On paper, the 2014 Cadillac CTS Vsport and the 2015 Hyundai Genesis are very similar. Both of these mid-size luxury sedans have four doors, rear-wheel drive, an eight-speed automatic transmission and have 420 horsepower. Numbers don’t always tell the full story though, so AutoGuide took these two rivals out on the road to see which one is the better buy.
The Genesis is packing a 5.0-liter V8 under its hood, which is making 420 horsepower and 383 lb-ft of torque. Don’t let that badge fool you either, inside the Genesis has luxurious amenities such as rear passenger window shades, rear heated seats, satellite navigation and soft touch materials throughout. It’s also made strides in the looks department, now appearing more upscale and with those quad exhaust tips out back, more aggressive too.
We already know all there is to know about the CTS Vsport. Cadillac’s new BMW 5-series competitor has a twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter V6 engine producing 420 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque. Its interior is on par with the rest of the mid-size luxury segment, as is its $72,640 as-tested price tag. This is where the Genesis has the opportunity to best the CTS, because even when fully loaded, you’re out Hyundai’s dealership door after paying just $55,700.
See which of these mid-size sedans won AutoGuide’s comparison test in the video below.
Comments
Actually Sam, the Cadillac cts Vsport is much lighter than the genesis. Cadillac :3800 lb, genesis: 4500 lb.
Another notation, Sam: the CTS Vsport is rated at 430 lb-ft of torque.
Thanks for the correction. Torque figure was a typo.
I wish Caddy would REALLY catch on like the Germans.
Yes, Caddy had record growth last year but total sales still lag key rivals.
I think Art and Science scares off certain buyers, unfortunatly. Everyone is looking for a MB clone.
This is what irritates me about comparison’s like this. The CTS V-Sport and the Genesis are not direct competitors, and the Genesis only wins because of the price. They may be similar in many aspects by the numbers, but the Genesis is exactly what they described it as. A replacement for the Town Car crowd. The CTS was built to dethrone the 5 series and the E class and does just fine against those competitors.
I doubt very seriously Genesis buyers are cross shopping CTS, 5 or E unless they are buying used and then they would probably be looking at the 7, S, or the LS. The Genesis is a way for those looking to spend around 50k for a luxury car to be able to buy new. Bottom line is, it is a Hyundai no matter how luxurious it may be when new, and I doubt very seriously Cadillac or GM for that matter even considered the Genesis as some sort of benchmark for the CTS in any configuration to aspire too.
This comparison reeks of the bias car magazines have against GM vehicles. They will sing the praises of the car and say how far GM has come in recent years and how much of a pleasure it is to drive, but when they have to vote it is more often not in GM’s favor.
The genesis would also beat the 5 series if they used the same criteria. Its just a whole bunch cheaper.
Genesis and the new Kia K900 are great & can probably preform as well as the 5 series. American auto publications like to give Caddy the edge but the metaphoric “home field advantage” comes into play here, distorting actualities.
I’m not saying CTS isn’t better. I’m am saying, however, that a majority or big players have reached technological and design parity.
Gone are the days of one carmaker producing a lemon. Now, whether the work is done in house, or purchased by an outside form, almost any company with deep pockets can produce a solid luxury vehicle.
I have big hopes for Hyundai and Kia long term and like the big brand strategy. I’m hoping Opel goes in a similar direction.
I would go for the Cadillac CTS, even if it costs more!
YOU KNOW WHAT IS HILARIOUS? THESE FUCKS DON’T REALIZE HYUNDAI WAS ALREADY USING THE “AUDI” HEXAGONAL GRILLE ON THEIR HCD 8 CONCEPT FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS. PLUS THESE FUCKS DRIVE GM, FORDS, TOYOTAS AND HONDAS AND LIKE TO BASH HYUNDAI… THEY CAN ONLY DREAM BUYING A FERRARI AND HAVE BASHING RIGHTS… FUCKING LOSERS.
Lets face it, if you just want a luxury car with creature comforts and no exclusive driving character, then the Genesis is actually ok. However, if you want a world class luxurious sports sedan with a class leading driving character, then the CTS is more than worth its extra 17 grand over the Town Car’s stated replacement.
