"LJ909" (lj909)
02/18/2019 at 11:45 • Filed to: None
3
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"LJ909" (lj909)
02/18/2019 at 11:45 • Filed to: None | 3
| 53 |
On the surface, Genesis (and Kia with the Stinger) look to be doing the lord’s work by giving us proper luxury performance sedans with rwd, turbo engines, twin turbo V6’s ‘etc. But not all is right with them if you’re actually interested in buying one, specifically the G70. Their dealer network just barely exists.
The problems with Genesis and their sales network go back to when Hyundai first wanted to turn the brand into a stand alone luxury brand a few years back. They had grand visions for individual stores that catered to customers in contemporary settings with pickup for service etc. But none of that for the most part has happened yet. Hyundai had demands that many dealers couldn’t, or wouldn’t meet that have been described as not clear or an indecisive / back forth. Specifically the investment of separate stand alone Genesis showrooms. Dealers have seemed to be adamant against this since the brand’s inception a few years back. Many still haven’t made the investment needed to make the brand be taken seriously as a luxury automaker.
For instance, in a all of southern California, there are 2 stand alone Genesis specific dealers. Both are in the Palm Springs area, well outside the LA/Inland Empire basin. No one is going to drive 70-100 miles for a G70 when there are plenty of Mercedes,BMW and Lexus dealers nearby. Other than that there are Hyundai dealers where you can get Genesis vehicle from. There you can easily find a G80 sharing a showroom floor with a Sonata or Elantra. Not a good look to be honest.
2019 Genesis G90
Hyundai itself has seemed to make the actual selling of Genesis cars confusing to the point of only allowing specific dealers to sell certain cars. Any Hyundai dealer can sell a G80. But if you want the S/7/A8 fighting G90, it, according to my research, can only be found through 325 specific dealers. To carry the bigger sedan, they have to have a separate Genesis showroom within the showroom of the main Hyundai dealer. What this means for the most part is the G90 is hard to find. And that if you want one, you pretty much have to go find one used, or go out of your way to get one. Moves like this can contribute to sales numbers that are less than stellar. The G90 only sold 2,240 in the US last year while competitors like the S Class sold just under 15,000 .
Sales for the brad as a whole, are, honestly, trash . They sold a total of 10,312 vehicles last year. Jaguar sold more F-Pace’s last year. All of this adds up to a brand that doesn’t look like they have what it takes to take on the big luxury marques of the world. The last few years has been mostly them internally going back and forth with their dealers over the minutiae of who’s going to sell their vehicles. I don’t get why they are being so specific with who they want to sell the vehicles and where. None of their problems look to help sales. With their weirdly specific demands on what dealers can sell what vehicles and where , none of this will help them meet their sales target by 2022 if they don’t sort these things out in the next few years. With more models coming, they look to be jumping the gun. Hell, even a new G90 was released ( and it’s even better than the current model), albeit quietly, with no word on whether or not if the US will even be getting it.
So yes Genesis, you need to get your shit together if you want people to actually want to,
you know, buy your cars.
AfromanGTO
> LJ909
02/18/2019 at 12:07 |
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I remember when the first Genesis sedans were popping up in late 08, and I got to test drive a V8 one. It was a nice car. Back in 08 there was talk that Genesis would be their own brand, and have their own dealers. This is when each Genesis sedan came with an ipad, so you could schedule service. They would pick the car up from your house, leave a loaner Genesis for you to use, and then bring back your car.
When the Genesis Coupes came out there was a little confusion among people. I had one of the first ones, and got mine in March of 09. It was weird because the coupe and sedan didn’t share any parts, and looked nothing a like. They mentioned every time I took mine in for service that next year Genesis will have its own dealer and showroom. I have yet to see one though....
Textured Soy Protein
> LJ909
02/18/2019 at 12:11 |
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The Genesis dealer locator page shows several here around DC although these are all apparently Hyundai stores.
