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The new Hyundai designs may not be original, but who cares? This isn't art or music. I remember when Lexus came out. People said it was just a copy of Mercedes. But enough people said "for that price, who cares?" When I see the Sonata, I see elements of the VW CC and the Mercedes C-class. But if someone can give me the car I want only cheaper, that's good enough for me. I think the car companies who worry about being original end up shooting themselves in the foot. Look back at some of the designs from GM and Chrysler. Sure they looked unique. They also looked god-awful. I'll take a copy of a good-looking car over a Pontiac Aztec.
Denny, the point most of us were getting at was that in it's current guise Hyundai is fine doing what it's doing, but they eventually need to get their own creativity flowing to define the brand. They got where they are at by copying designs, but that will always make them a "copy" not the real thing. As their pricing has also been steadily increasing as they improve content and reliability, it becomes more and more of an issue. Lexus' don't look like Mercedes cloans anymore and people also no longer consider them the "cheap" or "poor mans" Mercedes either.
A lot of new Hyundai are designed in California, they build a few lines in Alabama and Kia just opened another factory in the south. They are also one of the biggest selling car companies in America, this isnt the old company that brought you the Hyundai Excel.
I wish they had good car designers again. All the new stuff with the exception of the Challenger, new Mustang, and Dodge trucks, everything else is disgusting in looks department! Whatever happened to people that could design a good looking vehicle? There doesn't seem to be any around now.
Denny, the point most of us were getting at was that in it's current guise Hyundai is fine doing what it's doing, but they eventually need to get their own creativity flowing to define the brand. They got where they are at by copying designs, but that will always make them a "copy" not the real thing. As their pricing has also been steadily increasing as they improve content and reliability, it becomes more and more of an issue. Lexus' don't look like Mercedes cloans anymore and people also no longer consider them the "cheap" or "poor mans" Mercedes either.
Yes, eventually. But I don't believe they've reached that point yet. Lexus no longer looks like Mercedes, although the latest LS sedan looks a lot like the BMW 7-series. But look at how long it took before Lexus dared to establish a look of its own instead of copying Mercedes' designs. They had to wait until they were firmly established as a major player in the luxury market before they could take bigger risks. Hyundai has yet to reach that point. Despite making some serious gains in the last few years, I don't think the average buyer puts Hyundai on par with Honda and Toyota. So the strategy that Hyundai is following right now is a sound one. I think once they reach the point where they're considered an equal to Honda and Toyota, then they can take greater risks with their designs and come up with a more distinctive look.
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