Now, that’s what this comparison should of said, because the Lexus GS 350 sport cost a little more than the V-Sport. Hence, that’s the comparison the Genesis would have won. But against this world leading Caddy, I don’t think so. Therefore, these guys error when they did not elaborate what the V-Sport Extra 17 grand means when you overlook the Genesis.
Well Hyundai may have a good car here but it lacks one great thing. Status.
In this segment it is not like Camry vs. Civic, Fusion , Malibu or Sonata. These cars offer good value for the segment with many features at a good price.
In this segment it is all about what the car says about you. Generally Benz and BMW says you have been successful or you have more car payment than you can afford.
GM right now with Cadillac is earning their rep to once again to be considered in this segment as a symbol of success and status.
Now Hyundai and Lincoln is for the folks who want a luxury car and do not care that is screams that I could not afford the real thing. There may be a good car here but it does not deliver the owner what most buy these cars for as in prestige and status of their image when they pull into the club.
The guys on the 18th green at Firestone see Dave their buddy pull in with his Hyundai and they will look as wonder If he will ever make a go with his company to buy the better things in life.
Vein yes but that is how many in this segment swing. Most who buy a BMW are not about the German engineering or handling but they are all about the image they want to project.
If you get into a business agreement with another company owner what one would make you think he is more successful the guy in the more expensive car or the Hyundai. While the cheaper car would be a better investment most people perceive the more expensive car with a more successful person.
That is just the way it is.
The Hyundai says you are either frugal or you just have not made it.
Earning status takes time. It took Caddy over a decade since the launch of Art & Science, and the branding still doesn’t match that of the Germans.
Like Buick, it will take Hyundai & Kia time. I love how they are trying to build one mega-brand as opposed to breaking luxury off like Lexus.
As Hyundai moves upmarket, Benz moves down market with CLA. I think big brands that touch every segment may be the future. Ford is trying a similar approach in Europe, and will be watching cars like Equus and K900.
It will take time but I think these premium Hyundai models can garner status, prestige & street cred. Customers are smart enough to know this difference between a cheap Elantra and pricy Equus.
“It will take time but I think these premium Hyundai models can garner status, prestige & street cred. Customers are smart enough to know this difference between a cheap Elantra and pricy Equus.”
They won’t when the badge will still say Hyundai.
To Hyundai’s credit, the Genesis and all their forthcoming luxury products should be spun off and made completely distinct from their garden-variety cousins. There is no advantage in trying to be all things to all drivers with cars bearing badges that range from $14K to $90K. It won’t happen, as nobody will drop S-class money on a car that is directly related to an Elantra by way of badge and styling.
Cars like the CLA, however, are simply leveraging MB’s global equity and there is nothing wrong with that. BMW had the 1-series (now 2-series) and nobody complained, but becasue people knew it was a BMW, people were willing to pay for the cost of having one: the exclusivity of ownership.
As for the CLA, there are many sub compacts that can be had for $30K. BUT, there is only one Mercedes-Benz, and Mercedes is fortunate enough to know that luxury consumers exist in every segment and there will always be someone who can pay to have an exceptional and distinct product. That’s what having a luxury product is all about; having something that enriches your life that other people don’t have. Price doesn’t enter into it, as luxury consumers simply want the best of the world. They know that getting the best of the world will be costly, but their focus is on quality and the experenace of owning a luxury product.
Both the MB CLA and the Kia Rio are sub compacts, but if you can see what separates a $30K CLA from a $13K Rio, then you’ll know why MB built the CLA.
Once again, Scott, you’re reading my mind and typing out pretty much exactly what I’d say. How?! 😉
I can add to the projected image and status bit, as I have made character judgments on the basis of a business owners car. The judgments we make and use to inform our opinions of a person are true, and what products and objects a person buys and owns can speak volumes of the quality of their character and what they hold as being better than ordinary people.
Locally, there is an auto rust proofing shop that I would have taken my cars to, if the owner didn’t park his last gen Navigator out front as if it were something to be proud of. It’ gaudy, it occupied parking space that should have been reserved for customers, and he had a For Sale sign on the dash.