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LJ909
> AfromanGTO
02/18/2019 at 12:21 |
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Yea I remember they did the same thing with the Equus when it came out. But yea the Genesis Coupe, as good as it was, threw a wrench in the plans for Genesis becoming its own brand. Still waiting for a follow up though for Genesis.
There really is no stand a lone dealerships from what I could find. The closests is in Canada, where they seem to have things like Tesla stores. Wh y they don’ t do it here I have no idea.
Tapas
> LJ909
02/18/2019 at 12:27 |
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Wow I didn’t know this. It is a really stupid approach to selling cars.
If they don't have a dealer network yet, they should let Hyundai dealers sell everything.
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LJ909
> Textured Soy Protein
02/18/2019 at 12:28 |
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We only have 2 in the whole state. For some reason Nevada has 4. But like you mentioned and as I pointed out, none of these are actual stand alone dealerships.
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LJ909
> Tapas
02/18/2019 at 12:29 |
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That’ s exactly whats going on. But their own market research found that people weren’ t interested when 50 thousand dollar G80's were sitting across from Elantra’s
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Tapas
> LJ909
02/18/2019 at 12:49 |
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Can they d ivide their dealerships in half?
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LJ909
> Tapas
02/18/2019 at 12:57 |
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I dont think so. For one, like I mentioned in the article, the dealer owners seem reluctant to invest in whats need to be done to sell the cars. And that’ s due to Hyundai’s back and forth plans over the years. Also, only certain dealerships can sell certain cars. So I think it would make inventory harder to find than it already is.
Tristan
> LJ909
02/18/2019 at 14:20 |
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Hyundai/Kia is suffering from one of the major contributors to the death of Studebaker: a shit dealer network. Studebaker was and Hyundai/Kia is the bottom of the barrel of franchise hierarchy, and they attract the lowest quality of dealers. It doesn’t matter how good the car is if the dealerships are shit.
BahamaTodd
> LJ909
02/18/2019 at 14:23 |
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Not having any CUVs is also a huge fail. Cadillac for the most part went through the same thing but at least with the Escalade and SRX. Great, you have good sporty sedans. Too bad NO ONE CARES.
KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
> LJ909
02/18/2019 at 14:38 |
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They better get this shit fixed before the end of this year else their GV80/70/60 whatever crossover is going to fail spectacularly.
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Tapas
> LJ909
02/18/2019 at 14:51 |
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They should just sell it direct from the factory. Join Tesla.
I know they won't. But still...
WilliamsSW
> Tapas
02/18/2019 at 15:00 |
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The problem is that Hyundai dealers tend to be stealerships that no luxury buyer would want to set foot in. I understand why they want stand alone showrooms, but they don’t have the product breadth (ummm, SUVs and Xovers anyone??) to justify it. So they’re kind of stuck with a chicken and egg problem..
I spent a lot of time shopping last year for a ‘new’ car, and the difference in the way I was treated at the luxury brand dealers (BMW/Lexus/MB etc etc) v. the standard brands (Kia, Mazda, Honda, Ford etc) was ENORMOUS.
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WilliamsSW
> Tristan
02/18/2019 at 15:04 |
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^^^^^
And they know it, too - and they also know that luxury buyers won’t put up with that shit.
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LJ909
> Tristan
02/18/2019 at 15:04 |
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You’re exactly right. I could count on one hand the number of good Hyundai dealers I like/would give my business too. I know of no Kia dealers I could say that for. They really need to get their act together sales experience wise. Thats a whole other problem they need to deal with on top of getting their sales network going.
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LJ909
> BahamaTodd
02/18/2019 at 15:17 |
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It is and it isnt. Crossover sales have had some impact on luxury sedan sales but not the apocalypse thats been reported. The GV80 is coming soon, but I dont think we will see any GLC/XT5 competitor until a few years into this coming decade.
