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Originally Posted by Propagator
All very good points. We are car enthusiasts. in principle, this should mean not that we are even more badge-whore-y than the general public, but that we know enough to see through the brand name and marketing to recognize a good product when most others can't.
So when an underdog company is trying to catch up with the leaders by offering competitive products at lower prices than the already established competition, I would like to think that it's us the enthusiasts that can see this opportunity and jump on it. I see Hyundai as very much a case study of this in the non-premium segment. And in the premium segment, it seems Audi is increasingly becoming that. Their products are very significantly improved from previous generations, to a point where some of them can be considered class leaders, and yet the pricing is still a bit below BMW and MB, due to the relative lack of prestige. I would be very compelled to look at Audi the next time we are shopping for my wife's car.
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Excellent point about Hyundai. I drove a rental Elantra a few years ago on a business trip and was shocked at how solid it felt compared to the Camry I got the previous week. More recently I received a Genesis as a loaner from my BMW dealer and honestly it looked and drove as nicely as a Lexus and my old 2006 Acura TL. Hyundai is the new Toyota and Kia is the new Honda. Looks like Honda lost their sporting genes around the turn of the century.