I know I’m hard on Lincoln and the Navigator most days, but the Navigator has never instilled a sense of quality or status whenever I see one. The one in the parking lot didn’t, and I didn’t get the impression that the owner cared about his work; that he was more interested in ‘appearing’ like a big-shot with something that anyone could get without any effort. It was all about appearance without any substance, and I got rust proofing done elsewhere.
The same deal applies to the Genesis. “Badge snobbery” are words used by those who don’t have discriminating tastes. If it isn’t a $90K full-size luxury sedan, chances are it most likely won’t ever perform like a $90K full-size luxury sedan, therefore I don’t hold that the Genesis could ever make an S-class sweat.
Truth be told, the $45K CTS isn’t a full-size luxury sedan either(mid-size), and the whole comparison was a wash front the start. But even I can see what the CTS can do that no comparable Hyundai (luxury or not) can’t do. Carry clout.
IT IS HILARIOUS TO READ THESE FUCKS CLAIMING HYUNDAI IS CHEAP AND LACKS OF STATUS… LIKE GM CARS ARE SOME SORT OF BUGATTI OR MAYBACH!! WAKE UP!! IT IS A FUCKING GM CAR. WHEN YOU GUYS OWN A FERRARI, MCLAREN, PORSCHE OR BUGATTI, THEN BASH. FUCKING LOSERS. 🙂
“LIKE GM CARS ARE SOME SORT OF BUGATTI OR MAYBACH!!”
We’re talking about mainstream luxury cars. Not the niche luxury automakers, one of which doesn’t even exist anymore. Don’t confuse the two segments and who it is who buys them.
I’ll put it another way, and you’ll understand why the Hyundai Genesis lacks status as a luxury car:
Can a Hyundai command Cadillac prices? The CTS starts at $45K and Escalade starts at $71K.
Can a Hyundai command Lexus prices? The GS starts at $47K and the LX starts at $82K.
Can a Hyundai command Mercedes prices? The E-class starts at $57K and the GL starts at $74K.
When the Hyundai Genesis starts at $38K and purports to be the best in the segment, its price speaks to the idea that it isn’t the best in the segment, as there is a $10K comprible price gap. $10K more in a Genesis would make it a hell of a lot better than what it is now.
So why can’t the Genesis close that gap? Because the Hyundai brand can’t command prices that high (Find someone who’ll pay for a hypothetical $48K base Genesis over a $49K base 5-series), and doesn’t carry any clout in mainstream luxury car circles.
The CTS may be “A FUCKING GM CAR”, but the CTS commands prices that no present Hyundai Genesis could ever reach, unless Hyundai spun off it’s Genesis as a distinct line of luxury cars and put that extra $10K into their cars. I certainly don’t hold the Genesis as anything more than a cut-price, third tier, mid-size car wearing a badge from a down-market mainstream voume automaker trying to act like a mainstream mid-size luxury car.
You want to play in the mainstream luxury car market Hyundai? Start acting like one by making your own luxury brand, and make mid-size cars worthy of $49K. The world doesn’t need a Korean MKZ.
I’d love to see research into Cadillac brand perception among Gen X and Millennials.
Cadillac makes the best mainstream luxury car yet hadn’t fully been embraced by the so called “country club” set.
I was supposed that BrandX left GM off there top automaker lost yet included Ford & Honda. BrandX research includes the perceptions of 2 million people and my thinking is that Caddy and Buick should have given them a boost.
I still think big brands are the future. Both Hyundai and Kia are onto something. A with 10 years, among a new generation, they will be seen as a luxury brand that also runs an economy value line.
“Both Hyundai and Kia are onto something. A with 10 years, among a new generation, they will be seen as a luxury brand that also runs an economy value line.”
I doubt Hyundai will work both mainstream volume and luxury cars under the same badge, not even in 10 years.
Despite all the best of their marketing, I can still see Hyundai’s not much older than 6 years that are showing rust spots. Having Hyundai hire the best automotive designers and make beautiful cars won’t conceal or downplay their shoddy past, or their humble and low-rent history of dowdy economy cars.