Jlj
> LJ909
02/18/2019 at 15:20 |
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The fist Genesis I purchased was a 2011. The car was well designed, good on gas, and ran like a top. The fit and finish was top shelf as was the ride. A fine automobile to say the least. When the new design came out in 2014 I bought one. I have never been disappointed with anything regarding this vehicle. Now comes the rub. When I was at the dealership the other day I was informed they will no longer sell the brand. For a while they felt Hyundai was going to allow them to continue as a Genesis dealer without additional investment because of market size. Evidently Hyundai came back in and again was requiring a stand alone dealership. My dealer said he couldn’t justify that kind of investment and that’s it. I was going to buy a new G80 this year but not now. I’m not about to dive 75 or 90 miles for service and having the car picked up is out of the question. I’m sure I’m not the only customer facing this situation. Since my local dealer will handle the new Palisade I may look at that.
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LJ909
> KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
02/18/2019 at 15:21 |
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Right. This wont work with both the recently redesigned Santa Fe and Palisade sitting on the same showroom and just as nice in their upper trims.
Allallon
> LJ909
02/18/2019 at 15:24 |
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I have leased to Genesis the last 6 years and wanted to lease a 2019 G80 sport when my lease is up on 2/21/2019, but none to be found. Until 2 weeks ago the only Genesis dealers I could find on the website we’re in Las Vegas and Henderson Nevada, and Yuma New Mexico. All 3 hardly had any Genesis, let alone a 2019 G80 Sport, and all of them wanted to charge premium lease amounts for them. I see now that there are 2 more dealers popping up on the Palm Springs area, but they have no inventory.
Al.this forced me to move away from Genesis and I am leasing a 2019 Dodge Charger Scat Pack edition instead. Genesis lost a loyal customer and I am sure I am not the only one.
Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
> LJ909
02/18/2019 at 15:42 |
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It will take time, but as long as they keep pushing and don’t let up, they’ll get there.
I recall BMW going through something similar starting in the late 1980s and into 1990s.
And as a result, BMW actually revoked some dealer franchises.
It’s probably how/why this BMW dealer became a ghost-dealer:
https://jalopnik.com/the-mystery-of-a-ghost-bmw-dealership-5829911
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LJ909
> Jlj
02/18/2019 at 15:55 |
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Sad thing to say is that I feel like your experience has happened/will happen to a lot of owners and potential buyers. Dealerships are tired of Hyundai’s bull and wont go with the hassle of trying to sell the vehicles, leading to models being even harder to find than they are now, and its just going to end up with a cascade effect that’ s either going to kill individual models or the experiment as a whole.
Davidv
> LJ909
02/18/2019 at 15:56 |
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True and very annoying! I live in the Los Angeles area myself and was looking into the G70. Only available in Vegas!! Not a single dealer in the LA region. You can have any car you want the same day here, even the most exotic ones but no Genesis G70. Ridiculous! They’re gonna miss a lot of sales this way
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LJ909
> Allallon
02/18/2019 at 16:05 |
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Those are the same damn dealers that are near me. And upon closer inspection, these aren’ t actually Genesis “dealers” per se, but Hyundai dealers that sell both And they usually have very little inventory and if they do, its a handful of G80's At this point it would be easier to find one used, or go buy a competitor. Sadly I see them loosing more loyal buyers like yourself because of their bullshit.
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LJ909
> Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
02/18/2019 at 16:12 |
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Yea but times are different and some things are different in this situation, namely Hyundai’s indecisiveness , them telling dealers who gets to sell what, and the impatience of buyers who will go buy elsewhere instead of 50,60,70 miles to find a car that might not even have the options they want.
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Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
> Tristan
02/18/2019 at 16:16 |
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I recall reading that many Studebaker dealers were “rural”... but I didn’t realize that they had a hand in bringing down the company.
I recall reading how many Studebaker dealers were also involved in selling Mercedes cars.
