Hyundai Genesis uncovered

[mustang84]

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/27/hyundai...rface/#comments

[PurdueGuy]

I agree, looks like a chinese ripoff of a BMW in the rear, likewise with lexus & the front

[regfootball]

ripoff exterior style.

interior is an m45/s class ripoff that is ok, for the price. not anything stylish though.

faux everything. no originality. some folks love that though.

motor trend will form circles and 'ahem' to celebrate this car. the rest of america will treat it like the store brand vcr from target. which is not to say it won't sell. it's just that you don't really want it, you buy it because it's cheap, or you simply don't care about the looks.

just continual proof that asian car companies mostly do not care to execute in the styling arena. nissan is an exception. mazda is an exception too.

Hyundai is trying to be taken seriously by the public but derivtive bull$h! like this doesn't help their cause much, even if the car itself is pretty good.

Edited November 28, 2007 by regfootball

[ZL-1]

Other older pics or sketches (can't remeber exactly) reminded me of an Infiniti, but in these pictures it looks like the 5-Series and a Lexus had a one night stand while in Korea

[Intrepidation]

I liked the concept better, the tail lights look too large and the ass overall looks very big and less tidy...and yeah it looks more like a BMW knockoff from the back now, and a Lexus LS from the front. I do like the interior though.

Edited November 28, 2007 by Dodgefan

[zabolots]

Looks like a nice, low-cost alternative to the M45.

[mustang84]

The thing I don't understand about Hyundai is how they can come out with some great concepts (that RWD Tiburon coupe thing...I forget the name) and then take three steps backward by taking the back 1/2 of a 5-series, the front 1/2 of an LS, gluing it together and calling it a luxury sedan. This is as bad as some of the Chinese knock-offs. Hyundai has come a long way, but they will never been seen more than a cheap brand that people settle for when they put stuff like this out.

[Delta Force79]

Atrocious.

[Intrepidation]

Some of the posts on autoblog are hilarious...they must be blind.

looks like it might be better then the jag in the post below may look.

and no i do not see a resemblence to bmw style here.

[sciguy_0504]

Interior looks pretty nice.

[Diehard GrandPrix Fan]

As a Korean myself, I can't help but feel ASHAMED about this. They haven't got ANY of their OWN design on this. The Concept Version is million times better than this rip-off. BMW? no, I think it is a 100% copy of the current Infinity(don't know the model name), especially the rear. The interior could have been done better as well. Surely, they should have kept the Concept's look on both front and rear which wasn't a COMPLETE copy.

This one, the coupe, which I have posted on the other thread about the Tiburon Spy shot(which got buried), looks far better.(of course, chances are, they will probably screw up on this coupe as well next year, just by looking at this).

http://z4.invisionfree.com/CarsDiscussion_...hp?showtopic=60

I was NEVER a fan of Hyundai nor Kia to begin with and this one may make me hate it even more. They could have done a way better job that at least make it look UNIQUE, not this ripped-off junk. But then, my only Native Korean car brand that I like are the Proto motors, but....

btw, how do you EMBED the vid in this site? I was trying to embed the Youtube vid on that Spyshot Hyundai thread, but none of the ways worked, so I had to put a link to it, and I got lazy to click on that thread, so I just put the link that is on my site. I mean, is video embedding allowed here or not?

Edited November 28, 2007 by Diehard GrandPrix Fan

[Z-06]

Read the comments below the article. People actually seem to like it.

I want to know what new chemical are they smoking.

[Diehard GrandPrix Fan]

I find that quite surprising. If you look at the picture, it is nothing more than a copy of an Infiniti. I think it is 100 times uglier than the Concept. While concept version was derivative, but it wasn't THIS much. This is too much. Not even a single uniqueness in it. I don't think Hyundai will be sellng much of this bad copy, as far as I guess, unless they change MOST of its styling for the REAL, Production car. I am much disappointed with this. Is this all they can do? for something they want to claim LUXURY?

[cire]

As Hyundai (and Kia) attempts to grow and expand, they seem to continually drift further and further away from forming any coherent design language to define the brand. Most of their products are total exercises in blandness with odd details attached in an attempt to add visual interest. The result is a strange combination of boring and bizarre. To make matters worse, they still have not outgrown their tendency to duplicate other companies' design cues/styling and combine these elements on one vehicle. The Genesis sedan is a major example of Hyundai's imitation styling practices. Like many of you have already noted; the front end is old school Lexus and the rest of the car is old school BMW. This car will succeed with the wannabe demographic who would like to buy a Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Infiniti, or Cadillac, but can't quite afford the payments or cheapskates who prefer their luxury on a budget. Unfortunately, due to the styling and brand affiliation, the car will never be taken seriously in the luxury segment. Hyundai needs to establish its own styling identity and create a separate luxury division if it wants to make an impact in the luxury segment.

As far as the copycat styling practice, it is not a new situation in the market. Lexus began its climb into the luxury segment with knock-off old school Mercedes designs. Hyundai could pick a much worse brand to use as a model than Lexus. Although I still don't quite consider Lexus as being on par with the BMW/Mercedes duo, they have made great strides in respectability in a short period of time. I find it very interesting that the front end styling of this car pays homage to Lexus considering their similar beginnings. The only thing Toyota did better/different with Lexus is that they did create a seperate luxury division to sell their luxury products.

Edited November 29, 2007 by cire

[Cory Wolfe]

It's certainly derivative and far from inspiring.. but by no means is it a bad looking vehicle. Homely, dowdy, and sort of frumpy, but not bad.

[regfootball]

wow some of those autoblog commenters really are...ahem...funny.......

you know what, from some of their comments, maybe acura is in trouble. maybe hyundai will become the next great faux luxury brand.

edit

ok, this is indeed much better. this is the first photo i have liked of this. the grille is total yuck though.

Edited November 29, 2007 by regfootball

[ponchoman49]

Yawn!

[cire]

I never noticed this before, but the silhouette is also sort of similar to the 2008 Honda Accord sedan. I guess that really isn't a surprise since the 2008 Accord also has a knock-off BMW profile.

The Genesis could have been a major hit for Hyundai as an affordable luxury alternative product. I think they dropped the ball by giving it a shamefully derivative exterior design and by offering it as a Hyundai instead of creating a proper luxury division.