Also, never has Hyundai presented itself as a marque of unrivaled luxury cars, and never has Hyundai ever made a car worthy of being called a mainstream luxury car. They certainly aren’t doing it with the low-priced Genesis, and they aren’t doing by associating the Genesis with Hyundai and not with a new brand.
You can hang all your ambitions on “among a new generation”, but fewer and fewer Gen Y’s and Z’s giving a damn about driving or car ownership; costs are unmanageable. Those who do want a car are going to want the best there is when they are ready to big spend money on a car that meets their needs, and they’ll know the best from those who have historically offered the best. Mercedes fits that criteria, whereas Hyundai does not.
Also, it must be started that the best luxury car doesn’t mean the biggest physically. Gone are the days of a big car simply being a symbol of status. A Gen Y will look at a CLA favourably over the more affordable and common Rio, as the buyers won’t see the reason for gross physical excess of an E-class or Genesis; they’re simply too big to meet the needs of the buyer.
For CLA money, a Gen Y buyer could get the larger Sonata, but with that comes a bigger and more cumbersome car, poorer workmanship, and a product that is more common than it is exclusive. Plus, that Hyundai badge that rank several orders of magnitude lower than Mercedes.
As for Cadillac, well, I’m sympathetic to them as they have historically always built luxury cars. Put simply, they’ve got many years of hard work to do, but mercifully they don’t have the public perception disadvantage that Hyundai is trying to do by presenting the Genesis and Equus as full-fat mainstream luxury cars.
Consider the forgotten Kia Amanti. It too tried to sell itself S-Class luxury for Sonata prices, but that Sonata price and the Kia badge did everything but keep the Amanti from being taken seriously. The new K900 won’t scare away the S-class either, and with it’s down-market cousin the Cadenza being sold along side it for thousands less, it’ll be the MKZ/Fusion dichotomy all over again.
Make it distinct. Make it different. Make it exclusive. HMG will never be taken seriously by any luxury consumer if they insist on using the Hyundai badge on cars that aren’t exclusive. The Genesis, the Equus, and their new compact need to be separate from Hyundai if they want to command MB prices.
Hyundai product planners are smart; I get this sense that they’ve got a plan, that this isn’t just some out of touch strategy, and that they have done a fair share of market research.
The line between premium & mainstream will continue to blur thanks to the Germans, and younger consumers aren’t going to know or care which brand started off as volume or premium in ten years.
Is Acura really a critical hit? Infinity? Are these brands worth the extra marketing? Does it realty pay for Honda to lose potential halo models?
Attitudes surrounding prestige have changed dramatically over the last 30 years, and will continue to change.
When the the “golf choice set” talks about thirty Hyundai it will be understood that they don’t mean a Rio or Forte.
Chrysler once had more prestige than Audi. Caddy once had more street cred than a failing BMW. American middle class bought Olds. With that said, I wouldn’t bet again the brains in Korea.
“The line between premium & mainstream will continue to blur thanks to the Germans”
And what have the Germans done to blur “the line between premium & mainstream”? Offering luxury cars at luxury prices to luxury consumers in segments they’ve already been in? It’s not exactly earth-shattering, or a paradigm shift of the entire auto industry, or what it means to own a luxury product.
There’s no blurring anywhere, and the demarcation between a luxury product and a mass market product is more evident than ever. If you’re going to assume that the $30K CLA is contributing to blurring of segments, then you’re deliberately ignoring the fact that the CLA isn’t MB’s first sub compact (A-class and B-class).
Luxury is about having what others don’t have, as I’ve said before. The segments remain as they are; the only thing that has changed is the range offerings for every taste and price. You can have a $12K Versa like everyone else, or you can show your wealth and social status with a $30K CLA. Both the Versa and the CLA are sub-compact, but there is no blurring here as everyone knows what kind of image and clout comes with Mercedes that doesn’t come with a Nissan. MB isn’t demeaning or lowering themselves by offering the CLA, they are simply offering a luxury car to the subcompact buyer who has discriminating tastes.
In the case of luxury subcompacts, a luxury consumer is someone is willing to pay upwards of $30K to own a subcompact that ISN’T a Rio, Sonic, Fit, Fiesta, Versa, Accent, or Yaris. It’s the privilege of ownership and the public knowledge of what separates a CLA from a Rio that compels a luxury consumer to act. They want something that few people have or can have.