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LJ909
> Davidv
02/18/2019 at 16:22 |
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You’d think the LA area would have been one of the first places to get a dedicated Genesis dealer but nope. You have to go out to Palm Springs to find a G70, and even then they only have 2. They give their newest sedan to the early bird special area who only would be interested in buying G90's anyway
Chariotoflove
> LJ909
02/18/2019 at 16:23 |
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I wonder if Genesis wouldn’t benefit from a Tesla store like model. Hyundai controls showrooms that showcase their cars, while letting actual purchases be done through referred existing dealers. Of course, this helps the presentation and marketing on the front end, but doesn’t address the availability or the dealer experience when you actually get the car.
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LJ909
> Chariotoflove
02/18/2019 at 16:34 |
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This is actually a really good idea. The referral idea works as well since they only let specific dealers sell certain models, so it gets rid of the problem of the customer having to search for the model themselves.
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Tristan
> Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
02/18/2019 at 17:00 |
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The Studebaker dealers were notorious for not wanting to actually deal . While the big 3 were ordering dozens of cars and stocking the lots, Studebaker dealers were still ord er ing cars in 1s and 2s, mostly to customer order. There was a mentality that selling 5 cars with a $500 profit was just as good or better than selling 25 cars with a $100 profit. It’s really interesting to look at the collapse of Studebaker automobile manufacturing. The company had so much history and so many different contributing factors to the management pulling the plug on cars. I wonder if there are any other automobile manufacturers that stopped producing cars simply because it wasn’t profitable even though the company overall was doing well.
Studebaker won sole U.S. distribution rights for Mercedes early on, so most Studebaker dealers also sold Mercedes.
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Tristan
> LJ909
02/18/2019 at 17:09 |
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Yep. The cars are becoming world class, but the dealers still think they’re selling 1999 Accents and Rios.
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LJ909
> Tristan
02/18/2019 at 17:19 |
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Especially Kia dealers. If I was a Stinger or K900 customer I would be appalled at the level of service and how they act.
Mynismo08
> LJ909
02/18/2019 at 17:27 |
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I took some time, but the Genesis network has grown in the Phoenix AZ area. They now have a constant supply of G70s at my local Genesis location. Last time I checked, there were about 10-12 G70s in stock. It just needs some time to grow out and they will be fine.
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LJ909
> Mynismo08
02/18/2019 at 17:42 |
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I hope this is the case. If I were a serious buyer, I’d have the G70 shipped from there, or just fly out there and drive back. Would be good seat time for the car.
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Chariotoflove
> LJ909
02/18/2019 at 18:10 |
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But they still have to solidify the distribution network through the dealers. They have to at least let you order a car through the Hyundai network. It doesn’t do much good to refer a buyer to a place 200 miles away that has your car. If they do figure that out, they could control customer experience from the factory.
LFA Owner
> LJ909
02/18/2019 at 18:36 |
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An d when the vehicle has recalls, ecu/tcu updates, and other campaign’s, or other warrantable defects from the vehicle , you’ll be happy to ship your car back to get it done? Seems like a hassle.
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LFA Owner
> LJ909
02/18/2019 at 18:52 |
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I’m glad my loca l Hyundai dealer ha s all G70 and G80 model s. I had the chance to see and drive both G70 2.0t ma nual and automatic, ( the 2.0t is actually the Sonatas/Optima turb o engine). Also driven the 3.3t P restige and S port model. My fave was the Sport. Wheels don’t look that bad in person. The 3.3t has a little tubo lag but drives much better than the 2.0t manual. Interior felt tight and cozy and it takes corners well. When you smash the gas, the front lifts a bit and takes off. I fell in love! My kind of car, loved everything about it...
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LJ909
> LFA Owner
02/18/2019 at 19:31 |
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Well they already pick it up for service so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle.
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LJ909
> LFA Owner
02/18/2019 at 19:32 |
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You’re lucky. I would love to drive one if I could find one.
