Posted on 09/23/2017 8:00:15 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Shots fired.
Well, things are certainly getting heated between competitors in the auto industry right now. A BMW executive recently described the Mercedes X-Class luxury pickup as appalling, despite admitting that the firm is considering entering the premium pickup segment. Then Lewis Hamilton taunted Ferrari claiming that AMG can build a better supercar. And now the boss of Hyundai and Genesis seemingly got out the wrong side of the bed one morning, accusing luxury automakers like BMW and Mercedes of putting too much focus on stupid tech.
The head of Hyundais N and Genesis divisions Albert Biermann, who also used to head BMWs M division, made the comments to Australian publication Drive during the launch of the new Genesis G70 in South Korea. He believes that automakers like BMW and Mercedes-Benz spend too much time and money on unnecessary technology that customers dont want, which he sees as being too complicated and prone to failure. Its all marketing, first of all, Biermann said. How many people really buy it later on? Much of this exists for media, to give a hype, to show the technology level. But how many people really buy it later on? If the tech will fail, youre just adding the burden to the buyer, right?
Simply put, Biermann feels that automakers are putting too much focus into media and marketing and not the actual product and this is coming from someone who worked at BMW for 30 years and led its M division, so he isn't inexperienced. He also thinks that quality testing for German cars has slipped, but thats not the case for Genesis. Our testing is much more intense, he said. We have 30,000 km test driving in [Hyundais research and development headquarters] Namyang, with all the bad cobblestones and potholes you cannot imagine. We run our cars there for 30,000 km, and then on top of that we do 10,000 km at the Nurburgring.
I dont think anyone else is doing that anymore maybe Porsche or Ferrari, but all the other guys theyve stepped down from 10,000 km to 8000 km or 5000 km. And some, they do nothing anymore. Instead of focusing on fancy technology, Biermann believes the key to Genesiss success is building reliable cars that will still feel like-new 10 years later. In our G90 you will not find any air suspension, or active roll-bars, or active whatever. A camera sensing the road, and this stuff. Its stupid. We have a solid Hyundai steel platform, tonnes of high-strength steel okay, its a little bit heavier than the other cars and we have adjustable shock absorbers, and thats it.
I retired from a major US car maker more than a dozen years ago, and now work as a consultant dealing with a number of US and foreign carmakers. I tell anyone who will listen: “Forget about Toyota, Honda, BMW and Mercedes. The competitor you need to worry about is Hyundai.”
I disable as many of these technical “features” as possible.
I have a hyundai SUV. Relatively problem-free 5 years.
Actually the Hyundai guy is right.
The auto makers are focusing too much on stupid tech rather than building quality cars. 4G/LTE transponders, navigation, and a bunch of other superfluous garbage that drives up the sticker price and overall doesn;t add real value to the vehicle.
These days you can’t buy a basic car. They all have power this and that....until there is a fault in the wiring and then none of it works.
I had a Jeep Cherokee Limited. At about 7 years old, the wiring harness developed a problem. The power windows, seat, mirrors, antenna, locks, radio memory, and a bunch of other stuff stopped working including the AC. It was impossible to track down, and the car was undrivable in the summer.
I agree with Anton about those Chinese cars. I wouldn’t buy a Buick, either.
First they started with cup holders then, push button windows... now we don’t even turn a key. Silly expenses.
I have a 2014 BMW 750 LI XDrive which I purchased what it had 19,000 miles on it three years old. The car came with the warranty up to 100,000 miles. Which is about how long I would keep it. It’s my second BMW prior to that I had several Audi A8L’s
During the 80s and 90s are used to buy brand new GM luxury cars but have not purchased any domestic cars since about 2005.
I have not had any problems with the German cars. But I would not go back to buying government motor cars or Chrysler cars.
I have also bought many Honda accord’s and Toyota Avalon’s both of these vehicles or bulletproof and good for high miles. Was great resale value.
I did try driving the top-of-the-line Hyundai Genesis but did not like the feel. It felt big and bulky and unresponsive. For the money it did not seem like a good investment. Perhaps if they had a real cheap lease for 24 or 36 months it might be worthwhile to drive it.
I view this car like the Volkswagen phaeton. The phaeton what a Volkswagen branded Audi A8L.
It was a great car but they could not sell it with the Volkswagen badge. The Hyundai suffers the same issue. The Genesis badge will that help it.
I only test drove the Hyundai Genesis top-of-the-line vehicle. I would not ever buy one. Seems like the only value it had was a very high and fast depreciation factor.
It would be hard to resell it and get any money out of it.
Buying off lease two or three-year-old BMW or Audi’s are the best way to go if you like driving high-end luxury cars. Most of them you can buy with 18 to 21,000 miles on them and get 100,000 mile warranty’s.
Drive the car till 85,000 miles and then spend it and you will always find buyers will pay good money for well-maintained German cars.
I guess you dont remember where Lexus came from, eh?
Agree about Hyundai and Kia but Honda has lost it. Their current cars are annoying and obtrusive in their tech, ugly as heck, and ergonomic disasters. Still built well, though.
I have twice had Hyaudai cars when renting a car. They were both fine automobiles; on a par with a Camry (once) and a Lexus (once), in my view.
My experience has been that the best (reliable) models in luxury brands are usually the lower- or mid-range models.
At my age, anything that requires repetitive kneeling-down is best replaced with something that doesn’t. ;)
My 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe is by far the most reliable auto I’ve even owned. I’ll buy another in a heartbeat. Mine just hit 200k miles and she’s as strong and sturdy as ever.
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