Keep in mind, I’m using the CLA as an example. Any mainstream luxury automaker can offer a subcompact, even Cadillac. The thing is that a subcompact Cadillac will need to show why it is worth $30K+ by being something that no ordinary subcompact is; by being the best of the best, which is what any Cadillac should be, from city-size to full-size.
“and younger consumers aren’t going to know or care which brand started off as volume or premium in ten years.”
You think consumers are going to remain ignorant of an automakers past? How many Gen Y’s and Z’s are going to buy American without hearing of Detroit’s spotty past?
An automakers history is readily available, and the consumer is more informed than ever. If an automaker has 100+ storied years as a global luxury automaker, they’re not going to get mistaken for a mainstream volume automaker who only recently started offering up-level trims on cars that aren’t luxury cars, but are trying to pretend that they are exceptional.
Not even the most cunning Hyundai product planner will have anyone fooled in 10 years time, not even Gen Z assuming they even want to own cars.
Luxury products command luxury prices because they are exceptional, rare, and have features and qualities that no one else has. If they have none of these properties, they’re not luxury products no matter how ambitious they are marketed or advertised.
Do you actually believe the line that younger buyer lack interest in cars?
The tail end of Gen X plus Millennials were to first group of students to get sacked by massive student debt in a poor economy. In addition, the re-urbanization of America ( mass transit/no parking) over the last 15 years has changed buying patterns.
Luxury, and our perception of it, has changed dramatically over the last 100 years, and the changing of tastes and sensibilities will continue to shift.
Once upon a time, a businessman was proud of an Olds; doctors chose Buick or Mercury; Audi was considered a value brand (a fact easily researched by any buyer today yet the past seems to hold little importance therefore countering your Hyundai observation). Media and branding is a big part of this, with publications like MT aiding the Korean brands upscale shift.
Furthermore, Benz is going down market on price, not substance or size. One can safety assume that this trend will continue as Benz tries to increase scale, maybe next time in the mid sized segment.
Let’s face it: No mass market luxury brand is exclusive anymore with leasing! I live in NYC, walk by the projects, and see every luxury marque sold in the US. The corporate pre-owned scheme diminishes exclusivity.
Hyundai & Kia will keep fighting for a piece of the pie. We can assume future products will incrementally improve, and that larger profits will be earned. In reality, these cars are no less “exclusive” than a badge engineered Acura, Buick, Chevy SS or Corvette which all touch on the luxury price point. Even Ford tries with $30,000 Titanium Focus.
I just appreciate that Hyundai doesn’t feel the need to pull a Toyota hiding behind a Lexus brand while sharing platforms and various components. Its nice to see Kia not imitate VAG sharing the same platform between Skoda and Audi. Hyundai will do fine, just like Chevy selling both Spark & Corvette does well.
A long list of brands would be dead if only exclusivity mattered.
Luxury is not a price point, it’s about having what others don’t have to benefit and comfort your life.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good
Grawdaddy, A majority of the country would qualify to lease a Benz or BMW. The percentage increases when including pre owned.
These are not exclusive brands anymore.
Oh, they’ll qualify. No question. But that’s not the issue.
The issue for those qualified is that that they prove themselves, publicly, that they can make the payments; showing the world that they have the money and taste to choose products that are quantifiably better than others.
Lease payments that for subcompact luxury cars aren’t like that of a base model Sonic. By extension, don’t expect CLA’s and A3’s outside low-mid income apartment complexes, or in Wal-Mart parking lots adorned with NASCAR stickers. The target audience simply isn’t the same, and just because they can qualify at the onset doesn’t mean the leasee can reliably pay over the next 3 years.
On top of making the payments, they’ve got higher insurance premiums to pay for. Luxury cars, irrespective of what segment they are from, get placed in some the highest insurance brackets.
“These are not exclusive brands anymore.”
Have you ever convinced anyone that Mercedes isn’t exclusive because they offer a subcompact? History will show it, marketing will reinforce it, and the public will know it. They’ve 100+ years cultivating that image of exclusivity. The CLA hasn’t undermined anything.