Ian
> LJ909
02/18/2019 at 19:41 |
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Unfortunately, there is alot more to it than Genesis allowing what dealership should receive vehicles based on budget and sales. Several years ago when Genesis became a stand alone brand, dealers where allowed to order their own vehicles. This allowed them to order the most expensive or the lowest level G80 that will never sell, resulting in 2017 models still on lots when 19's are hitting the ground. It cheapens the brand bc it forces dealers to “whore” these cars out. Genesis, for now is ordering for dealers, but this lowers the pipeline tremendously making it hard, with a 2-3 month build time to replenish. Also, if you can’t get the vehicle, why would you trade to another dealer.
On another note, we do not have a stand alone Genesis Store at the moment yet we have already sold two 2019 G90s and have two more in our pipeline.
SpeedSix
> Tristan
02/18/2019 at 19:52 |
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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OOly2Xvasmo
Somehow Genesis cars are sold direct from Hyundai in Canada.
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SpeedSix
> Tapas
02/18/2019 at 19:52 |
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It seems like they do in Canada.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OOly2Xvasmo
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SpeedSix
> LJ909
02/18/2019 at 19:55 |
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The Genesis sales model in Canada is currently unique (I think) to Canada, and only in major metropolitan areas at that.
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SpeedSix
> Chariotoflove
02/18/2019 at 19:56 |
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That’s the sales model in Canada.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OOly2Xvasmo
Thejoebot
> LFA Owner
02/18/2019 at 20:11 |
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I live in Madison WI. I leased a Hyundai Genesis in 2015 as those leases were dirt cheap from my local Hyundai dealer. Decent experience but as others have said 52k MSRP looks odd next to an Elantra. Come 2018 I wanted the G80 3.3T Sport. My local dealer didn’t sell Genesis anymore but Chicago was only 90 Miles away and had 5 dealers with stock. Negotiated a good deal from one, signed papers and said see you in 3 years. Still get my service from my local dealer which has been fine to date. I dislike the dealer strategy but it makes my car stand out as I’ve only seen a couple in town the last 4 years. The cars are good enough value that I put up with the B.S. for now.
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Chariotoflove
> SpeedSix
02/18/2019 at 20:16 |
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Cool.
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LJ909
> Ian
02/18/2019 at 20:55 |
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So corporate is determining what inventory you guys get? That’s kinda weird. Also how were you guys able to get G90s?
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LJ909
> SpeedSix
02/18/2019 at 20:55 |
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Which is how it should be here. Hopefully that is a test for other areas, including here in the US.
CompactLuxuryFan
> LFA Owner
02/18/2019 at 21:22 |
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Makes sense that the Sport was your favorite, as that is the top trim level for the G70, above Prestige, Elite, and Standard . This goes against most other brands/models, where “sport” is low-mid level.
gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
> LJ909
02/18/2019 at 22:52 |
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I would consider a Hyundai, but there is no way I would ever consider a kia. All 3 dealers in my area have a competition of who can put out the most obnoxious and annoying ads. one for last decade has run ads “My lot manager bought too many cars and I need to sell 62 this weekend”. Why do I want to do business with someone so careless?
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LJ909
> gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
02/18/2019 at 23:06 |
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Not only careless, but tacky and textbook typical salesman bullshit. Its ads and things like that that reinforce their shiftyness when you go and buy a car. I hope to god the Stinger lasts another generation.
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Tapas
> SpeedSix
02/18/2019 at 23:41 |
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Whoa that's cool!
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BK2 Rspec
> LJ909
02/19/2019 at 15:47 |
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A someone who drives a Genesis coupe R spec, Hyundai/Genesis, whatever you want to call it, dropped the ball by dropping the Genesis coupe line. This car helped bring about a whole new scene in the tuning/tuner world, i t started a movement! Yo u have Muscles, Euro, JDMs, and then it brought to the scene, KDM, then you ditch it....
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LJ909
> BK2 Rspec
02/19/2019 at 15:54 |
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The sad thing about the Genesis Coupe is that it only seemed to get a tuner following after they stopped making them.