Jalopnik 
Enter your username and password.
Detroit, 8:39 AM
Sun Nov 22
10 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip your editors:
tips@jalopnik.com
Editor-in-Chief:
Ray Wert | Email | AIM
Road Test Editor:
Wes Siler | Email
Weekend Editor:
Murilee Martin | Email
Associate Editor - Houston:
Matt Hardigree
Associate Editor - Detroit:
Ben Wojdyla
Editor-at-Large:
Mike Spinelli
Contributors:
Mark Arnold
John Krewson | Email
Andy Didorosi
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
02/17/09
Just like that Amanti, but still over priced.
02/17/09
02/17/09
02/17/09
I think that may be an early COTD nominee.
02/17/09
.....hahahahahahahahahahaha,is it 1st April already?
02/17/09
Oh...wait...
That Equus is a really nice car. I just can't imagen spending nearly a $100k on a Hyundai
02/17/09
That may change as time goes by. If memory serves, once upon a time, you could get a brand new BMW cheaper than you could get a used Buick, and BMW had its sight set on becoming the German equivalent of what Buick was at that time.
Now look how things have changed.
Give it ten years or so, and Hyundai may well be as respected a luxury brand as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, etc.
02/17/09
This was my exact first thought when I saw this. It is the exact same concept and we alllllll remember how well the Pheaton did, don't we?
02/17/09
VW, in much of the world, has the brand cachet to pull off a $100k car. Just not THAT $100k car; it has to be something sexy, exciting and desirable. The Phaeton was none of these things.
02/17/09
02/17/09
02/17/09
02/17/09
CTS is a sport sedan, not a luxury limo like this Hyundai. Try again.
02/17/09
The CTS-V is about the size of this sucker. It is also considered a luxury sport sedan. It is also $36k cheaper, a hell of a lot faster, a hell of a lot better looking, has a little more in the way of brand cachet (if only a little, as some would argue), is made to quality standards that meet or exceed the top in the industry, and is made in Detroit.
Summary: Win.
Try again.
02/17/09
Not quite.
The Genesis is larger than the CTS, and this Equus has 7 inches added over the Genesis making it ~17 feet long.
02/17/09
Wow, are you really arguing how much better a rendered drawing of a Hyandai is than the CTS-V?
You sir, are at the wrong site. Please check TTAC for asenine, uninformed domestic bashing. Anyone that puts Hunday as a brand near Cadillac is out of their mind....or Korean, as they (you?) do show great pride in your country's companies, something the US could learn from.
02/17/09
Funny, I point out the obvious, the CTS-V is a sport sedan that is several inches smaller than this Hyundai, and now I'm some uninformed domestic basher.
LOL at the Clown.
02/17/09
Okay, I really wasn't going to go this far, but what the hell:
Hyundai Equus: 203.14in (length), 74.8in (width), 58.86in (height), 119.9in (wheelbase).
Lincoln Town Car: 215.4in (length), 78.5in (width), 59in (height), 177.7in (wheelbase)
And, for the record:
Cadillac CTS-V: 191.6in (length), 72.5in (width), 58in (height), 113in (wheelbase)
So, because they are different dimensions, they cannot possibly be aimed at the same general market? The market defines the car, the car does not define the market. In this instance, both the Equus and the CTS are aimed at the luxury market, as was the Town Car.
You asked that someone name a luxury sedan offering from Detroit that would be preferable to the $96k Equus, and you got one.
02/17/09
No. Nor the German 3, nor the Japanese 3, nor the Brits, Italians, French...
Why? It's a $100k Hyundai. That's not a bargain, that's the same as dropping the soap in a prison shower. You're right, there is no competition, because there's no other car available (and I am including the Phaeton, goddammit) where you can say, "I spent $100k of my hard-earned money and got something that inspires scorn, derision and laughter amongst everyone who sees it."
02/17/09
Well, Keely Hazell might inspire that kind of scorn, but then, I doubt she'd cost $96k.
02/17/09
See, your data backups up my claims. The CTS-V is not a competitor to the new Hyundai. It is MUCH smaller. The Caddy DTS is closer in size, but why behind in performance.
Sorry, the bringing up a Lincoln TownCar in a discussion about Luxury cars is just comical at best. TownCars are only good at being taxis.
02/17/09
Obviously, then, reading comprehension is not a particular strength of yours. Here it is again for you:
So, because they are different dimensions, they cannot possibly be aimed at the same general market? The market defines the car, the car does not define the market. In this instance, both the Equus and the CTS are aimed at the luxury market, as was the Town Car.
You asked that someone name a luxury sedan offering from Detroit that would be preferable to the $96k Equus, and you got one.
And, thank you, for proving my point in a roundabout way buy suggesting that the size of the car is not necessarily indicative of the market that it competes in.
02/17/09
02/17/09
02/17/09
02/17/09
Is it just me or is the Hunday one eerily similar, but with bigger wings?
02/17/09
02/17/09
02/17/09
02/17/09
02/17/09
I'm a big supporter of the Genesis idea, but this is really pushing it. I doubt it comes to the US...at least until (unless) the Genesis is a major smash hit.
The problem with any uber-lux cars is the diminishing returns for each additional dollar spent--and this notion is reflected in the depreciation. IMHO, you can get a phenomenal car for under $40k, but an $80k is not twice as good. And a $160k car is not 4 times as good. Only the secondary market realizes this.
02/17/09
For instance, in Germany a Mercedes is a lot of things. They have de-contented S-Class cars for fleet use. They have the A and B segment cars. They also have the uber-luxury cars. To Germans, Mercedes is a nice car, but it doesn't have the same luxury connotation that the Mercedes brand carries with it here. Why? Because Mercedes has set themselves up as a luxury brand in the NA market. This made sense since they would not be able to compete with Ford/GM/Chrysler in the downmarket segments.
I agree that it makes more sense in straight-up economics to do everything under one roof, but smart car companies will realize the perception the market has of them and adjust their strategies accordingly.
02/17/09
Yeah...that's what VW thought too...
02/17/09
Since Hyudai does not have two brands (with the exception of Kia - you could argue is the cheap-Hyundai) Hyundai "buyers" will not seek a Korean car above and beyond Hyundai - there is none! So why would Hyundai shoot themselves in the foot and make a Luxury Brand? People would start comparing Hyundai and Hyundai Luxury brand compare the value/price and fall back to a Genesis. It's easier to just leave it all on the table this is our company, this is what we make, these are the differences, this is what you're getting for the price.
Now you can be rest-assured that when you drop $96,000 on a Equus you're getting a one of a kind car. Unlike a $96,000 LS400 which is a glorified Avalon.
02/17/09
02/17/09
02/17/09
02/17/09
02/17/09
It seems like a nice enough car, but I can only imagine how limited the market really is-- it seems like the only rationalization would be, "I really want an S-class, but I'd prefer something Korean."
So, again, a home-market car. It's similar to how the Toyota Century is a JDM-only halo car, I think.
02/17/09
02/17/09