“The percentage increases when including pre owned.”
Wrong. Luxury cars generally have higher residuals; born partly because of their limited production numbers, and partly because of their perceived superiority.
I don’t think anyone looking to trade in their 2009 Aveo has their eye on an A3 simply because they are both subcompacts. Chances are if they own a 2009 Aveo, they’re not in any position to make the payments anyway; they’re foolishly trying to reach beyond their grasp, and live beyond their means.
As I’ve said before, luxury is about having what others don’t have to benefit and comfort your life. The pricing an A3 or CLA as they are may tempt and entice the Rio or Elantra owner to desire them or cars like them. But that’s what a luxury product does best, it compels someone to want more of life, even if they can’t afford it.
Come to NYC: You will see Benz, Audi, BMW parked outside of every project & development for lower middle class households. These residents manage to pay the extra 200 monthly on lease+insurance for the street cred and respectability these labels garner.
Getting a premium car has become too easy & the exclusive charm has worn off. Leasing increases volume at the expense of brand equity. This is why Gen Y will be open to offerings from brands like Hyundai, VW, Ford and Buick.
Hyundai is betting on this logic as they expand offerings.
“You will see Benz, Audi, BMW parked outside of every project & development for lower middle class households.”
And not one of them is newer than 2010.
Luxury is not a value proposition, and buying a used luxury car doesn’t say the same thing about the owner as a new luxury car does.
I hope you’re not hanging the future Hyundai, Ford, VW, and Buick’s profitability on Gen Y and Z. In response to your previous statement, I do “actually believe the line that younger buyer lack interest in cars”. Globally, there are more people living in urban environments than in rural and it is projected to rise.
Source: http://www.who.int/gho/urban_health/situation_trends/urban_population_growth_text/en/
Because of this, car ownership becomes a detriment and a needless cost to manage. Why drive, get stuck in traffic, hunt for parking, pay for gas, and put up with dealer scum if you can walk or bike where your need to? Cities are wasting millions on road works for already dense car-driving populations, and no city wants to spend more money feeding utility services out to some suburban sprawled bedroom community. Gen Y sees car ownership as more hassle than for what it offers, and they don’t want to emulate the stresses and pains their parents have had with cars. That means no commuting, no repairs, no fuel, no gridlock, no dealers, and no Sunday afternoon preventive maintenance.
If Hyundai is betting on Gen Y’s to simply forget the qualities of a luxury product and to buy their paltry mainstream offerings so that Gen Y can waste thousands of dollars each year in maintenance costs getting frustrated in dense urban traffic, they they are deluded and are fools.
I’ve said it before, and it bears repeating, that present-day automakers are going to have to change their focus in the future; to become less of a car company and more of a transportation company. Hyundai could still exist, and could GM, but cars as they exist today, won’t be their mainstay product.
I mentioned increased urbanization in my post. A lack of desire to drive in urban areas goes without saying.
I’m referring to GMs line that “younger people are more interested in smart phones that cars.”
This is silly, phones are cheap & they have nothing to do with auto sales.
MIllennials are not buying cars for economic reasons. One third of 18-34 year Olds are currently living with parents-a mega shift from 2008, the same year the auto market in the US tanked.
As I’ve said before, notions surrounding luxury are constantly changing and it would be silly for us to think a few brands (Benz, BMW, Audi) will hold an eternal monopoly.
I’d argue that leading/corporate pre-owned has democratized luxury. I remember something very similar happening to the premium sneakers market right before it imploded in the 1990s. I draw the comparison because whenever high end goods become available to anyone through credit, status immediately drops. The perceived value of a BMW suddenly crashes, stops radiating success, when people in subsidized housing can access the same vehicle.
This means good things for brands like Hyundai, Buick and even Ford Titanium. This means cars like BMW 3 series will long term become less special.
Hyundai can pull this off but I think it will come down to marketing. To this point I think they are missing the mark.
First off if they want a premium car they need to give it a premium name and separation from Hyundai. While other automakers like Acura are Honda world wide they know here in the states that they can not pull off a premium car with a Honda name plate. Same for VW as you saw how fast the Phaeton failed in the first attempt. I expect the next one not to be as high market or price.
