona fide choice in the luxury car field. Give them time folks and you'll see those S Class and 7 Series buyers dropping into a Genesis showroom at the end of their current leases. And that you can take to the bank.

Until next time......