North American saw Honda, VW and even Hyundai and Kia come here as cut rate cheap cars and it is hard to lose that image. So to fool the public they need to change the name.
Second. We have a Genesis sedan that is a luxury car and we have a coupe being a mid to low price sport 2+2. Now just what is it? This is Oldsmobile marketing at it’s worst when they had 3-4 different Cutlass models in FWD, RWD and in everything from a entry level coupe and sedan, wagon to a mid size RWD luxury coupe and performance model. Again just what is it?
If this car is that good it needs it own identity here as Americans have been taught that Hyundai is a value car not a luxury car.
Also it will take time. Cadillac had it and lost it only now working to gain it back. It finally has the product to compete with similar Benz and BMW but they still have work to do in changing their perception. They have made progress as they once were like Lincoln but it will take more time and at least they now have the product.
Lets put it this way. This Hyundai is like Chevy selling a $75K CTS model as a Chevy and not a Cadillac. The market here expects separation. These may be global cars but each has to be presented and marketed properly in each market.
There’s no way that I would pay nearly $56K for a freakin’ Hyundai; I would much rather have the CTS if I was spending that much $$$. For the same reason why I would rather spend $200K on a Bentley Flying Spur as opposed to an Merc S65 AMG.
“There’s no way that I would pay nearly $56K for a freakin’ Hyundai; I would much rather have the CTS if I was spending that much $$$.”
Thank you Mr. Hamady. You’ve proved a point I’ve been trying to make for some time now.
See, Stephen Marcus? Hyundai cannot COMMAND mainstream luxury car prices because Hyundai’s public image is that of a common volume automaker. The appeal of a Hyundai badge, in this case, is a detriment, as Hyundai has cemented themselves in the public consciousness (after decades and decades of marketing) as being a brand that offers non-luxury cars at prices that are below that of mainstream luxury cars.
If Marc Hamady had $56K of disposable income to spend on a car, there’s lots of cars available that are much better propositions. Some cars come from brands that have much more clout and better public images than that of Hyundai. Cadillac is one such brand and the CTS is one such car, because the projected image of the Cadillac CTS is of one that can COMMAND $56K.
But Mr. Hamady not only hit the nail on the head, but he’s driven through the damn floor.
“For the same reason why I would rather spend $200K on a Bentley Flying Spur as opposed to an Merc S65 AMG.”
Its the word I’ve been saying a lot in this thread: Exclusivity as a luxury; having something that others don’t.
And further proof is the VW Phaeton. What a flop. It was a Luxury VW that sorta was in the same ballpark as the well loved brother Audi A8 but with less content (aluminum, etc).
Now way could VW sell a $65,000 vehicle in numbers that support the business case.
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Seriously, are you comparing CADDY with fucking hyundai??????
And hyundai makes luxery cars!!!! this is big joke, its just copying another brands face. The older model was pretended to be Mercedes and this model is pretending to be Austin martin even with Austin logo.
Just thought I would weigh in albeit a bit late in the process. I have owned 3 CTS’s and 1 SRX so have to consider myself a Cadillac fan. .
When I went to lease a 2015 CTS I was floored by the price differences. Where I used to be able to get a CTS performance ‘loaded’ (47k) I now can squeak into a base car. Besides making the 3.6 engine optional (hardly a world class engine anymore) the CTS sticks with 6 speed tranny in most models.
For 3k less than a Luxury 2.0 6 speed CTS I can get a Genesis with every option they offer. This car will have 8 speed, 6 cylinder, heads up, 17 speaker Lexicon stereo, 18 wheels…. the list goes on and on. It has 4″ longer wheelbase and is 2″ wider. I only wish they had 8cyl AWD.
The residual lease numbers are better than Caddy by a large amount and the warranty is better.
To add insult to injury, Caddy has reduced shift production on this car and offer limited incentives so they seem to be giving up on trying to make it more popular. Prestige is relative and in the mind of the buyer. (My colleague from Europe had partly decided against and E class Merc against BMW because there were too many E class Taxis).
I frankly would have felt cheated leasing a new CTS and thinking of all the options I missed out on because of the car’s new inflated and lofty price point. JMHO